Luxembourg Luminescent Liberation

Just as in New York City, the second the sun comes out to blanket Paris in the warmth of sunshine, any and all Parisians not sick or dying find their way outside in one form or another. In cafés, promenades down the avenues, or pique-nique-ing in the parcs, anyone with a true Parisian spirit is drinking in the sunshine right along with their coffee or wine. In my case? A picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens with some new girlfriends from school. We organized an afternoon to lounge and chat in the glimmering rays, accompanied by some white, some rosé, some fromage, some bread, and of course... a lovely dessert to finish the afternoon. It was almost 70 degrees in Paris (probably more than that in the sun), I was wearing one of my favorite afternoon summer dresses, eating the most typical of Parisian fare, and participating in an activity quite untainted by time or technology. Sharing conversation with ladies from various parts of the globe, telling tales of our youth, making plans for the future, nothing could be better on such a decadently European afternoon. 

As most of us know, I find wintry cold along with pants in any form, akin to shackles. They tear away my freedom, forcing me into a prison of misery for several months a year, taunting me with memories of light and life. The spring brings in a dawn of new beginnings and introduces dresses back into my wardrobe... And yes, I do generally try to wear as many dresses in the winter as I can, but however much I like them, boots and tights are just not the same. In a dress and sandals I feel like I could easily fly over the flower-enfused fields of Elysium. And while Parisian women may tend toward black and basic, they simply cannot escape the accessory of spring which provides a backdrop of Impressionism at every turn. Paris in springtime might be a cliché, right along with Parisians being bitchy or the city dripping in love, but no one can deny the beauty of a sun-kissed day...