Paris, je t'aime

On our last morning in Paris we made a visit to the exquisite Jardin du Luxembourg. It was another astonishingly beautiful day so we set out to soak up the sun in the most Parisian way possible. Our first stop at the park was the children's playground, naturally.


The boys conquered the rope climb...


...& the zip line.




Little Miss H preferred the sandbox.
You have to pay a small fee in exchange for a stamp on your hand & access to a very safe, clean environment for the kids to run free while parents & au pairs can relax. It's a brilliant idea because the entire playground is extremely well maintained & organized. (My kinda place!)


One.


Two.


Three. Ha.


H found a little European beau...


...it was quite cute...




...until big brother interrupted her flirtation.
After the little ones were worn out we strolled through the more historic portions of the park. We avoided the crowds by visiting on a Friday so everyone had more space to run around without any worry of losing sight of one another. Surrounded by blooming flowers & shaded by bountiful trees we found ourselves at the Luxembourg Palace, home to the French Senate.




Can't you just see Maruis & Cosette falling in love here? I mean, who wouldn't?


We met some fine feathered friends who were very eager for us to share our madeleines.


H was a big fan.




I couldn't get enough of how adorable she was with the ducks. Then something else caught my eye...an elderly man sat patiently feeding the pigeons & sparrows that flocked to his chair. I looked back to H who was still giggling at the birds as they fluffed up their feathers & quacked for more bits of cake. Observing both of them made me think about how incredible our world is. Here are two people, young & old, who don't speak the same language, live in the same place, or have anything in common other than the pure joy that comes to them through sitting in a park on a sunny day & feeding the birds...clear evidence that happiness is most often found in simplicity.



On our way out of the park we stopped at the Medici Fountain.


In the afternoon we meandered through the streets of Paris including Mr. C's favorite, Rue de Buci. It was full of quaint cafés, cute shops, & a wonderful farmers' market.


This lovely little blue set up reminded me of my grandmother's garden






We ended the day with supper at a fun Italian restaurant called Pizzeria Sant Antonio. My penne pasta, the boys' bolognese, & our pepperoni pizza were all fantastic. It was an early night as we knew the next day would be a long one traveling to our final destination in Eastern France. I'm very excited to arrive at our summer home away from home; can't wait to tell you all about it!

P.S. Remember the ongoing viewing party of the French Open I mentioned?

Pretty cool, huh?