Paris Day Three (Part 1): Wanderings

I awakened very late today (near noontime) and felt guilty and disappointed by it. But hopefully this means I will feel fresher tonight for the opera and festivities afterward.

I set off for the cute shop-lined streets nearby that lead to the Ste. Germaine neighborhood and adored this cute white dog:



A beautiful flower shop:



Colorful and stylish advertising:



This chestnut salesman stood just outside Les Deux Magots (the competitor to my favorite Cafe de Flore):



I took in other funky and beautiful sights en route to my lunch destination--tree art, window art and restaurant art:







My lunch destination, suggested by Rick Steves, was La Crepe Rit du Clown:



The restaurant's walls are a dark orange wash, with a few interesting photos. Gifts wrapped in red or gold foil adorn the ceiling and the tables and chairs are the wooden type common to French cafes. Two servers appear to be handling the entire place, which includes an upstairs and a downstairs.

This meal is my favorite thus far in Paris! I order a Crepe Trompette, with champignons (mushrooms), creme fraiche and, I think les oefs (eggs), but very very small ones. The crepe itself is light brown, with little holes that look like the moon's surface. The mushrooms in this crepe are the most flavorful I have ever experienced!

I'm flipping through my Paris guidebooks by way of lunch entertainment, finding with a vague sense of unease that I feel as if I have outgrown the guidebooks. Perhaps it's that I have covered the Paris basics quite well on my trips and want to branch out to other, off-the-beaten-path diversions here.

Meanwhile, a woman and her two little girls are seated, with the girls squeezed onto the banquette in a space typically occupied by one grown person. The twenty-something seated next to them at first appears a bit unnerved by her proximity to two wiggling, giggling little females, but she soon settles in comfortably, realizing they are harmless.

Having tucked deeply into my lunch crepe, I realize that the 10 euro price includes not only the lunch crepe, but also a dessert crepe and a drink--what a deal! For my drink, I choose warm apple cider and, for my dessert, a caramel crepe, accompanied by cafe au lait:



Have you seen any more beautiful meal than this, I ask?

I reluctantly step out of the warm restaurant into the chilly and overcast day . . . it's a good thing I have a small umbrella, I think. It is only a short walk from the restaurant to the Jardins de Luxembourg, and that is the direction in which I turn.

There I am reminded that French kids are no different than American kids:





The park is surprisingly busy, given that it is so overcast and cold outside:



These two are among my favorites . . . I love the woman's little smile for the camera:



There is intense newspaper-reading going on:



And focused chess-playing and -watching as well:





This group of small horseback riders intrigues me:



and the enthusiasm of this rider in particular delights me:



Chairs await spring:



And birds amuse themselves quietly:



There are, of course, statues:



The people-watching near the big pool of water is excellent:







This mom and daughter are nice enough to pose for me, thanking me in French for the portrait:



This fountain and its surrounding audience of chairs has been one of my favorite places in the Gardens since I first saw them in 1994 . . . visiting them is like seeing an old friend:





It was difficult to take good pictures with the light so flat, but I like these colors:



I head out of the park toward the Latin Quarter, pausing first to snap this photo of an outdoor "art show":



More later . . .