Sunshine! And "le weekend" approaches...

This morning the sun came out, tomorrow is a holiday, and most of Paris appeared to begin the weekend about noon! Outdoor cafe tables were packed, and shade felt good.

I was lucky enough to be at the Jardin des Plantes late this morning, just as waves of schoolchildren were settling onto the grass to eat their lunches, and mid-day devotees of "le jogging" ran along the paths, kicking up white dust.


As a reminder of prehistoric Paris, this beast seems to have a "what am I doing here?" look in his eye.



In spite of economic difficulties, Paris is not stinting its parks and gardens. People are every bit as worried about the state of their banks as we are at home, but trees and flowers are in bloom, grass is cut on schedule, and trash is picked up.

One new thing I notice is that every large park (the Tuileries, Luxembourg Gardens, Jardin des Plantes, Parc de Monceau) has significant numbers of blue-uniformed men and women with a red "security" band on one sleeve. Sometimes they patrol in small open electric jeeps.

So far I have barely set foot inside a major attraction, preferring to stay outside or to explore by bus. On crowded sidewalks (especially in this neighborhood, where there are lots of schools) it's important to remember that French children first learn to walk, then immediately graduate to scooters, which they push enthusiastically through crowds and across streets. Only a few of the smaller pushers wear helmets - and most of the people using the "Velib" rental bikes are also pedaling nonchalantly through the traffic, with only hair on their heads.