May 10, 2009 — Sunday Morning

The morning started out just like any other morning. A cup of tea for Katherine and a demi-tasse of espresso for me. The terrace door was opened and the cool morning air and church bell chimes rushed into the living room. Blue skies with sheets of uniform clouds was also typical. And so it was time for me to take my morning run.

I decided to run north on rue de la Harpe and take a right turn down an alley and a left onto rue St. Jacques towards the Seine. I climbed down the stairs and onto the south quay and ran east, passing the Notre Dame Cathedral that stood on the other side of the river. I passed several bridal parties, all dressed in their tuxes and wedding dresses, waiting to take their wedding pictures under the Pont de l'Archeveche with Notre Dame in the background. The bells of Notre Dame were blaring, announcing the commencement of the morning service. But enough sight and sound seeing, I have to finish my run.

So pounding down the quay, I passed the Institut du Monde Arabe and their outdoor sculpture garden that spread out onto the banks of the Seine. Then I passed the restaurant and bar barges, all closed but still inviting. I made it to the Boulevard Périphérique, the Paris ring road, and decided to turn around.

It seemed strange today. I was but one of only a handful of runners; no bikers. And as I continued my return, there seemed to be more families pushing prams and couples taking pictures; no dock workers or office folks. The cement factories that dotted this side of the Seine were silent. I quickly ran by them and as I returned to the barges, they were bustling with activity. I don't know where all the people came from, but they were filling all the barges and sitting down for the brunch.

I caught a glimpse under the arch of one of the bridges of the two towers and steeple of the Cathedral. The bells were silent this time but in the distance you could hear the bells from other churches. The bridal parties were gone, only to be replaced by tourists or maybe just families with cameras? Back up the stairs and onto Quai de Montebello, I was in the final kilometer of my run. Montebello was unusually quiet; it was easy to cross. No cars, no velos, no buses. Back onto rue St. Jacques, equally quiet, jaywalking across the street was no problem.

My run was just about over but it seemed different. Ah yes. Today was dimanche. Or was it the third day of the long holiday weekend? Whatever, I'll find out next week when I redo my run.