Far-flung Adventures

We've run out of days on the museum pass, so today was devoted to exploring non-cultural aspects of the city, something we hope to be doing often from now on. I'd read several articles about a charming little park in eastern Paris called Buttes-Chaumont and thought that would be a good place to begin. It's in the 19th arrondisement, an area we'd never visited before, even though it's less than a 20-minute metro ride from the center of the city. When we emerged from the subway, we were in a quiet residential area and the entrance to the park was just steps away. Inside the park, people were jogging, families were picnicking, and just about everyone had a dog on a leash. The most surprising thing to see was that people were actually sitting ON THE GRASS. We'd brought along a picnic of our own--as well as our own blanket--and joined the other grass-sitters for a déjeuner sur l'herbe. We look forward to many more days like this!