Paris, France 25/3/07

I ran 20km in Paris yesterday. I had hoped it would be a memorable long run along the River Seine, past the Eiffel Tower, maybe even scoot over into the Bois de Boulogne, the City’s largest open space, according to the Rough Guide. Instead it was 20km on a treadmill looking out the window on another cold, rainy day in Paris. Thank God for iPods!

I guess it was still a memorable run though. I know I won’t forget it. Every single boring minute of it, watching figure skating on one TV or MTV dating shows on the other, is beaten into my mind. I had actually intended to do at least 25 km but then the gym manager came and told me they close at 7 p.m. on Saturday’s. “And I bet its Saturday isn’t it?” I said. “Oui,” was his only reply. I really need to start paying attention to what day it is. So at 6:45 pm I concluded I would not be getting my full run in that day. Paris had finally won.

That run fits right into how this current training cycle has gone for me. It’s been the same story for the last 8 weeks. There is always some reason why I didn’t get my miles done; snow in Chicago, events in WPB, flights every weekend, a seasonal cold that knocked out a week, blah, blah, blah. Basically the same problem I usually have, and probably in life too I suppose; focusing on one thing at a time.

I guess I should mention what this is all leading up to. I am signed up to run the Zurich Marathon, one week from today. I am really looking forward to the experience despite the disappointment in my training. I know I’ll finish. I was just hoping I would improve over my past marathons. At this point the legs just don’t feel like they should in order to maintain a PR pace so I’ve realized I’ll need to start out at a more conservative pace and hope I have a lot left in the tank at the end to maybe shave off some minutes.

OK, enough running babble, for now. I’m in Paris for crying out loud!

I have been here for the last 4 days. Before that I was in London for 3 days, 2 nights. I have seen some great historical sites but I would be lying if I said any of them really got me fired up. It has been more like places I knew I had to see but I wasn’t really passionate about them. They have all still been enjoyable experiences though.

As usual I have been on the go since I got off the plane. I’m hoping all the walking I’ve done will make up for the miles of running I’ve missed. In London I hit all the staples from Parliament, and most of the palaces, to the Tower Of London and the Tower Bridge. I rode around in a double decker bus and cruised down the Thames on a ferry. I think my favorite thing about London though was the open spaces. It has great parks! In fact the last time I remember seeing the Sun was 5 days ago when I laid down for a little nap under a tree in Kensington Gardens.

My nap spot wasn’t far from the hostel where I was staying and I was actually on my way to the Peter Pan Statue, a pilgrimage for me of sorts. It had been very cold the previous day. I guess it’s been a typical Spring in London with one week feeling close to Summer and the next closer to Winter. The blooming daffodils looked as confused as the people did when it started snowing one afternoon. So walking through the park that day I had a few layers of clothes on but with the bright Sun overhead it was downright cozy despite the occasional chilly breeze. As I passed the Round Pond the mood struck me to just lay down….so I did….one of the simple joys of wandering.

With my small backpack under my head, near a tree, a ducks quack away from Round Pond in Kensington Garden I slipped away to dream land for about 45 minutes. When I woke up I was refreshed and smiling. I strolled on with a bounce in my step. Off to find the statue of one of my hero’s, the boy who refused to grow up, Peter Pan.

I will be wandering Europe for close to 2 months and I’m trying to be as thrifty as possible. Not only is it point 9 of the Scout Law but I also just don’t have enough money to travel like a king, nor do I want too. So I’ve been staying in bunk room hostels so far. Not only are they cheap but I still don’t mind them. More of an adventure I guess. Probably much like Peter Pan would do if he was wandering. Hostels are full of Lost Boys and Girls just like me.

In London I celebrated my arrival with a few pints that night and met some college students from Denmark named Rasmus, Gates, and Camilla. We had the standard conversation that I have had with dozens of other international Backpackers but still never tire of. Where are you from? What is it like? Where have you been? What’s it like? What do you think of President Bush?

OK, that last one is usually just directed at me and usually kicks the conversation into high gear. I think Rasmus, who had the least confidence in his English, followed up the political topic with “Do you believe in God?” Uh oh! I thought for a second I might have stumbled into some kids doing mission work….in a bar! Camilla responded right away in Danish to him though in a tone that clearly spoke “Dude, you just don’t ask that to people you just met!” I said it was OK and then we all tip toed into a good bar discussion on God and organized religion.

It was a late, fun, night for the 4 of us and we met back up for a slightly more mellow evening the following night. More e-mails have been added to the Friends directory and I have an open invitation to visit Denmark. Not bad for just 48 hours into my trip.

The other friend I made in London is a friend of a friend. Actually it’s the son of a friend. When I sent out my standard itinerary e-mail, to the ever growing friends list, in hopes one of them might want to come along, Donna Baribeau responded that Dick, her husband, had a son that lived in London. She passed along the e-mail for Tim Baribeau and after a few notes back and forth between us to figure out schedules we met up at a little English pub for a pint and lunch.

