Thinking about Paris

At first, Paris can be overwhelming. So busy... so much to do. When I arrived I was still not feeling well, so that could have impacted my first impressions.

But after thinking more about this City and touring around I have to agree it is a special place.

Each area of the city has a different personality. I am glad we are staying in St Germaine Latin Quarter. After touring some other areas, it is my favorite. Near the Sorbonne, or U of P, it is full of students, smaller restaurants and bistro. Somehow, it feels less commercial and less touristy.

We have toured the high points. An hour in the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. With the crush of thousands of tourists at these sites, I found them obligatory but not fun.  See what I mean in this photo, Mona bring mobbed.

Before we left, Bobbi found a book called Hidden Gardens of Paris, A Guide to the Parks, Squares, and Woodlands of the City of Light by Susan Cahill. Don't go to Paris without this book in your bag.  

In addition to giving insightfull discussions of the the well known parks like Jardin de Luxembourg, Tuilleries and Rodin Garden, it has guided us to some other great parks: Jardin de Plants, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, and Place des Vosges. 

I have discovered that for me, nature and architecture beats museums. Bobbi has always been that way but I now know I love a nature walk far more than a museum walk.  I have also have learned that here in Paris and throughout France, just how important gardens are in French history and culture. Once they were built to only be enjoyed by royalty at their palaces and chateaus. That garden culture has fortunately been preserved for all of us to enjoy today.

There are so many more Paris parks to visit but not this trip. Tomorrow will be a final walk through the Luxembourg Gardens and a tour to Giverny, Monet's gardens. Then home with great memories of France.

Oh, here is my view while writing this at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont!  Once the location of a prison and a place of executions and later a gypsum quarry. Transformed into a public park in the mid 1800's.