It's warm(ish) in Paris!

Was this all a dream?  This past weekend has been utterly and most perfectly perfect here in Paris.

Let me explain.

I didn't realize that spending the last 13 years of my life in Florida has made me the sort of person who almost cries when the temperature drops to something that requires more than 2 layers of clothing.  It's been well into the negatives here in Paris for the last, oh 4 months, and it's been an absolute test to my often optimistic view on life.  I know this sounds a little bit crazy (and by little I mean a lot), but it's quite difficult to find the willpower to leave my cozy bed and apartment when it's rainy and/or snowy and/or below freezing outside.  But there's good news!

This past week Paris has been starting to show new glimpses of Spring.  Ah beautiful, beautiful Spring!

So this post I am dedicating to Spring and the hope and sunny and colorful outdoors that it brings (I know I may be jumping the gun with the whole Spring deal, and it may just be from all the Vitamin D I actually received this weekend from the sun, yay!).

I could explain what I did this weekend but really, I'm bad with words and I don't want to ramble anymore than I already did, so here's some pretty pictures instead.  Yay enjoy!

On Friday after class I spent a couple of hours in the Luxembourg gardens. It wasn't as sunny this day, but it was still warmer out and therefore good enough for me to spend all my afternoon in the park.

Shanna and I have a picture next to this fountain when we visited Paris on our Senior trip in 2007!

As you can tell, the trees are all still quite bare but I have hope that they will soon be covered in pretty green leaves again.

Luxembourg Palace

The Gardens have a lot of chairs and seats that you can grab and place anywhere you'd like, which I think is really great because you can sit anywhere you'd like! And no matter how many people the gardens might have on any given day, you will always find a seat.

Can you see how many people are like me happy to be outside and not become a popsicle?

Selfie!

The Gardens have a bee keeper area, and they actually host a Honey Festival, or Fête du Miel, in late September every year. So if you're ever in Paris in late September, go!

I took this picture of a lawnmower next to some flowers because every single time I've been to these gardens there has been some sort of lawn care procedure happening. Which really goes to show how meticulous and caring the landscape artists are when it comes to French gardens!

Then on Saturday I met my pretty friend Frida for a "biologique" (organic) lunch in Le Pain Quotidien.  To drink Frida ordered some fresh squeezed orange juice, and I had lemonade with raspberries.

She ordered yummy yogurt with fruit and granola.

   

And I had the Mediterranean Assiette which consisted of hummus, lentils, quinoa, and some bread (although the bread wasn't very Mediterranean at all!).

Afterwards we took a stroll along the seine, and sat by the water and just chatted for a couple of hours. I felt like I needed a heavy does of sunblock and this made me happy.

Yes I'm wearing my coat but I'm only wearing 1 shirt underneath as opposed to 4 layers! 

This is my favorite spot in Paris so far.  The last time I visited this area was in early January, but it was so cold there that nobody was around and it was actually really perfect.  It's a really cute park called Le Square du Vert Galant, at the very end of the Île-de la Cité, the island where Notre Dame sits. This day there were a lot more people and it was just as beautiful.  Also, these locks are placed by lovers who leave these locked on the bridge as a testament of their love. There is a bridge in Paris that is filled with these locks (not the bridge pictured here), and Shanna and I actually took a photo (below) in front of the locks when she came to visit in December.

Look at all those locks behind us!

Frida and I sitting at the edge of the Seine.

We finished the day by going to a cafe and ordering, of course, an ice cold Coca-Cola.

I don't believe these photos can properly convey how happy I was this weekend with the weather warming up.  It's true that sunnier countries tend to have happier people, it all makes sense to me now!

Miss you always,

Afsy

ps. It's supposed to snow again starting tomorrow night... womp!