After a two-hour ride on the TGV high-speed train from Bordeaux to Paris followed by a thirty-minute walk, we arrived at our Paris home for the next week. Our apartment is in the Latin Quarter,close to the Sorbonne, a prominent university started in 1257.

The Pierre and Marie Curie Research Center is located off the same courtyard as our apartment. Marie Curie was the first woman to join the Sorbonne faculty in 1891. She and her husband Pierre are considered the founders of the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Because we are in a university area, we get to enjoy the energy from all the students on the streets and in the cafes.

Our Neighborhood

We were delighted to discover our apartment is in an incredibly diverse area. Five different ethnic restaurants-Italian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Lebanese and Indian are less than one hundred feet away. In addition to the many small restaurants, a general market, produce vendor, boulangerie and pharmacy are also on our block. I think I could survive the entire week here without leaving the block.

Surprisingly a Netflix filming location is around the block from us. When Paul was routing our walk, the site of Emily’s apartment in the series Emily in Paris appeared on the map. The show is about a young marketing executive from Chicago who is hired to give an American perspective at a marketing firm in Paris.

Interestingly, Emily’s apartment rated the same map notification as Notre-Dame de Paris.

Approaching the square, we knew we were at the right place because a number of young women were posing for pictures in front of the apartment.

Luxembourg Gardens

The sun came out in the afternoon and so did the Parisiennnes. Walking through the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens, we saw people everywhere; sitting on the Luxembourg Garden chairs, playing chess and strolling the lovely paths.

In the middle of the garden, children squealed in delight as they pushed vintage toy sailboats around the Grand Bassin duck pond. The boats have been part of the gardens for a long time. In 1927 Clement Paudeau decided to rent toy sailboats to children in Luxembourg Gardens for two sous (about ten cents.) They became an instant hit. Today the same antique boats are rented for 3.50 euros for thirty minutes.

Dinner at an Old Favorite

The last time we were in Paris we discovered a Greek restaurant that we loved. Hoping it was as good as we remembered, we made a reservation for dinner.

Evi Evane was better than we remembered. They change the menu twice a year, but luckily the Greek salad we loved was available.

I had a great vegetarian meal of eggplant with vegetables, baked Greek cheeses and a wonderful feta sauce.

As we were getting ready to leave, we had a wonderful conversation with Brahim, the manager. Talking with this bright, warm young man was the highlight of the evening. Educated as a computer engineer, he moved from his home country of Tunisia to Paris in hopes of finding greater opportunity. He spoke so beautifully about his country that I have added Tunisia to my travel-possibility list.