Luxembourg Garden and the Pantheon

Billie was reluctant to get going yesterday morning and mild “words” ensued. The new deal is: I will let her know about an hour in advance when I plan to leave and will remind her every fifteen minutes subsequently. At the given time I will be off, with or without the kid in tow. I believe that she will join me, as she does not relish the prospect of spending several hours on her own in the confines of our room. Billie, in certain moods, likes to test one’s patience – so boring!

Yesterday was a fine day with blue skies and only the occasional puffy white cloud for the sake of commentary. We tried a new method of getting about: the local Metro to St Lazare station, followed by a bus to the left bank area. We disembarked close to the Luxembourg garden, picked up sandwiches and drinks and picnicked beside the inner garden and pool area on the chairs provided. The sun was warm; the breeze cool; the aspect magnificent; the sandwiches yummy. All in all, a utopian respite! From the Luxembourg we walked over to the Pantheon, studying the marvel of Foucault’s pendulum, his experiment still in place today that proved the hypothesis that the earth rotates on its axis. The crypt of the Pantheon houses the earthly, undoubtedly scanty by now, remains of many of France’s “heroes,” of war, science, and the arts. There are even a few heroines like Marie Curie, entombed with the boys! Billie skipped about the halls of the crypt without recognition of names but with the energy of youth in the haunts of the dead. 

Afterward we treated ourselves to over-sized portions of excellent gelato which were on offer just down the street. A walk along Rue de St Michel to Shakespeare & Co to pick up another book – this one by Ishiguro, “An Artist of the Floating World.” As we were so close to Notre Dame Billie begged another viewing. The lines were much shorter than on Sunday so we were inside in a matter of minutes. I sat at the back enjoying the rest while Billie made her way once again around the church. She returned to rest her head on my shoulder and tell me how much she loves this building.

We found a bus to return us to St Lazare considerably easier than we had found one coming in the other direction. We headed for home on the Metro. Billie took all of our paraphernalia upstairs while I went on to the local Monoprix, a large market, to pick up supplies of salad, biscuits, peanut butter, milk, water, cookies, baby carrots, bananas, figs, and apricots – the kind of things upon which we make a light supper. We had been about the city for around six hours, racking up something in the neighbourhood of 14,000 steps, or 7 kilometers in walking and we were happy to settle in for the evening of reading, writing, snacking, and playing cards. Today we will find new adventures and locales.