Walk 3: A Walk in the Park

After leaving the Marais area, the three of us then met up with Emily and Bart at McDonalds to do Walk 3 “Montparnasses and the Jardin du Luxembourg.” I must admit that we were all feeling pretty lazy at that point – maybe it was the McDonalds influence. Or maybe it was just the fact that it was freaking cold by then. Whatever it was, we ended up hanging out at McDo for a while listening to Emily’s running commentary on the pedestrians passing the window before we decided to go see a movie instead. Unfortunately, any English versions (just look for the ones that say VO, not VF) of Avatar were starting too late in the evening, so we had to do the walk. Bummer.

Despite our lack of enthusiasm, the walk ended up being pretty interesting, and I definitely want to come back to explore certain parts of it. Right outside our Metro stop we could see the Tour Montparnasse, which is probably the most modern looking building I’ve seen in Paris. I really have been surprised by Paris’ lack of an obvious, skyscraper-filled downtown, so it was kind of nice to see Montparnasse, even if many people think it’s an eyesore.

Although we did see a statue of Alfred Dreyfuss, most of the sites we saw along the way to the gardens were cafés and brasseries – many of which were popular with famous American expatriates. Since I always seem to write about my food experiences on here, I’ll mention that we stopped at Jean-Paul Hévin, where I bought an amazing chocolate-hazelnut tart for later (after trying to pay with a button from my pocket – that was embarrassing), and Amorino, where I ate the most incredible vanilla gelato in the history of creation. Seriously.

Even in January, the Jardin du Luxembourg was lovely, with its green grass, tree-lined paths, beehives, and beautiful sculptures (including a mini Statue of Liberty). I can only imagine what it’s like in the springtime.

We only had a short time to look around, since security asked everyone to leave before six o’clock. They also make everyone stay off the grass – a level of regulation that seems unenforceable in the U.S., especially on the BYU campus.

A few steps into the park, I gasped, hit Rebecca on the arm (sorry about that, Rebecca), and said something unintelligible in a squeaky voice, because I was pretty sure I was in the park that Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole wander through in How to Steal a Million. I now realize that they may have been in the Tuillery Gardens, but I don’t care, I was having my first Audrey in Paris moment. Any moment’s a good one if you can feel just a little bit Audrey.