The Luxembourg Gardens have little if anything to do with Luxembourg the country. They feel about the size of Luxembourg, though, which is to say enormous if you consider they are just smack dab in the center of Paris. They are, by turns, the grounds surrounding the French Senate building, a manicured park of flowers and fountains, the premiere destination for mothers with children seeking sandboxes or pony rides or tennis, shaded places to lie in the grass, the home of one of Paris's several copies of the Statue of Liberty, also home to several Rodins, and on and on. For example, Wednesday afternoon, it appears a girls' school chooses to run its girls through the park as part of their occasional exercise regimen.
You can really tell it's France, when you watch the girls running by. Legs covered, no shorts. This seemed bizarre for a warm day. Some even in jeans. While many wore creditably athletic-looking pants, the overall impression was of a team of perfume sales counter girls running from one assignment to another. Figure hugging tops in stripes, tasteful patterns, and sometimes buttoned shirts. Not the usual sporting logos. On the contrary, there was one girl wearing a sweater set.
I remember smallish cotton shorts and t-shirts emblazoned with the school mascot (at my school, a Peglegged Dutchman) designed perhaps to ease the pursuit of escaped students.
The french girls seemed cooperative--none were dodging off into bushes, even though they were put to the humiliation of running through a crowded park full of businessmen, tourists, and little old ladies, at lunchtime.
Posted by amol at September 18, 2002 06:27 PM