~ europe day 7: picnic @ Louvre + Latin Quater & Notre-Dame at night ~

15 March 2012

we got a little disoriented when we got out of the Concorde metro station. soooo many people! what are these people doing? aren’t you guys supposed to be at work or something? or are you all tourists, just like us?

we immediately entered Jardin des Tuileries. the garden was vast, and typical french gardens — ordered, geometric, almost mathematical and very clean. i wish i could see it when the trees have leaf and the flowers bloomed… the place must’ve looked incredible. we got there right before spring, so all we see was the buds.

Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden
even the trees are trimmed in the straight lines!

Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden
the trees are budding

Tuileries Garden
lots of people sunbathing (thanks to the awesome weather)

aina had a marvelous time there, running around from one area to another, and still, she found no end. she also met a sculpture that she really liked and didn’t want to leave:

Tuileries Garden Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden Tuileries Garden

and for the first time in, i think, five years, ari and i have a picture of us together… taken by aina! yay!

Tuileries Garden
*print, put in the wallet*

the atmosphere was so relaxed, people are pulling chairs to sit under the sun (where do they get those chairs?)

Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden
Tuileries Garden

we kept walking toward Louvre and decided to skip Lourve and go for a picnic there after seeing a bunch of little kids rolling around on the tiny hill there. and i was so glad that we did that, because aina ended up getting a new friend there and having the time of her life.

picnic at Lourve Garden
kids rolling around on that small hill

picnic at Lourve Garden
picnic at Lourve Garden
picnic at Lourve Garden

aina helped herself spinning downhill. it took her about 5 minutes to learn how (keep your arm straight above your head, keep your feet together. and when you want to stop, open your legs apart!) and then she didn’t want to stop. there is even a video of her rolling around…

after rolling around for a while, she started to make friends with another girl. she took off her boots and went barefoot…

picnic at Lourve Garden
picnic at Lourve Garden
picnic at Lourve Garden

it turns out that the little girl is from Canada, so they can communicate in English. her name is Isabella, she’s also 4 years old and take ballet lessons. they compare notes in ballet, they play skipping… we basically spent the rest of the afternoon sitting there, watching the two girls playing. it was fun… and even after we got back to singapore, she still remembers the fun time she spent with Isabella.

then after that, we decided to walk home and rest. but it’s not a short walk and along the way, we passed so many things…

first was the Louvre itself.

Mus�e du Louvre
Mus�e du Louvre
Mus�e du Louvre
Mus�e du Louvre
Mus�e du Louvre

i hope someday we’ll be able to go back and see the inside. someday…

then we walked along the picturesque Seine…

La Seine
La Seine

we crossed the river through this cute wooden bridge called Pont des Arts. this bridge is one of the two bridges where people would “Padock their Love” in Paris. we’ll visit the other bridge later… but Pont des Arts is a no-motor-vehicle bridge, so it was fun to walk around and hung out.

Pont des Arts
Pont des Arts
La Seine

we then walked along Quai de Montebello, which is full of old books, posters and such. we were tempted to buy some, but we thought we should save the buying for the last day, so we don’t overbuy things.

La Seine
La Seine

by the time we got to St. Michel, the sun was about to set, our feet are about to lose feelings and we definitely needed sleep… zZzz…

walking back to the apartment

after a nap, we woke up hungry. and it was already 9pm. we decided to try a savory tart restaurant recommended by Yosi, called La Maison des Tartes. it was within walking distance and pretty close to the Panthéon that we visited yesterday. but this time, we brought the stroller with us.

the restaurant was cute and the tarts were delicious! there was a sign outside that says that they are still making the tarts the traditional way.

dinner at La Maison des Tartes
dinner at La Maison des Tartes
dinner at La Maison des Tartes
quiche lorraine

dinner at La Maison des Tartes
mushrooms tart

dinner at La Maison des Tartes
salmon and spinach tart

this place is definitely a must-try. and the decoration was cute, too :)

dinner at La Maison des Tartes
dinner at La Maison des Tartes
dinner at La Maison des Tartes
dinner at La Maison des Tartes

on the way back, we took a slow night stroll around the Latin Quarter. the place was very lively, even at late hours. there were a lot of bars and restaurants. people were hanging out on the street. there were even massage chairs on squares near the Panthéon…

latin quarter at night
latin quarter at night
latin quarter at night
latin quarter at night
latin quarter at night
latin quarter at night
latin quarter at night
latin quarter at night

