Jardin du Luxembourg

Jardin du Luxembourg from Tour Montparnasse (Zoomed in photo)

A hypothetical conversation...

Girl A: Where are we heading next?

Girl B: Since we are conveniently on top of Tour Montparnasse, let's look around!

Girl A: Hey, how about that patch of foliage over there?

Girl B: Hmmm... That seems a great idea. Let's head over there!

Because when you're on top, everywhere seems to be just a walking distance! :p Well, was that the case in the past? Back in time, when the rich had carriages to take them anywhere and the less privileged had only their feet. Somehow, Europe always makes me think of those bygone eras. It may be because almost every corner of the European cities we've visited, was just plainly historical. I even have this afterthought that Europe seems to be stuck in time and I'm not saying that in a demeaning way. Of course, modernity is there but it is impressive how history and modernity simply coexist.

Okay enough of that. Back to the present times, I like to think that we are the mere equivalent of those ordinary people in the past. No carriages to bring us to the gardens. So, we decided to walk in going to Jardin du Luxembourg from Tour Montparnasse. But the only difference this time around was that we had GPS. lol

To celebrate our major feat, we had to jump for joy! It was a long walk, I tell you. Just imagine the elation we felt when we had successfully arrived after navigating through the Paris streets. Not that we didn't enjoy the walk because Paris has many interesting things to see and that includes massive doors.

The canopy of the autumn leaves made such a grand entrance that acting like a child thereafter seemed to be the most rightful thing to do. It was the first autumn in our lives and being silly is forgivable.

We found this stray chair along the way and to add something different in our photo sesh, we moved the chair to the middle of the pathway. (Read on below to know the purpose of these chairs.) Nobody seemed to take notice or even care. That's one thing I like traveling in a foreign land where no one knows me. You can do strange things and it's okay. My mantra on this is "They don't know me and I don't know them." Fair enough.

The day that we visited this vast garden in Paris was a Sunday. Sunday is a family day, so it seems. Kids were playing real games, running around and just being carefree. Now, the stray chair we saw was one of the chairs used by the parents or guardians of the little rascals. As you can see in the photo above, it's obvious, Parisians love the sun. As for us who encounter the fiery ball almost all year round, we were just as happy under the shade. haha

I really love the idea of people going outdoors as their pastime and Parisians do just that. But apart from these well-maintained gardens being beautiful, one reason why Parisians prefer to stay outside may be because most of their abodes are limited in space. That's what I deduced after watching a Rick Steve's video on the cafe culture in Paris. Makes sense?

I am even reminded by this scene of the busy parks in Vietnam and Cambodia. Quite similar with Paris as these could be one of the remaining influences of France on these two countries.  Along with Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia used to be French colonies during the late 19th century.

Moving on towards the Luxembourg Museum (Yes! A museum in the garden!), we found more sun-worshippers, lounging on the chairs. It's amazing how Paris could leave these chairs out in the open but maybe, locals just love their gardens and stealing a chair is like a major offence. Those chairs are actually heavy and one would look funny dragging a chair to his home. hehe

We got inspired by the locals chilling on these chairs, reading a book or drawing sketches that we pretended to be like them in a bit. Again, no one really bothers you with what you're doing. That's why, Paris is love. It is even a wonder how these locals can go on with their lives peacefully while there are multitudes of tourists hovering on daily basis. Must be one of their precious talents.

Because Luxembourg Garden is impossible to cover in just a couple of hours, camera zoom functions are an advantage. We didn't go anymore to those manicured giant trees. They're too far away for us who had already a long journey. haha

As we made our exit, we passed by this musical performance in a gazebo. I don't know if they were paid to perform but sure enough, they had entertained a lot of people. They even wore colorful and adorable props!

A photo of the lone Tour Montparnasse from the garden's perspective. So near yet so far. Having relaxed our weary feet and capped off our garden visit by listening to a live music, we again continued our journey to our last agenda for the day. And that's...