I saw Hausmann’s Paris, and I like it. Indeed, cannot imagine any better way to see it than from below. I came out of the Opera metro, and turned around to his masterpiece. It was everything I have read about- all symmetry and pageantry. Pigeons and crowds parted so I could sit on the steps with my cheese and baguette and enjoy the effect.

My first morning in Paris, I headed off towards St. Germain du Pres, a lovely old part of the city where I completely lost track of time and place. Eventually I ended up in the Luxembourg gardens, admiring the axes, the trees that measure, the paths that wander… There were leaves to kick everywhere and men wandered around with little green plastic brooms making piles of them. The Medici fountain is the perfect place to spend time with an eclair and a friend… Enough about Paris. The deadlines for my research papers are near, and my first trip to Germany approaches!!