Friday...Luxembourg Gardens and So Much More

I woke up at 7:30, very grateful for a good night's sleep and ready to explore. We stopped at a nearby cafe and enjoyed coffee in the mid-morning sun. The coffee may have only been instant but the sun was glorious!

South Entrance to the Luxembourg Gardens

I love the parks in Paris. Interspersed throughout the city, there's a certain orderliness to them. Trees in perfect lines, wide open spaces where parents let their children run free.

From the gardens we walked through the St. Germain district, possibly our favourite. So many little side streets to wander, a surprise around every corner...

We walked along the Pont Saint-Michel over the Seine to ile de la Cite and towards Saint Chappelle, a church we'd never visited before. As we were trying to figure out which entrance was the correct one, since its right beside the Palais de Justice,

Palais de Justice

 
an American gentleman really encouraged us to tour it; definitely worth it. This involved standing in line in the hot sun for about an hour...

 but he was so right...

Even the marble floor was stunning, though many miss it altogether!

After we exited, we headed east towards I'lle St Louis taking a few token pictures of Notre Dame, not envying the long lineups of tourists waiting to see inside or climb the tower to visit the gargoyles and the incredible views of the city. That's one of the joys of return visits, we can avoid many of the typical tourist sights since we've done much of it already.