A Day on the Left Bank

Pony-riding in the park!
After dilly-dallying a bit too long this morning, I was finally off on to my exploration of the Left Bank, specifically the St Germain-de-Prés area. But my first stop was lunch at a nearby restaurant in the area called Bread & Roses Patisserie and Café recommended by a good friend of mine. It was just as good as proclaimed and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch before starting my walking tour. After lunch I happened upon Le Jardin du Luxembourg which is the largest public park in the 6th arrondisement comprising 22.5 hectares (about 55 acres) of land. It’s actually the garden of the French Senate which is housed on the grounds in the Luxembourg Palace. Since this was not on my “to do” list for this day, I didn’t spend a lot of time here, but did take a short video of the darling little French children enjoying the sunny afternoon riding ponies. Somehow I just couldn’t resist those adorable little faces!

Next it was off for a walk down Rue Bonaparte to see the dwelling of the author Diane Johnson. As I started off I realized that I was at 96 Rue Bonaparte and Ms Johnson resides in number 5, so I stopped at Café Le Bonaparte for a quick espresso and to admire the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés across the street. The Abbey de Saint Germain was founded in the 6th century around 511, and was later almost destroyed by fire in 1794. But the church remains today as the Église de Saint-Germain-des-Prés. I took a picture of the beautiful steeple from my table at the café.

I was then on my way down Rue Bonaparte with it’s many interesting shops and various other establishments until I finally came to 5 Rue Bonaparte and the Johnson residence. A sign on the brick wall near the gate states that Edouard Manet was born and lived here from 1832-1883. Per the book, Into a Paris Quartier, this street has a rich and lively history which includes queens, kings and their various offspring. It's a very ancient building but a picture of the author's apartment in her book looks absolutely charming.

By then I had reached the Seine and crossed over the Pont des Art which links the L'Académie Française on the Left Bank, and the Palais du Louvre on the Right. I walked along the quay a bit and came to the Pont Neuf, which is the oldest standing bridge across the River Seine in Paris. Construction was begun in 1578 by King Henri III, and was completed under the reign of King Henri IV in 1607. It boggles the mind as you walk the streets here and realize that there is nothing in the United States to compare to the long, interesting history of France.

By this time I was tired of walking and ready for dinner so I took the metro back to 5 Cité Dupetit Thouars where I now reside and snuggled in for the night!