I had only been traveling alone for a few days but the good conversation while enjoying a meal was already a nice alternative to eating alone. After the last 3 days in Paris, and trying to translate a menu by myself, I’m wishing more of my friends had kids scattered all over Europe waiting to go to lunch.

Tim’s a few years older than me with a wife and 3 kids. He’s been living in England now for over a decade. He said it was nice to have lunch with an American but for me it was like having lunch with a Londoner. As usual I had to explain my current life to him, an explanation that yielded almost the standard response “Good for you! I think that is fantastic!” It’s always nice to get some reassurance, from someone that was a perfect stranger 30 minutes ago, that you are on the right track in life.

We had a great talk about politics, the environment, and life in general. Again, it was a great lunch and one of the highlights of my trip so far. The chance to sit down and really talk to a new person is an opportunity not offered in any guidebook but highly more valuable than anything they offer. I’m glad Donna passed along his e-mail and I’m glad I was wise enough to use it.

Paris has been the same as London minus the new friends, mostly because of me. I haven't tried to make any. It was time to sightsee, get runs in, eat right, and get to bed early. Not your typical vacation in Paris I would agree but I reminded myself that I’m not on vacation in Paris. I’m living my life and these past 3 days have simply found me living my life in Paris. Hell, I spent 40 Euros just on gym fees here. That’s about the same as a month at my gym in WPB, so much for saving money.

I walked a lot in Paris, probably double what I covered in London. I also became a pro at the Metro but that didn’t stop me from wandering miles in any one direction. If anything my confidence with the Metro system liberated me. With a daily pass I always knew no matter how far away I got all I had to do was find the nearest Metro stairwell and zip back to my place.

I hit most of the major spots here in Paris whether it was raining or not. My assault on the Eiffel Tower alone was like getting motivated to summit a mountain. It was about 40 degrees without the wind chill and spitting rain. On the positive side I didn’t have to wait in line! The only thing that slowed me down from climbing the stairs was getting my gloves off and finding which layer of clothes held my money for the 4 Euros to climb. , and another 3.50 for the elevator to the top from level 2.

Before starting the accent I was confused at the ticket booth.
“Can’t I just climb all the way?” I asked innocently.
To which I got the snootiest “NO CLIMB!” response, in the thickest French accent, from the ticket lady in her cozy glass box. I suppose she gets that question a lot but I still chuckled to myself and imitated her “NO CLIMB!” response all the way to level 2.

I enjoyed seeing the Arc de Triumph a lot for some reason. Again it was raining but I still just stood there staring at it for several minutes. I had my iPod on and was again bundled up so the slow rain didn’t really bother me. I stood there for a long time just watching the cars circle by and admiring the strength of the monument. Eventually someone tapped me on the shoulder to help them take a picture and I was brought back to reality. They offered to take one of me too which I accepted and then I headed back to my trusty Metro stairs not far away.

The Louvre was a nice distraction from the weather.
- Pause-
You know as I write this I realize I didn’t take any pictures of the outside of The Louvre. God $(#@&@#!!! Not a single picture of what I call the Da Vinci Code Pyramid. It was raining, as I might have mentioned. I figured I had 2 more days. I would get a better shot later. Well now I’m at the train station so I guess that’s not going to happen. Oh well, I did get some of the inverted pyramid inside. I’ll just have to rely on my actual memory to remind me of what the main entrance to The Louvre looks like.

Funny how for all the historical, priceless, art housed in The Louvre it’s a pop literature work from 2003 that popped in my head first, both when viewing in person or writing about The Louvre. A sign of the times I guess.

I checked out the sculpture section first only to be confused why the Venus de Milo wasn’t located in the “Sculpture” section. Either way it was a nice way for me to get motivated enough to follow the sheep to the Mona Lisa.

By the end of a few hours, about 6 to 7 come to think of it, I had seen pretty much everything or at least every highlighted picture on my map of the Louvre. I had been walking around for so long with my audio head set on I almost forgot to return it. I was on the escalator to the exit when I realized I still had it on my head. I had to pretend I was just looking around and not actually leaving so the staff didn’t harass me.

Despite the less than ideal weather I still liked Paris and admire it. With constant gray skies, intermittent rain, and the historic architecture in every direction I felt like I was in a Alexander Dumas or Victor Hugo novel. Not that it rained throughout their books mind you, more of the tone and setting I suppose. I just can’t imagine the Bastille on a nice sunny day. That’s when you go look at water lilies and sit in the park for Monet.

My departure from Paris has been just as challenging as my sightseeing. The reason I have had the time to write this entry today in Paris is because I missed my train this morning. I wish I could say it was because I slept in. In that case I would be stupid but well rested. Instead for some reason my watch was suddenly an hour slow this morning. When I got to the station it wasn’t 6:45 a.m. it was 7:45 a.m. and on some unknown track my train was pulling away. So now I’m just stupid and tired!

The screw up only cost me time though and thanks to my Eurail Pass it didn’t cost me any money to get on a 1 p.m. train. I now have to take a local train too with a few more connections to make before I reach my final destination. It will just get me better acclimated to the European rail system and stations, which will be my only source of travel for at least the next month.

My destination? Always “the second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.”
MJF