Bonjour les amis! Today I was sitting at Parc Monceau in the 17th arrondissement in Paris. The sky was gray, the classic color of the winter Parisian sky. In the distance I could hear the traffic, especially the loud sirens from the police cars. There was also the piercing sound of construction coming from an apartment building that was being renovated. Though I was not completely separated from the bustling city, I was still glad that the flora and fauna were slightly different from most of my urban surroundings. I could hear the fluttering wings of the pigeon that were flying around me, as well as the sound of the ducks swimming in the pond. I was also surrounded by colors instead of the usual pale brownness of the Parisian buildings. As I looked down, I could see the green water and the grass growing at the edge of the pond. In the shining ripples of the pond was the reflection of an ancient plane tree. I could barely recall the last time I saw a gigantic tree like this: It looked like a muscular giant reaching into the sky with its feet buried deep beneath the earth. According to Wikipedia, plane trees can live up to 4000 years, and I wonder how many years it took for this one to grow so big and tall.