This picture was taken in the Latin Quarter of Paris. In front, we can see a little kid playing on one of those bouncy chairs that you find on playgrounds. Indeed, this is at a playground.
In the background you can see an old, faded brick building. This building is actually the Cluny Museum, or Musée National du Moyen Âge (Middle Age Museum). It's built on the former site of Roman baths.
One of the reoccuring themes in Paris is the co-existence of old and new. Many churches in Paris have little gardens with pathways that you can walk around. Notre Dame has a really cute one.
Again, a little playground for kids to play at while their parents take a break from wearing the soles of their shoes out by walking from one famous monument to the next.
Chartres has one, too.
With an AMAZING view, I might add.
One of my favorites from the Champs de Mars, the park by the Eiffel Tower.
I guess I should explain why it's one of my favorites; I took this during one of our group meetings at the Champs de Mars (we met there a couple times because it's near where the professor stays). There are ALOT of dogs in Paris. Parisians love them, probably more than people (just kidding?). It seems like almost everyone owns a dog, with the rich old ladies carrying lap-dogs in their oversized purses, joggers and their jogging buddies, and homeless persons who depend on their canine friends for company, comfort, and I'm guessing safety. Dogs are one of the things that people really seem to bond over. This picture that I took was of a homeless man, his dog, a more well-off Parisian and his dog. The homeless man's dog and the Parisian's dog started playing, and as the dogs became friends, the two men started chatting and enjoyed watching their dogs have fun together. These two men probably never would have interacted if it their dogs hadn't both started chasing after the same ball.
This isn another one of my favorite feel-good pictures. One of the models used to make the Statue of Liberty is in the Jardin du Luxembourg. That in and of itself probably isn't significant (maybe it is, maybe I should wikipedia that ;)), but what is significant about this shot is the little oak tree sapling that is planted right next to it. It was planted there soon after September 11th, as a memorial.
The first time I saw this I ran into two American ladies who were debating (in English, phew, it was always a nice surprise to be able to completely understand someone that you just ran into) whether the statue was one of the original models. They thought I was French (something to do with my hairstyle?), so I got to surprise them by telling them that it was, in fact, one of the originals (I had luckily just looked up the same thing in one of my text/guide books). We then had a nice conversation on what a nice gesture the oak tree was, how long they were going to be in Paris, and what they were going to see. I just thought it was really cool that I got to run into some Americans at a sight in Paris that symbolizes French-American relationships. I knew that they would appreciate the gesture as much as I did.
The second time I saw this statue, there was a little group of French children who's teacher was trying to explain to them what it was and why the big one was important to the United States (les Etats-Unis). I wanted to run up to them and say "Yes! I am a real-life American! I love the Statue of Liberty!" but luckily I remembered that I would probably leave them all with a lasting impression that Americans are crazy.
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