I worked under contract for UNESCO during the month of May. After the first couple of days eating in the building’s cafeteria, I decided to either bring or buy my lunch and sit outside somewhere to eat. So, the first day I bought a sandwich at the nearby Monoprix (large grocery chain) and started wandering the neighborhood looking for a small park where I could lunch. Paris is a great place for parks and one can always find at least a small one hidden among buildings on side streets. It only took me a matter of a few minutes to find one that looked super but the entrances were all locked as it was closed for repairs. Just my luck, I thought, as I continued my wanderings, always cognizant of how I could get back to my workplace without getting lost (in Paris one shouldn’t leave home without a map of the city as it developed over the centuries without any sense of logical circulation patterns.) Back and forth across streets I went in search of a green space, almost giving up hope of finding one when I happened upon a tiny park tucked back between two buildings, Square l’Oiseu Lunaire. It had lush vegetation planted around the entrance, including huge artichoke plants ripe with fruit. And, even though the gardener had the watering system going to soak the plants, the pathways for human visitors were extremely dry and very dusty. Since I was worried about getting back to work quickly, I immediately found a bench upon which to sit in the spring sunshine to eat, watching as children ran through ahead of the grandparents who shuffled by thoughtfully. After eating I took a stroll to the park’s interior to explore the rest of the space, which I discovered has the ground surface of about the size of two large apartment buildings. It was, however, very well arranged with plenty of shade trees, a children’s play area, and lots of beautiful plants. But the most wonderful surprise was a piece of sculpture positioned at the end of the dusty walk-way, one I thought I recognized as being by the artist Miró. Low and behold, I was thrilled to be right but I wondered why it was installed at this particular unpretentious location. On the way out, I found the plaque that explained that on this site Miró and a group of other illustrious artists had worked. Wow, I thought, what an exciting city to live in where one just bumps into a Miró at a local park. At that moment, I decided this seemed like a very fine place to spend my lunch hours during May.
