Today the sun is shining in Paris, which is very exciting and welcome after such a grey week. My beautiful husband Skypes me every day and reminds me how much he's looking forward to joining me over here, and this morning is no exception. It's so nice to see his face and hear his voice :-)
My original plan for today was to hop on the Metro early to take my chances at the Musée du Louvre. On the first Sunday of each month entry is free for everyone. But my good sense gets the better of me in the end and I decide that waiting in a queue for who knows how long in the early morning cold is frankly unappealing. I also reason that I'm here for another 7 weeks and there's no hurry to squeeze everything in - I can stop thinking so much like a tourist! So I review my plan and decide that a quiet day is a much better option. My language school starts tomorrow so I want to be prepared for that. I need to do some washing and get some more groceries so I think I'll hang around my local area today and enjoy the sunshine as much as possible.
I set off for the nearest supermarket that's open on Sunday - the same Carrefour that I went to on my first day here - and stock up on things that will be easy to take to school for lunch! Again I enjoy the process of browsing, reading the ingredients lists and testing my written comprehension. I'm much better with reading French than understanding the spoken language, I think the extra processing time definitely helps!
On my way home I notice that the police have cordoned off several streets and are redirecting traffic. As I get closer I see that there is some kind of event about to happen. The signs say "Semi-marathon de Paris", and this is the 15km mark. I think it might be worth a look.
I unload my shopping and decide that since I've been here a week I should probably do a bit of housework! I grab the vacuum cleaner and in 5 minutes I'm done - my kind of housework :-)
So, washing done and hung out, shopping put away and cleaning finished, I rug up again and head down to check out this race. As I walk through the little cobbled laneway that connects my street with the next I can see the runners, masses of them! There are some serious runners, they're the ones wearing the yellow shirts advertising the marathon. And then there are the ones with strange wigs and hats, and the others - Where's Wally, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bugs Bunny, and several bananas. Personally I'd have run in the banana suit, it definitely looks to be the warmest ;-)
There's a brass band playing as they pass and I stand and watch for a while, until my feet go numb and I need to move on and find some sunshine. I wander up to the Place de la Bastille and find a patch of sun to stand in - it's beautiful!!!
The runners just keep on coming, I count 52,445 of them while I'm standing there. Ok, I don't actually count them but they're all numbered and that's the highest number I see. That's a lot of people (cynically I decide that these must be the only 52,445 NON-smokers in Paris)!!! The sun is lovely and I enjoy getting some much-needed (I'm sure, after the grey sunless week I've had) vitamin D, but by now I'm chilled right through having been standing still in the cold for over an hour! Time to head back to the apartment to warm up :-)
The sun is streaming into the one living room window when I get back so I stand by the window and soak it up while it lasts, which isn't long - half an hour later it's disappeared behind the building in front but it was lovely for a brief time!
After lunch I decide to cook, which anyone who knows me well will tell you means I'm content - missing my loved ones, for whom I'd normally be cooking, but content nevertheless. I make a chicken curry and quinoa with almonds, sultanas and lemon, and it makes the place feel and smell cosy and homely. My lovely husband Skypes me again while I cook and I feel blessed to be with someone who enjoys staying in touch as much as I do :-)
With the kitchen clean again and the sun still out I decide to go for a Sunday afternoon walk. This time I head in a different direction, towards Boulevard Diderot which is actually familiar turf from my last visit in 2005. I enjoy being outside and it definitely feels a little warmer than this morning - I'd guess it's warmed up to at least......ooh I'd say possibly 6 or 7 degrees C, which is a vast improvement on the last few days!
On my way back I walk along the Boulevard de la Bastille, which runs alongside the Port de Plaisance de Paris Arsenal, a canal that goes from the Seine up to Place de la Bastille. It's full of boats moored on either side and is very pretty. There are people out in droves this afternoon, enjoying the rare sun - even (wait for it) picnicking by the canal and dining alfresco at a restaurant overlooking the water - well rugged up of course!
I notice lots of people walking with placards that say "I ♥ ma grand mère" and I think maybe I've missed something important! When I get back to the apartment I Google the slogan and voilà! I find an official website for this very event - but it's in French and I'm unable to translate it. I have enough word recognition to work out that the big event is today and that people are invited to attend with their grandmother and gather on the steps of the Opera Bastille at 4pm, where t-shirts will be distributed! I think there's also some sort of dance event and some government officials attending, so it seems that grannies are really getting the royal treatment today! That's as far as I can get with the translation but it at least goes some way towards solving the mystery of the placards!
Anyway, if you can read French you can see for yourself at http://blog.ilovemagrandmere.fr/
So that's my Sunday almost over and since it's a school night for me I'll be having an early night ;-)
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