Today I’m at the Parc Monceau again after wandering through the streets on the 17th arr. As I walked into the park I saw that the cherry blossom trees were already in bloom. How strange it was for me who comes from a very cold place to see flowers blooming in February. Sitting on “un banc public” (the word for “bench” in french), I could hear the footsteps of the people who were running on the soft sandy trails and distant cries and laughter of children. Today I’m sitting at another corner in the park, different than before, and I could see some Greek or Roman pillars placed between the trees and bushes. The sky had the usual gray color of Parisian winter. It would be hard to deny that the dull color was not depressing, but at the same time the pink blossoms brought me hopes of spring, as plants do every year since I was little.

I also saw a really peculiar looking cypress tree at the park today. It was so slender and tall, and leaning towards a pine tree nearby as if it was about to fall, yet it stayed miraculously steady. The top of its branches was touching the branches of the pine tree and it looked almost as if it were a broken branch of the pine tree if it were not for the different shapes of their leaves. It reminds me of the trees in traditional Chinese paintings, but I can’t name a specific one. I’m amazed at the force of the thin tree trunk and wonder how it managed to grow so tall yet thin, like it was about to be blown away any moment. 

Though Paris has different seasons, its coldest temperature in January normally does not exceed -5 degrees celsius. And it rains rather than snow. The warmth of the Parisian winter allowed the flowers to thrive even in the coldest month of January. The Parisians love flowers and you can see florists around almost every street corner or two. Lately I’ve been doing some dumpster diving in the Parisian farmer’s markets to reduce food waste, and I was able to obtain several bouquets of fresh flowers for free. The Parisians especially like tulips and they are some of the most common varieties of flowers at the florists. Here is a sketch of the cypress tree and the flowers I got from the markets! See you next time!