Thursday, July 31, 2025
Jardin du Luxembourg
Well, we are home. I'm sitting in the living room as a quiet rain falls outside, drinking a big mug of American coffee -- always a blessing after those dainty little café crèmes on the continent. I need about 12 of those things just to stay alive.
We had a good day yesterday. Unlike Tuesday morning, when I was up and about early, I slept in -- so Dave and I left our hotel at the same time and made our way to the same cafe beneath the shady locust trees on the Rue Caulaincourt where we'd had breakfast the day before. We got a front-row table for watching street life and were amused by a guy sitting across the street having a lively conversation with himself -- until he crossed over to have a lively conversation with us. His name was Vergilio, and that was one of the few things he said that I understood, as he was from Portugal but he was speaking French and he was missing a fair number of teeth. Of course he wanted some coins and I had none on me, but he was pleasant about it.
Our train wasn't until 2:40 p.m., so we decided to go to the Jardin du Luxembourg on the Left Bank. I've spent very little time south of the river in Paris, except for the area immediately around the Eiffel Tower. So this was new grounds for exploration. I was amused to find a fancy-looking cafe near the Odeon called The Editors (above) -- editors are used to being mostly nameless, unsung figures in the background of the publishing world, so I'm glad we got our due.
Dave decided to take a seat in the park while I wandered around. The gardens, built by Marie de Medici beginning in 1612, are laid out around a central pond and formal garden overlooked by the Luxembourg Palace. I passed the sculpture above, Arthur le Duc's "Harde de cerfs écoutant le rapproché," or herd of listening deer.
Here's a video showing some more scenery, including the large formal garden, the palace, the pond, Charles-Arthur Bourgeois' sculpture L'Acteur Grec (Greek actor), and the Medici Fountain:
We left the gardens and headed for the train station, where we caught our train without incident. It was very full and it arrived in London around the same time as another Eurostar from elsewhere, so there was a bit of a mob scene trying to get off the platform and through customs, but we eventually managed.
I mentioned the train ticket prices yesterday and my surprise at how high they were. But we did choose midday trains at the height of the summer tourist season, and we bought our tickets not even a week in advance. I guess £180 per person each way, under those circumstances, isn't too terrible. I'm telling myself that, anyway.
Also, you may be wondering why we made the trip so short. Why not stay in Paris a few more days? Well, Dave is going to the states on Saturday, so we had to come back in time for him to get ready for that adventure. I'll be staying behind, no doubt missing Olga, but I'm planning to do some short trips of my own.
When we got home, Dave and I had to move all the furniture out of the dining room because I have carpet cleaners coming this morning to steam clean the carpet. Of course we're also having rain today and tomorrow, so the whole house is going to be damp. Zut alors!
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Next time you have a trip to France, possibly try un café allongé ? Not as concentrated as a double espresso...but not as weak as a café crème !
ReplyDeleteLovely gardens , a good breath of fresh air before a train journey like that
I have not tried an allongé, but I'll keep it in mind! It's not the concentration I miss so much as the quantity of hot liquid. Even an Americano in France is a tiny little thing.
DeleteI love Paris. For many reasons.
ReplyDeleteAs to Vergilio [Orwell's "Down and out in Paris and London" springs to mind]: I don't get why so many people don't carry cash any more. How do you tip? How do you help someone out? How do you make small purchases? It's beyond me. This is not an invitation to burgle or pick pocket me but I always have plenty of cash in both the house and my purse. Just in case.
U
I never use cash. Gave it up ages ago and never looked back. Even small purchases can be made on a card now, but yeah, giving coins to the Vergilios of the world is no longer possible.
DeleteThe ticket cost was well worth it. So much more convenient than enduring the horrors of airports these days.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I would much rather travel by train!
DeleteYour return sounds both restful and reflective, with just the right blend of travel fatigue, Parisian charm, and domestic reality setting back in with a soggy sigh
ReplyDeleteA soggy sigh is right!
DeleteThe Jardin du Luxembourg looks like a lovely, well-maintained oasis in the heart of the city. The hedge "garlands" near the fountain are noteworthy.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite beautiful and it's large, considering its central location.
DeleteWe now have a carpet cleaner, but the few times in our history that we paid to have rugs professionally done, it rained. You do know how to enjoy a trip. So beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSo crazy after all the persistently dry weather we had this summer!
