Day 7 Where have all the students gone?

On a cold, sunny morning we ventured out, well rugged up, to explore one of Paris’s largest and most beautiful parks, Jardin du Luxenburg.

The winter skeletons of trees gave us only a clue to their summer majesty. The magnificent octagonal pond in the centre of the park was a source of amusement to us as we watched birds walk across the icy water. People lounged in deck chairs enjoying the sun – resplendent in their coats, gloves, scarves and woollen beanies or berets. Cameras flashed at the Medici fountain that was also frozen silent. Lovers kissed despite the fear that their lips might be permanently frozen together. A walk in an icy park was an experience to remember.

From the gardens we enjoyed a delightful stroll through the Latin Quarter on the left bank of the Seine through the home of Paris’s intellectuals, artists and students. A quick look into one of Paris’s most famous cafés gave us a considerable shock. Though Café De Flore may well have been a haunt of Jean-Paul Satre, it is unlikely he would have been thrilled at the idea of paying 8 Euro ($13) for a Vienna Chocolate. In fact the café was filled with tourists and the upwardly mobile but not surprisingly there was not a student to be found. We walked out without ordering, deciding to look elsewhere to find where the students of today were sipping their coffee.

Around the corner we decided on a more authentic and less expensive chocolate crepe from a street stall. While Richard waited in the queue, Wendy went in search of somewhere warm to enjoy the crepe and the only alternative appeared to be the McDonalds next door. Wendy ordered two hot chocolates and found a seat with a wonderful view of the street below, on the second floor. As Richard walked in carrying his two crepes, he was accosted by an employee, of only 15, who told him in no uncertain terms in rapid French, that Maccas was not the place to enjoy a street stall crepe. Luckily Wendy could show the pre-purchased hot chocolates, which managed to appease him. We sat and ate and enjoyed the view. As we got up to leave we looked around us and suddenly discovered that the students of the Left Bank were all there, laptops open (for free wifi), mobile phones connected, i-pods shuffling and remarkably even some books and notepads in use. So there are still students in the famous Latin Quarter—they have just moved on. C’est la vie! (That’s life!)