First Run

Be it the time change, noise, new bed or the fumes from newly refinished floors, I haven’t really slept since we got Paris. Rupert encouraged me to go for a run today, perhaps some exercise would help?

I have to say, that I have been avoiding running since we got here. You don’t exactly see a lot of runners here and I didn’t want inadvertently defy some Parisian politesse. Parisians visiting Ottawa must think we are a bunch of running lunatics - you can’t swing a dead cat at home, without hitting a runner.

Our landlord had told us, that he goes for a run every day, around the perimeter path of the Champs de Mars (Park in front of the Eiffel Tower & 3min from our flat). With that tip, today was as good of a day, as any, to experiment with a route.

The Champs de Mars loop, did reveal a number of joggers (tourists?), so I now feel more comfortable picking the pace up, beyond a brisk walk. Most of the path is wide and uncongested, except at one end, which takes you straight through the crowds, at the base of Eiffel tower. A somewhat surreal experience for me, somehow this just didn’t seem to compare to running through the people waiting for the bus at Tunney’s Pasture.

After the run, the family did our daily, familiarization tour of the neighbourhood. We found a Starbucks not far from our flat and had to resist the temptation to buy some coffee. Our French coffee experience has been unfulfilling so far. We haven’t found an open boutique coffee seller, and sadly our Bodum has been filled with Kraft coffee bought from the supermarket. Buying from Starbucks in Paris just seems sacrilege, and a slippery slope. We will just have to hold strong until Monsieur Café returns from vacation. (Photo of D on the Rue St. Dominique)