Paris at night was so beautiful, so we decided to go on and crossed the bridge to see the the Notre-Dame at night. honestly, the cathedral looks even prettier at night… well, maybe more mystical.

notre-dame at night
notre-dame at night
notre-dame at night
notre-dame at night
notre-dame at night

we then passed the other Love Padlock bridge, Pont de l’Archevêché… this one is a vehicular bridge. and very close to our studio apartment.

pont de l'archevêché
pont de l'archevêché
across the river seine

i know i have posted so many pictures of the block where the studio is located. but this one was at night, and i really love the location of the studio (i think it’s really pretty)… so, here it is, once again.

the block we stayed...

the rest of today’s pictures are in the flickr’s 15 march 2012 archive archive.

addresses:

La Maison des Tartes
67 Rue Mouffetard
75005 Paris

~ comment (14) ~

aww..so pretty! suka semua fotonyaaa dan suka sama video guling2annya aina haha..gw inget dulu pernah tidur siang di taman itu abis pegel ngiterin louvre seharian. such a nice memory =) thanks for bringing it back thal!

astrid | 30 March 2012 - 12:16 | reply

dulu elo di europe sih ya… ih ngiri deh. pengen nyobain tinggal disana jadinya. moga2 ada kesempatan… :)

thalia | 30 March 2012 - 03:33 | reply

thal, gw justru ngiri sama lo, pernah tinggal di NYC, huhu pengeeen…semoga ada kesempatan juga deh =D let’s pray!!

astrid | 30 March 2012 - 05:50 | reply

yak, mari berdoa… smoga bisa nyobain :D

thalia | 31 March 2012 - 12:08 | reply

seruuu! Abis baca ini kaya berasa abis dari sanaaa ;)) *amiiin* Aina ga pemalu ya, Thal ama orang baru. Keren deh! Btw, gue suka foto kedua paling atas. Kereeeen! Dan tentunya foto hasil jepretan Aina. Uuuuh romantis beraaaatt :)

nyanya | 30 March 2012 - 04:44 | reply

yay, senaaang! kalo anak kecil, kayaknya sih dia ga malu. tapi kalo orang gede, masih mingkem kok.

btw, sekarang aina jadi agak2 ketagihan motret pake kamera yang itu. kita yang deg2an XD

thalia | 31 March 2012 - 12:07 | reply

so have a good reason for not entering Louvre, with Aina at this age, it’s better to enjoy Paris as you did. Like all the photos, especially the Cathedral at night. what a wonderful trip.

mimi | 30 March 2012 - 06:38 | reply

yeah, she probably won’t be able to enjoy the museum as much as playing on the grass with a new friend :)

thalia | 31 March 2012 - 12:09 | reply

Pengen = pasti!!! Iri = jelas!! hahaha….
Keluarga yg fun banget….aku iri sekali. Oh ya mba…btw bisa dong share, itu gimana caranya pergi ber-3 selama itu cuma bawa satu koper n medium pulak?? kok aku cuma pergi 3 - 5 hari aja hampir selemari mau dibawa….*sigh….

Linda | 30 March 2012 - 06:41 | reply

wahahhaa, gimana ya? tapi emang dari dulu, sebelum punya anak, kita light traveler sih.

umm, mungkin beberapa tips:
- kalo travel, paling banyak 3-5 setel per orang, yg bisa di-mix&match. selebihnya bisa cuci atau sekalian shopping!
- barang2 mandi & skincare taro di tempat kecil. malah kalo bisa cari sachet gitu.
- sepatu cuma bawa 1 pasang per orang. kalo mo lebih, yang kecil.
- mainan anak suruh si anak bawa sendiri (pake tas sekolah), jadi dia juga ga end up bawa banyak soalnya jadi berat, hehe.

apa lagi ya? moga2 segitu cukup mbantu… :)

thalia | 31 March 2012 - 12:14 | reply

binggi, berasa ikutan liburan. seneeeeng banget baca ceritanya & liat photo2nya. terutama yg manis manja group itu..hihihi..gimana udah disimpen di dompet? :)

eka | 1 April 2012 - 01:49 | reply

hee, makasii mama eka udah baca :D foto favorit, hihihi!

thalia | 1 April 2012 - 12:03 | reply

gile yah .. Paris itu cantik bangeeeet ….. merinding ngeliat foto-fotonya .. hehe

pimpi | 5 April 2012 - 02:22 | reply

iya, cantiiiik! intricate, delicate, rapiiiii banget. trus warnanya sama semua gitu, hihihi.

thalia | 5 April 2012 - 09:10 | reply