Autumnal Bliss: Jardin de Luxembourg

I'm in the midst of working on a paper I've been putting on the back burner for a while, and what better way to get going than to...continue procrastinating? Jk. I read a Fast Company article online about ways to increase productivity, and one of the suggestions was to make sure to get enough sunlight. It sounds easy enough, but Paris is pretty far up longitudinally on the earth, so the sunlight we get on even the best of days is somewhat indirect, especially getting close to winter. Then don't forget to factor in the intermittent rainy days. I'm pretty sure I get at least a mild case of Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately abbreviated SAD) every winter, so I figured getting outside would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone. Speaking of stones, I live a stone's throw away from Jardin de Luxembourg, so I decided to head over to catch some rays.

The potted plants added nice pops of color

 Apart from a brief coffee meet-up on a cold day in September, I hadn't been to J de L since my last stint in Paris. I think subconsciously I'd been avoiding it because I still associate it with cracking open my first LSAT prep book, which a young and eager Zee purchased through Amazon to "get a head start on [her] studying" and brought to the garden with the hopes of marking her LSAT prep with an idyllic day in one of Paris' most famous parks. Today the weather was gorgeous, and it seems like all of Paris had the same idea as me, as the park was packed to the brim with fellow sun-seekers (and people just trying to enjoy the park, I guess).



Sundays in the park in Paris are super nice, because almost everyone has the day off (pretty much by law) so you see an excellent cross-sampling of people. This particular Sunday, the weather was gorgeous, and I think that everyone was looking to profitez from this gift bestowed by the weather gods.

I find french gardens to be very beautiful, but perhaps a bit too perfect at times. Symmetry and uniformity are definitely pleasing to the eye, but sometimes there seems to be an attempt to sanitize the beautiful randomness that is nature. Going to le jardin in the fall, therefore, was a cool experience because the fallen leaves added a bit of texture and color that literally came about by whichever way the wind blew.

Late-afternoon sammich on a Sunday

I had a great time, and I think the combo of sunlight, grass and cherubic kids playing with boats did me a world of good. Here's hoping that the gorgeous weather stays around for as long as possible!