DeleteI forgot there's a train to France now. I was thinking of planes or boats, the ways I used to get there from England. That was in the early Chaucerian era.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Chunnel changed everything!
DeleteI was talking to my sister-outlaw on the weekend and she said that her son and his girlfriend got return tickets to Europe for just over $2,000 each so it all relative! We didn't get much change from $11,000 for our upcoming trip, but that is for 3 adults and the other side of the world...
ReplyDeleteThose airfares don't seem like much of a bargain, depending on where the son and girlfriend are coming from! But sometimes you just have to say, what the heck.
DeleteThank you for the video. It was so lovely to see all the little boats being sailed by the children.
ReplyDeleteYes, the kids were very into the boats!
DeleteWere you allowed to walk on the grass at Jardin du Luxembourg? Paris seems rather against walking on grass.
ReplyDeleteGo to a German park, Andrew: "Das Betreten des Rasens ist strengstens verboten". Walking across the grass is STRICTLY forbidden. HA!
DeleteU
There were signs up around the stag sculpture directing us to stay off the grass.
DeleteIt sounds like a lovely trip just to relax and recharge after the past couple of weeks and so the price is worth it.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed worth it, despite my grousing.
DeleteTrains or tunnels in general under bodies of water have always made me uneasy. I can only think of drowning with no place to go. I would rather boat or fly over the water.
ReplyDeleteI just try not to think about it! Plus you're only really under the water for a short time.
DeleteI loved the video, Steve. Brought back many fond memories of resting by the Medici fountain and watching kids sail their boats in the pond. It's a beautiful place, but then pretty much all of central Paris is. I'm glad you two had a chance to escape for a bit. I feel for you with wet carpet and damp days! Hope it's not too humid there!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it! This was the first time I'd been so I was glad to finally see it all.
DeleteWhat a lovely getaway for you and Dave!
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed -- much needed!
DeleteI love the video ... such a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteGood! Glad I could help you vicariously travel to another corner of Paris. :)
DeleteThat's a very busy time. I hope all goes well.
ReplyDeleteIt was busy but worthwhile!
DeleteFirst off, let me say that I really love your first picture. Your photos from the street so often look as if they were deliberately posed with the various characters, each of them with their own story, their own life.
ReplyDeleteAnd what a beautiful garden and fountain! I find the differences between these photos and the ones Mitchell posts of gardens and fountains in Spain to be very interesting. These are much more formal in feeling, whereas the Spanish ones are more exuberant. Of course, the variety of plants and trees in each area is different, adding to that. Both beautiful.
Thanks, Mary! When I take photos of shopfronts and such I usually take several and then pick the one that seems to show the best street life.
DeleteAhhh...another favorite spot in Paris. I love the video. It's almost like being there.
ReplyDeleteWithout the long flight! LOL
DeleteIt's amusing how French cafés turn chairs out, so people can watch other people as they poupou them.
ReplyDeleteIt's continues to be a beautiful city.
That's certainly what we do when we sit in French cafes! LOL
DeleteP.S.i give up on correcting grammar
ReplyDeleteHa! No corrections needed -- I know you know how to write. :)
DeleteMore like MERDE on the carpet cleaning! Isn't espresso a stronger version of American coffee, so you wouldn't need 12. Maybe just 3 or 4? :) So much about Paris is unchangeable; that's part of what I love about those ancient cities.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the caffeine I miss -- it's the quantity of hot liquid. I like a big coffee so I have something to sip for a while. I almost never get espresso.
DeleteOne thing that was odd (and good) in France was that I could drink the coffee. In the US I'm about 80% decaf, too much caffeine gives me an irregular heart beat. I always wonder if French coffee is a low caffeine strain, or what.
ReplyDeleteI think you just don't get much in a single cup -- a small shot, with mostly milk, it seems to me. (Of course it depends on what you order.)
DeleteI loved your video. The sound of the water was so refreshing. For a second I thought that statue was taking a selfie! 😂
ReplyDeleteHa! It does kind of look like that!
DeleteThat stag is glorious
ReplyDeleteI agree -- I thought that was a beautiful sculpture, especially in that setting.
DeleteParis always seems to offer one last unexpected character or corner to make the memory linger just a bit longer
ReplyDeleteMost big cities do, it seems!
DeleteThat was a wonderful video tour. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it! :)
Delete