The 6th Arrondissement

Our departure from Orgon was somewhat unsettling. I previously mentioned in these pages that when we checked into our villa in Orgon, the owner had stressed the importance of treating the knobs on the stove with the utmost care and that she had warned us that they cost 150 euros to replace. Well, we were extremely cautious with the knobs, but she insisted we had broken one. Her claims were accompanied by a world-class performance bemoaning her assertion that no matter what she did, her guests still managed to break the knobs. Fortunately, she said, she had insurance to cover such situations, and she magically produced a form that was already filled out and ready to file. The only thing it lacked was the signature of the principal renter. Personally, I think she had a broken knob in her pocket which she slipped into place on the stove when we were on the other side of the room, but it was useless to protest.

Then when we were returning the car, the young man who was checking it over began insisting that we were responsible for a small crack in the windshield. Walt had noticed the crack when he initially picked up the car, however, and a notation had been made about it on the rental form so we could not be held liable.

Later when we got off the train in Paris, a group of young people surrounded us and wanted to know if we had lost a cell phone. Apparently, this is a common sort of scam, and if we had said yes, they would have insisted that we give them money in exchange for the lost phone, but we had read about this sort of thing so we just said no and continued walking. Somehow, I had expected that people pulling this scam would look disreputable, but there was nothing about this group that would make you feel leery.

We shook off the bad feelings and resolved to enjoy our second pass through Paris. Our hotel was on the left side up this street. It was a lovely place, and neighborhood was enticing.

The campus of the Sorbonne was only a block away.

We walked a little further and came upon the Pantheon.

This impressive-looking church is Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.

This charming café was just down the street across from Luxembourg Gardens. I believe the bear is holding a seat for someone who reserved it.

Best of all, we were only a couple of blocks from the elegant Luxembourg Gardens.

Development of the garden, inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence, began in 1612 when Marie de' Medici chose Luxembourg Palace as her new residence. It covers 56.8 acres and in addition to the lawns, flowerbeds, and tree-lined walkways there are 106 statues spread throughout the park.

There is also a large pool where you can rent and sail small wooden remote controlled sailboats.

Today the garden is owned by the French Senate which meets in the palace.

The weather wasn't the greatest, but the park was a lovely place for relaxing and people-watching.

Just before the rain began to fall, we happened upon the enchanting Médici Fountain. It was designed in 1630 by a Florentine fountain maker named Tommaso Francine but later fell into neglect. In the 18th Century, it was restored by Jean Chalgrin, the architect of the Arc de Triomphe at the command of Napoleon Bonaparte.