Our first full day in Paris was crazy in a Lynch sort of way. While most people would have the Louvre or Notre Dame on their itinerary, we took a bit of an unusual turn.
First up, we went for a quick breakfast and stumbled upon some amazing covered alleys(?) filled with old shops and beautiful interiors.
When we got to Luxembourg Gardens it was overwhelming in its size. 60+ acres of beautiful flower beds and a huge-ass palace where the French Senate meets.
We rented these adorable little sail boats that you maneuver with a long pole around a big pond filled with ducks and a fountain in the center. Darbs got Denmark, Kevin got the US(loser) and I got what I like to refer to as the Flying Turtle!
My boat was clearly superior and won all sorts of challenges that Kevin made up. They are clearly little feats of genius- we sailed them for a half hour and they never toppled or stopped moving. (And, they aren't motorized!)
View of the Luxembourg Palace.
Next, it was off to the Gay Pride Parade. We thought it serendipitous that the first poster we saw when we got Paris was advertising the parade...we are big fans of pride in Chicago. Therefore, it was our moral duty to check out and compare the Paris version of pride.
We checked the route and made sure that we got to a cafe a couple hours ahead. We wanted to make sure we had good seats. In Chicago of you're not at the Kit Kat at least three hours in advance, you're out of luck. Not so here in Paris. We waited. And waited. And waited for signs of activity. About 15 minutes before the parade things finally started hopping. And then it went CRAZY!
Darby getting an up-close shot of a drag queen.
That was the bus shelter we started off under but then quickly evacuated as kids started hopping up and dancing. I was worried it was coming down.
At the end of the parade, the police came into the square with full riot gear to clear everyone out. No exceptions. Yikes. Do not mess around with the French police.
Kevin and I dropped off Darby at the apartment...she needed her gmail fix. We headed to the gay bars in our neighborhood. Quite a blast and as crazy as Chicago.
A fun day of play and gay in Paris.
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