I got up a little later than usual so I started my morning run around 11. Katherine wanted me to check out the distance and the neighborhood of the Marriott Rive Gauche [just in case some of you decided to use it while visiting us]. I decided to run north on Blvd St. Michel towards the Jardin de Luxembourg. I even decided to run through the Jardin even though it deviated me ever so slightly from an absolutely direct course.
As I entered the Jardin, it was quite empty; very few runners, one or two couples, and what looked to me, a few people taking a short cut to work. It was like a morgue. It was so quiet even I noticed how loud my footsteps were as they were making that sandpaper sound as my sneakers slide over the calcareous pebbles and dirt that comprise most of the Jardin's footpaths. But I was quickly through the park and back onto the Paris streets.
The problem I had was that even though I knew where I was going, having stayed at the hotel several times in recent years, and having looked at a map, the streets have a curious habit of converging into large intersections. Not just a simple two street convergence but what seems to me, a mini L'Etoile intersection. Regardless, I continued.
I'd like to say I got lost but how can I say that when getting lost in Paris means seeing even more of the quaint neighborhoods, local bakeries and butchers, and, of course, the local restaurants that haven't seen an American since WW II. But my "job" was to check out the distance so I had to find the hotel. I won't brag about how long I ran but I will say that I did find the hotel. So on my return run, I would make no mistakes and really estimate the distance and time to walk from our place to the hotel.
The return run was easy. I mean, I had been over every street in the neighborhood just trying to find the place. Rue St. Jacques to Port Royal to the Jardin; about 10 minutes of easy walking. But entering the Jardin, what a transformation. It must have been lunch hour now and every school in the neighborhood must have let their students out. And every student must have come to the Jardin for lunch. Students from every grade and parents walking those children too young to go to school through the park. Let's just say that I couldn't hear my footsteps even if my ear was on the ground!
After leaving the Jardin, it's all downhill, literally. I was back in our apartment in less than 10 minutes. So I estimate that the Hotel to our apartment is about a 20-30 minute journey through some really lovely Paris neighborhoods. Now that might be too much for some of you to consider since you will need to do it several times a day [or take a bus or train but that is the making of another blog]. But don't despair, Katherine is scouting out boutique hotels within footsteps of our flat. She has several already and several others on her interview list.
As I entered the Jardin, it was quite empty; very few runners, one or two couples, and what looked to me, a few people taking a short cut to work. It was like a morgue. It was so quiet even I noticed how loud my footsteps were as they were making that sandpaper sound as my sneakers slide over the calcareous pebbles and dirt that comprise most of the Jardin's footpaths. But I was quickly through the park and back onto the Paris streets.
The problem I had was that even though I knew where I was going, having stayed at the hotel several times in recent years, and having looked at a map, the streets have a curious habit of converging into large intersections. Not just a simple two street convergence but what seems to me, a mini L'Etoile intersection. Regardless, I continued.
I'd like to say I got lost but how can I say that when getting lost in Paris means seeing even more of the quaint neighborhoods, local bakeries and butchers, and, of course, the local restaurants that haven't seen an American since WW II. But my "job" was to check out the distance so I had to find the hotel. I won't brag about how long I ran but I will say that I did find the hotel. So on my return run, I would make no mistakes and really estimate the distance and time to walk from our place to the hotel.
The return run was easy. I mean, I had been over every street in the neighborhood just trying to find the place. Rue St. Jacques to Port Royal to the Jardin; about 10 minutes of easy walking. But entering the Jardin, what a transformation. It must have been lunch hour now and every school in the neighborhood must have let their students out. And every student must have come to the Jardin for lunch. Students from every grade and parents walking those children too young to go to school through the park. Let's just say that I couldn't hear my footsteps even if my ear was on the ground!
After leaving the Jardin, it's all downhill, literally. I was back in our apartment in less than 10 minutes. So I estimate that the Hotel to our apartment is about a 20-30 minute journey through some really lovely Paris neighborhoods. Now that might be too much for some of you to consider since you will need to do it several times a day [or take a bus or train but that is the making of another blog]. But don't despair, Katherine is scouting out boutique hotels within footsteps of our flat. She has several already and several others on her interview list.
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