Free Woman in Paris

Bonjour from the City of Light! SD and I are in France for our European vacation. We arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning and were able to check into our room at 10:30. Such a blessing when you've been traveling for 19 hours. First order of business--a bath! Then we explored for a little while until we could no longer keep our eyes open and returned to our room for a long nap. 

Somewhat refreshed, we headed to L'epi Dupin,l our favorite Paris restaurant where we had a 21:00 reservation. The food was as good as ever and we waddled happily to our hotel.

We were staying near the Arc d' Triumphe and had a weeklong metro pass so getting around was easy. The next morning (Wednesday) I got up around 6:30 to go for a run. I remembered to pack everything but a sports bra--Mon Dieu! I had to make do with what I had and made sure to keep my jacket zipped. 

I ran down the Champs Élysées to Georges V then crossed the river and turned right to the Eiffel Tower. There's a small park there and I got passed by other runners as I jogged along. I had run there years ago so it felt familiar. I headed back to the hotel and joined my husband for breakfast. Total run was about 5 miles.

After that, SD had the bright idea to walk up the Champs Élysées to Notre Dame. It was a pleasant walk but then he dragged me to the Isle St. Louis and to who knows where until by the end of the day I had shin splints! And that was before we went to visit the Louvre, which is open until 22:00 on Wednesday. My dogs were barking!

There was no way I was going running on Thursday and we spent the day shopping in the swanky Madeleine district. We had a wonderful lunch under the stained glass dome at Printemps, a department store that carries every designer you've ever heard of. 

There were plenty of chic Parisians and I don't know how they can walk on stone pavers in high heels all day. I was wearing sensible walking shoes(Merrell's) and was in pain. I searched in vain for a pair of canvas skimmers. No matter, I survived and went to a cute little bistro that SD read about in the NY Times. The food was again fabulous and it was a perfect last night in Paris.

Since we weren't leaving till after noon on Friday, I had time for one more run. First, breakfast in the hotel consisting of oatmeal and brioche and, of course, cafe latte. Then I ran along the Seine from the Arc d'Triumphe to Notre Dame, with a short detour through the Tuilleries and around Pei's infamous pyramid. It was wonderful and I felt so free!

On the way back to the hotel it started to rain, so I took the metro from the Place d'Concorde. I had intended to run through the Arc d'Triumphe but it was too confusing so I just ran back to the hotel for a total of 7 miles. 

You can get really get to know a place when you run through it. Maybe someday I'll run the Paris Marathon although I'm not sure my legs can handle the cobblestone streets. Regardless, I have some more wonderful running related memories as I run the world!