Whirlwind

I wrote this while in Paris, but I can't remember the date, so I'm just going to post it. Here ya go:

Paris has been wonderful, despite the Yemen project hanging over my head all week – I have to admit that’s put something of a damper on things for me. But getting back to the more positive bit, Paris has been wonderful. As I’d thought the first time I was here, I feel very comfortable in Paris; it’s a very easy city in which to get around, and contrary to popular perception, everyone here has been extremely friendly and nice. My dad, in fact, keeps commenting on how nice everyone is – not that he expected people to spit on him in the street or anything, but it’s a big city, and people tend to be more…brusque in bigger cities, so I think he expected to have at least one or two unpleasant encounters, but really – not a one. The food, completely in line with popular perception, has been delicious overall, and while some restaurants are better than others, I don’t think we’ve really been to a bad one. (It helps if you avoid the tourist traps around the Louvre – you can spot them because they all have the same, totally underwhelming menu.)

It’s worked out well because we all seem to have the same style of traveling, so we’re ready to go at about the same time, we’ve wanted to see and do the same things, we’re all fairly go-with-the-flow, it’s just been really nice and relaxing, even though we’re doing tons of stuff. It’s been far colder than I had thought it would be, and the coat I had made in Vietnam was woefully insufficient. And the material from which it was made is very cheap (poor choice on my part), very thin, and pilling like crazy – not exactly holding up as I’d like. First, we went to a very large and all decorated for Christmas department store (eee!! Christmas!!!), and I bought a hat and scarf. Very cute little green hat – I’m actually a hat person, and I quite liked it, and a very soft cream-colored wool scarf. Of course, I promptly left the hat in a cab that evening, which had me kicking myself for just generally being a moron. Well done, Mandy. So, Mom and Dad, being the nice folks they are, insisted that we go back the next morning to get another one. By that time, it became obvious that my black coat wasn’t holding up, so I ended up replacing the hat with a different colored one, since my only other winter coat is red, and green and red…well, it’s nice at Christmas (kind of), but you mostly end up looking like an idiot. So the hat, lovely as it was, has been replaced by one that matches the scarf – quite a nice ensemble. I was, however, still freezing my butt off. So, instead of being miserable and cold all week, I found a nice coat on sale – hurrah for 30% off – and have been much toastier (and more pleasant to be around, I would imagine) ever since.

I’ve also, much to my amazement, been running every morning since I’ve been here – except for that first morning, that was still a little brutal. But I figure that if I want to fit into my pants at the end of this week, I’d best do something, and not eating the wonderful French food seemed like a very silly option. I’m actually quite pleased, because I’ve been running 2 – 2 ½ miles, and since I hadn’t been running in such a long time, I figured I’d have to start from a much lower level. I’m still not running at lightning speed, you understand, but I’m definitely moving at a respectable clip. (I’m going into the office today to pick up my visa for Yemen and check e-mail so that I don’t spend all day on Monday doing it. And it doesn’t look like I’ll be fitting in a morning run today – perhaps this afternoon.

We really have seen just about everything that you might think of when you think of Paris – Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Napoleon’s Tomb, Ile de la Cite, Notre Dame, Palais de la Justice, Saint Chappelle, Ile Saint Louis, Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, the Musee D’Orsay, Saint Germain, the Louvre (outside, not inside – that can be a whole week in itself), Jardin des Tuilleries, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, the Grand Palais, the Palais de Luxembourg, the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Pantheon, the Hotel de Ville, the Musee Rodin, and all kinds of interesting streets, shops, restaurants, and neighborhoods. My dad has been in photographer’s heaven, which has been really fun for him. Paris is a very user-friendly city, in my opinion. Everything is very clearly marked, and although my French is pretty good these days, even if you just try to speak French, simply by knowing how to greet people, say thank you, etc., they will really try to help you. The Metro is really easy to navigate and can get you just about anywhere you need to go, and it’s also very pedestrian friendly.

At some point over my last Vietnam trip, the zoom button on my camera broke off. I’d improvised a solution, involving a safety pin to push the button in, and some patience. After taking pity on me, or just being sick of waiting for me to futz around with it, I got an early Christmas and very early birthday present – a digital camera! So, I’ll be able to post pictures on the blog much more easily now, three cheers for that!!

I’d best be getting ready, as my “ready to go” time in the mornings has slowly been creeping up. Oops. I’ll be home on the 27^th, and leaving again on the 30^th, assuming that all went well with my visa. Then back on the 15^th – and I’m trying not to think beyond that. Hurrah for being home for Christmas!