The Luxembourg Garden

I remember reading Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon and feeling especially drawn to the cover of the copy I had. It featured a large beautiful building in front of a formal French parterre. The building I would later learn is actually the French Senate (former palace) inside the Luxembourg Garden. The garden was a supreme pleasure to visit and it was great to discover the various statuary, the rows of hedged trees, and the orderly gravel paths. Despite the bleak winter setting the garden was still very elegant and emotive. 

John and I spent several extra minutes trying to locate the Medici Fountain, and it was definitely worth the effort. The historic fountain features allegorical figures and is deeper towards the end of the pool to make it seem longer than it actually is. Open swags of ivy lead people down paths on either side of the fountain that reenforce the perspective, but they're also just really fancy. I will fondly remember my first encounter with the Luxembourg Garden as a quiet Parisian morning that John and I strolled around discovering the Medici fountain.