For weeks we’ve had nothing but gloomy gray, drizzle and damp. Well, today was brilliantly sunny and cold. I jumped on the metro and headed to the 6th arrondissement to see the Vivian Maier photography exhibition at the Musée Luxembourg in the Luxembourg Gardens.
The 6th arrondissement is located in the heart of Paris’ Rive Gauche, or Left Bank. Considered by Parisians and visitors alike to be the quintessential Paris neighborhood, it’s home to the atmospheric Saint-Germain-des-Prés quartier, the Latin Quarter and the exquisite Luxembourg Gardens.
The gardens are famed for their calm atmosphere. Surrounding the fountain on the raised balustraded terraces are a series of statues of former French queens and saints. In the southwest corner, there’s an orchard and a puppet theatre.
It was cold, and the early afternoon light was beautiful. I love bright sunny cold days.
These photos were taken at 2 pm. I know it was 2 pm because I had a rendezvous with my ex-colleague and friend at 2:15 pm at that very spot.
We sat on two metal chairs in the sunshine and talked for over an hour. It was so nice to be able to sit outside in that lovely tranquil space.
We then headed over to the photo exhibition but there was a long queue of people waiting to get in. I’ll go back another day to see the exhibition before it closes mid-January. We decided to walk to the nearby Bon Marché department store instead. I’ve never understood why it’s called Bon Marché which means “cheap, inexpensive, low-cost”. This store is anything but. It’s the Paris equivalent of Bergdorf Goodman in NYC or Saks Fifth Avenue.
Here it is below, all gussied up for Christmas:
Juliet in Paris
The 6th is our favorite piece of Paris, where we rent an apartment each year. For the last couple of years we were on Rue Ferou, just half a block from the Luxe…this year we are a bit farther away but, will be closer to Bon Marche…Eileen will love that…:-), and we will both love having the Epcerie close at hand, or mouth as the case may be….
Sherm
Oh, I know. That Grande Epicerie is an epicurean delight. But I’ll tell you something. It was so crowded this afternoon we could hardly get inside the place. Impossible to practice social distancing which was a bit worrisome, even though everyone wore facemasks.
I managed to get my favorite pickled herring in dill sauce and some dried shiitake mushrooms. My friend picked up a packet of truffle potato chips (?!) and we got out of there pretty quick.
Yes, I can understand why you love Paris when you live in the 6th arrondissement.