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we got a little disoriented when we got out of the Concorde metro station. soooo many people! what are these people doing? aren’t you guys supposed to be at work or something? or are you all tourists, just like us?

we immediately entered Jardin des Tuileries. the garden was vast, and typical french gardens — ordered, geometric, almost mathematical and very clean. i wish i could see it when the trees have leaf and the flowers bloomed… the place must’ve looked incredible. we got there right before spring, so all we see was the buds.

aina had a marvelous time there, running around from one area to another, and still, she found no end. she also met a sculpture that she really liked and didn’t want to leave:

and for the first time in, i think, five years, ari and i have a picture of us together… taken by aina! yay!

the atmosphere was so relaxed, people are pulling chairs to sit under the sun (where do they get those chairs?)

we kept walking toward Louvre and decided to skip Lourve and go for a picnic there after seeing a bunch of little kids rolling around on the tiny hill there. and i was so glad that we did that, because aina ended up getting a new friend there and having the time of her life.

aina helped herself spinning downhill. it took her about 5 minutes to learn how (keep your arm straight above your head, keep your feet together. and when you want to stop, open your legs apart!) and then she didn’t want to stop. there is even a video of her rolling around…

after rolling around for a while, she started to make friends with another girl. she took off her boots and went barefoot…

it turns out that the little girl is from Canada, so they can communicate in English. her name is Isabella, she’s also 4 years old and take ballet lessons. they compare notes in ballet, they play skipping… we basically spent the rest of the afternoon sitting there, watching the two girls playing. it was fun… and even after we got back to singapore, she still remembers the fun time she spent with Isabella.

then after that, we decided to walk home and rest. but it’s not a short walk and along the way, we passed so many things…

first was the Louvre itself.

i hope someday we’ll be able to go back and see the inside. someday…

then we walked along the picturesque Seine…

we crossed the river through this cute wooden bridge called Pont des Arts. this bridge is one of the two bridges where people would “Padock their Love” in Paris. we’ll visit the other bridge later… but Pont des Arts is a no-motor-vehicle bridge, so it was fun to walk around and hung out.

we then walked along Quai de Montebello, which is full of old books, posters and such. we were tempted to buy some, but we thought we should save the buying for the last day, so we don’t overbuy things.

by the time we got to St. Michel, the sun was about to set, our feet are about to lose feelings and we definitely needed sleep… zZzz…

after a nap, we woke up hungry. and it was already 9pm. we decided to try a savory tart restaurant recommended by Yosi, called La Maison des Tartes. it was within walking distance and pretty close to the Panthéon that we visited yesterday. but this time, we brought the stroller with us.

the restaurant was cute and the tarts were delicious! there was a sign outside that says that they are still making the tarts the traditional way.

this place is definitely a must-try. and the decoration was cute, too :)

on the way back, we took a slow night stroll around the Latin Quarter. the place was very lively, even at late hours. there were a lot of bars and restaurants. people were hanging out on the street. there were even massage chairs on squares near the Panthéon…

Paris at night was so beautiful, so we decided to go on and crossed the bridge to see the the Notre-Dame at night. honestly, the cathedral looks even prettier at night… well, maybe more mystical.

we then passed the other Love Padlock bridge, Pont de l’Archevêché… this one is a vehicular bridge. and very close to our studio apartment.

i know i have posted so many pictures of the block where the studio is located. but this one was at night, and i really love the location of the studio (i think it’s really pretty)… so, here it is, once again.

the rest of today’s pictures are in the flickr’s 15 march 2012 archive archive.

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addresses:

La Maison des Tartes
67 Rue Mouffetard
75005 Paris