Paris: the City of Lights and of Beautiful Picnic Places.
In the first month of living here, the weather’s been
lovely (sorry, Alberta!), the grass and the trees are still green, and I’ve
been exploring as much as possible. It’s a rookie move to explore on an empty stomach
and it’s so easy to just grab a baguette or a croissant on the way to the metro
station and eat on route to the next museum or monument. Why not? Like I said
in my previous post, carrying around French bread is a true stereotype here!
But another stereotype with some truth to it is how the
Parisians don’t like to rush their meals, even during the work week. This explains
their long lunch-hours and how the cafés are always packed in the middle of the
day. While the city is bustling, the people like to take their time. That’s
something I’m trying to remind myself – I don’t need to rush to places that
have been there for hundreds of years! I can relax and enjoy the journey. And thankfully,
there’s no shortage of amazing places to visit in this grand city, and lots of
delicious food to keep me going.
So picnics are the way to go! They’re the perfect blend
of the Parisian way of taking one’s time to enjoy the food and to take in the
moment, which is what I did on three separate occasions at the Eiffel Tower, the Luxembourg Gardens
and the Tuileries.
Eiffel
Tower Picnic:
One of my husband’s coworkers and his fiancée chose their
temporary apartment to be less than 500 meters from the Eiffel Tower. So
naturally, that’s where we went for our first Paris Picnic!
Their apartment is also above a bakery. I know – it’s a
hard-knock life! – but it made getting picnic provisions very simple. For this
kind of picnic, (which anyone who doesn’t live less than 500 meters from the
Eiffel Tower could pull off) we gathered the following:
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| Simple, eat-with-your-hands picnic food. |
-a demi-baguette and a few pains aux chocolat from the bakery
-some cheese (Laughing Cow or La Vache qui Rit worked
well since we didn’t have any utensils; Baby Bel or some pre-sliced cheese
works too.)
-some fruit, specifically grapes and strawberries
This food is simple and ready to eat with one’s hands.
Just rip off a piece of baguette, ‘sandwich’ a piece of cheese inside and
voila! A perfect picnic snack and the view is unbelievable -the Eiffel Tower is truly amazing!
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| The amazing Eiffel Tower! |
When Mike and I
visited Paris two years ago, he told me I wouldn’t fully appreciate how huge it
is until I was there and he was right. It’s enormous! I also have a hard time
believing it only took a little over two years to be built (it was finished in
1889 to mark the 100 anniversary of the French Revolution) and it was supposed
to be a temporary structure for the
World’s Fair. Thankfully, it stayed. Can anyone imagine Paris without it?
While I love going to the Eiffel Tower, a dark side to its
appeal is how it’s hot-spot for pickpockets and scam artists. We didn’t let
that stop us from enjoying ourselves though; we just kept our bags close and
were watchful of the crowd.
It was a bit overcast and we felt a few raindrops but
otherwise, sitting on the grass, at the base of one of the world’s most iconic
structures and eating our delicious lunch was a great first Paris Picnic!
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| I had to practically lay down to get this shot! |
Luxembourg
Gardens:
I joined another Canadian friend and her two little ones
on a beautiful sunny day at the Luxembourg Gardens. This place is one of my favorite
green spaces in Paris. Green grass, immaculate flower beds and trees, ornate
sculptures, gorgeous fountains – it’s a lovely sanctuary in the middle of a
crazy metropolis.
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| Beautiful Luxembourg Gardens |
Some interesting history to note is Luxembourg Palace was
the residence of Marie de’Medici, the widow of King Henry IV. The gardens were
designed to resemble parts of her native Florence, Italy. Today, the French
Senate meets in the Palace and the gardens are full each day of people relaxing
on the grass, strolling through the grounds, exercising and generally just
enjoying its beautiful sights and scents.
For this picnic, we bought our food on route on Rue
Daguerre, a really fun market street. Since it’s a bit of a walk to the
Gardens, I suggest checking out somewhere on your way to get what you need. Our
picnic consisted of:
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| Baguette, salami and pickles: all this delicious sandwich needs |
-baguette sandwiches (jambon et fromage, salami)
-croissants and pains aux chocolat (fresh and still warm
from the bakery! I just love their buttery, flakey, melt-in-your-mouth
texture!)
My sandwich was salami and pickles, which surprised but
delighted me. So simple, so good! That day was also a historic moment for my
friend as she had never had a pain au chocolat before – a rectangular croissant
with thin strips of chocolate baked inside. Needless to say, she loved it!
Picnic-ing at Luxembourg Gardens is great for families because kids can run and
play on the grass and enjoy the ducks and fish in the fountains. It doesn’t
feel as commercial/touristy as the Eiffel Tower; it’s just beautiful there.
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| Tuileries: What's that sticking up in the left over there? |
Tuileries:
This was another day spent strolling around a huge garden
in the middle of the city. The Tuileries is a huge expense of land that runs
from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre and through the Place de la Concorde.
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| L'Arc de Triomphe du Carrosel, the gateway from the Tuileries to the Louvre |
From my chair in the shade of some nearby trees, I could see the impressive Arc
de Triomphe du Carrosel, in front of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower was poking
up behind the hedges.
My friend and I met there at the Tuileries metro station
on line 1 and went looking for a quiet place to eat and catch up with each
other. It was really sunny that day and I think that was the day after the snow
hit back home. It was hard to imagine that while wearing shorts. Again, sorry
Alberta!
The picnic was small and simple, yet still so tasty and
filling. I brought with me to share:
-a simple sandwich of baguette, butter and gruyere cheese
-strawberries from the fruit stand near our apartment (so
sweet and ripe!)
-pains aux chocolat (there goes our pact to only eat them
on the weekends!)
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| Another simple picnic lunch, this time at the Tuileries |
-Cherry Coke (which you can’t find in North America
anymore, unless it’s at Dadeo’s in Edmonton)
While we ate, we caught up each other on our respective
housing situations (we’re both waiting for paperwork to go through on our
permanent places) and shared our plans for other places to explore. We checked
out the many statues around the grounds and we also cooled off by the Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation
at La Place de la Concorde.
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| I'm looking forward to this view in the fall! |
I’m still getting used to the history attached to these
statues and places. It’s amazing to be able to stand, here in 2014, in these
places that have existed for hundreds of years and that hold so much history.
Back home, an old building is 50 years old – here, that’s practically brand
new!
I’m learning more about my new city every day and I’m
thankful for the time I get to explore and the people I explore it with. It’s
easy to get swept up in the flurry of activity that surrounds these popular
places but I’m learning to pace myself.
How will the City of Lights and Picnic Places look in
fall colours? I’m excited to find out.
