Long Walks

Paris is the most beautiful city I have ever seen.  The vistas across the Seine which encompass massive light stone buildings many blocks long evoke a distant past and make me wonder if I have walked these streets in my dreams or in a life lived as a scrappy boy scooting through the legs of the city dwellers.  Yesterday we journeyed to the Eiffel Tower from our humble abode in the Latin Quarter, seeing across the river the Tuilleries, the Grand Palais and so many beautifully designed streets and buildings that I found myself in a suspended state of breath intake and had to remember to breathe deeply the cool air, the old smells of the city.  I never tire of seeing the old tree lined streets with the balconied apartments rising above, the shops and commerce happening below.  

We arrived at the Eiffel Tower after a 50 minute walk not including the lunch we stopped for under the towering watch of La Tour Eiffel.  We searched for an affordable lunch site and decided on a Vietnamese place; omelette and some freaky little fried "egg rolls" that served to keep the wolf away.  Then, while Vanessa ascended to the top amid throngs of people from absolutely everywhere, I sought a quiet sit in the gardens where I people watched for a long time, read my book, then, finally, laid down and slept in the grass.  When I awoke I found the bathroom with a 45 minute line (a real test), then sat on a bench under a tree to avoid a light rain shower where a bird shit on my sleeve and finally Vanessa returned.  

On our way home we were caught in a deluge.  We ducked under an overhang and stood for a while, hoping the rain would end.  Finally, we just set out in the rain, our arms around each other, sharing our one umbrella.  Eventually the rain stopped and we made our way home through ancient streets filled with modern shoppers. 

When we went to fix dinner in our flat, we found that our lettuce was frozen, so we had a chopped vegetable dinner with some seedy bread we had bought, an excellent glass of $7 Cote de Rhone and, for me, my first eclair...mmmm.  Sleep eluded both of us and we woke up today at 1:30 p.m. and, after buying a croissant, found ourselves sitting at the MacDonald's writing to you.  Bon Journee.