Tuesday, April 18th

Seen on my way to a restroom.

I woke up this morning with plans to go to the Musée  Jacquemart-André and see the exhibit on the Impressionists painting in Normandy.  But I looked out the window and it was spring!  Sunny and beautiful!  The museum would be there tomorrow but today I would walk to the Luxembourg Gardens to see spring in Paris.

I would walk of course, and on my way I paused for a preview in the lovely park, Place du Temple, around the corner from my apartment.

Place du Temple

Children everywhere

A tree in bloom

The blooms!

Best of all, the park has a pond!  With wildlife living in it.

And make way for ducklings!  I saw at least six of them yesterday although some were camera shy.

Reluctantly I left the ducklings and their mother to their own adventures and continued walking south to the Seine.  On the way I passed Le Tour Saint-Jacques (which for many years I thought was the Chatelet!).  Last year some friends told me that it was the Tower of Saint Jacques and that sometimes you could climb it!  300 steps.  Not today--its open on weekends with guided tours for a few hours--but before I leave I think.

Tour Saint-Jacques

 Passed by (and stopped briefly at) Shakespeare and Company.

Too many tourists!

Notre Dame

Here are some signs of spring:

Boats filled with people

People on the banks of the Seine

 A quick walk through the Latin Quarter, and I'm finally at the most magnificent Luxembourg Gardens!  If that seems a little over the top, I'm sorry.  I find this place beautiful in any season and a source of peace and renewal.  I come here more than once every time I come to Paris.  Today, it really feels like spring in the gardens.

George Sand

Nothing like mucking around in boats.

Even if it were to be cold and rainy for the next 10 days, I would feel like I had spring in Paris today!

And you've got to love a city that puts poetry on the walls.

A few minutes resting by the fountain next to Saint Suplice, and then the long walk home.  I'll have walked 8 miles today, so an early bedtime and tomorrow--the Jacquemart-Andrée Museum.


Adieu!