paris wanderings

day off today, so i've been rummaging through my mountains of photos that i've snapped in & around paris. there's a tonne of them that are just a quick shot here or there with no real connection to anything else, so i've decided to lump them all together in this post. so prepare yourselves for photo overload!

a combination of balmy weather & rationing metro tickets (i'm on holidays for two weeks, so not getting paid...eeek) has had me wandering around. you can see so much more on foot, that you would otherwise miss if you caught the metro. i've stumbled upon some incredible churches, impressive squares, towering monuments and amazing shops (where i spent all my money. oops! they were too inviting). alot of these are places i've had on my radar, but could never justify a single visit just to see them.
there's something cool about 'bumping into' an incredibly ancient, famous building in the heart of paris.

i'll try to say a lil bit about what each photo is... and i'll probably keep chucking photos in here over the next few days - i've only just touched on my billions of random photos....

okay, enough talking. c'est partie!




S.

carousel at the base of sacré coeur

the entrance to rue montorgueil. best place for food!!

le louvre

huge ferris wheel in the jardins des tuileries

église saint eustache

the vélib's: paris' free-for-hire bikes. they're everywhere!

montmartre restaurants

haute couture arcades 

the vendôme column in the centre of the square

the ritz hotel, where lady di was staying when she died

mosaïced black & white pedestrian cobble stones

the opera/ballet house

my lovely steps up to montmartre

not so much love for living in a touristy area. took me 40 minutes to walk from the metro - my house

eiffel tower picnics

frida at champ de mars

jardin du luxembourg

a gorgeous garden in the heart of paris, le jardin du luxembourg is full of lush green grass (that you can't sit on), carved stone vases cradling vibrant pink flowers, dramatic marble statues ..& it has actual street n names within the park.

i love all the little floating boats that bob along in the lake in front of le palais du luxembourg (the impressive palace that overlooks the gardens - home to a museum, i think??). these "luxembourg boats" are in all colours of the rainbow, and each has a little theme. whether it be the colours & flag of a certain country, a skull & cross-bones, or 'MP' with a little silhouette of mary poppins...they've thought of everything. 

you can hire the boats just next to the lake, where they also give you a long wooden stick to....well, i'm not really sure what you do with the stick... poke the boat to push it further out into the water?? i'll pay more attention next time ;-)

we came on a hot day, so we located a few of the little chairs that are dotted across the garden (which, surprisingly, you don't have to pay to sit in. this is unheard of in paris!), dragged them over to the lake's edge and sank into them. admittedly not as comfortable as lounging around on grass, but still as lovely & enjoyable as ever to relax by the water, chatting & watching the luxembourg boats sail by...

à la prochaine,

S.

so many gardeners..no wonder the gardens are flawless!

forbidden grass! nooooo

crêperie in the luxembourg gardens

luxembourg palace