Getting Lost in Paris.. Priceless

While today was a relatively uneventful day, I wanted to write a blog anyway. After a stressful morning of attempting to buy a book at a store that wasn't open, to almost being late for class (because of said store), to a long day at school, I was ready for some R&R. After class, I was planning on coming back to my room and sleeping for a while before meeting up with some friends for dinner, however half way through the day I got a better idea.

Instead of just coming home to be in a familiar, boring room, why not walk to the Luxembourg Gardens and spend a little time there? That sounded like a much better plan. After FINALLY getting my grammar book and grabbing my coffee, I headed for the gardens. To my delight, there was a little concert going on, as they often have during the summer, with lots of people sitting around in chairs listening. I found a chair (well, two chairs, one for me, one for my bag and feet) and listened; the band only played a few more songs before packing up. After they left, a large portion of the people left too. I moved location so I could better people watch and found myself the perfect spot in the shade, in view of the rest of the gardens. With the sight of the top of the Eiffel tower to my right and the giant Montparnasse building to my left. I had exactly one hour and a half all to myself. No one was going to bother me.. no matter what.

I decided it was a good time to do my homework, so I pulled out my (new!) grammar book and did it rather quickly. Happy that that was over, I could concentrate on better things, like watching people walk by. Its really great to sit in Luxembourg for many reasons. 1. There are many funny tourists walking around with backpacks, cameras, and sometimes confused faces staring down at metro maps. 2. I enjoy the old french people who wander around the garden. They've probably been doing that their whole lives, and yet they still come back, everyday perhaps to take a walk and look at the beautifully kept place around them. 3. The variety of people I see! Coming/going(?) to work, running through to get somewhere, children playing; young, old; all speaking different languages, but all equally welcome to come relax.

I studied a little for a test tomorrow; watched people as they would sit for a while, some awkwardly close to me, but as long as they didn't feel awkward, neither did I; wrote down some random thoughts, drew a few doodles of the Eiffel Tower and a plant that looked more like a cupcake; thought about making cupcakes that look like plants; and so my thoughts drifted from place to place. Its really amazing how gardens in Europe, generally, feel so removed from the rest of the city. You KNOW that there are bustling cars, buses, and people just outside the gates, but for some reason you can't hear them; nor do you want to. You can so easily escape the city, without going very far at all.

So while today, I didn't actually get LOST in Paris, although I do enjoy doing that. I allowed myself to get lost IN Paris.. I'm not sure if you'll get that distinction, but I do. I lost myself in the garden and just let my mind wander away from anything that I had to be thinking about. Sitting under a cool tree, with the sun shining through.

Its really the quiet moments in Paris that are the most treasured.

Bisous,
Amy