Paris

It is 4:01 as I write this…4 in the morning! I have now slept 10 hours and can sleep no more. Moving from time zone to time zone is a real pain.

I arrived in Paris yesterday at 1pm and took the metro into town. It was a long convoluted journey involving four metro lines and about a thousand subway steps…all the while dragging my suitcase and wearing my backpack (small but heavy). Then, when I came up from the underground, I took a wrong turn, and got hopelessly lost. Paris is a circle…and all the roads are angled…so going around the block is not exactly doable/ Needless to say, a five minute walk turned into a one hour walk, again dragging my suitcase over cobblestone streets.

Paris is beautiful. The buildings have so much history. On every street there are restaurants with outdoor tables. It is November, and today the high was 12 C, yet people everywhere were eating outdoors…very strange. In Cagary, you cannot find an outdoor table anywhere between September and May long weekend...even if it is hot outside!

My hotel is in an artsy area close to the Louvre. There are skinny alleyways, covered (like a souk) and lined with shops. Milling about reminded me of Point Claire Village in Montreal. Bakeries here are amazing. There was one shop I walked by where I stood at the window for a very long time. Pastries like I had never seen before. They were beautiful! Unfortunately, I have had real bad stomach pain for 24 hours now, and am not really feeling much like eating.

This morning, about 3am, I heard a bunch of people chanting – loudly. It sounded like an outdoor exercise group…a cross between a military unit’s chant and karate. I have no idea what they were doing, and it is THEIR fault I am now wide awake. Actually, it is because I went to bed at 6pm last night. I had been up since 4am because my flight left early, and with the time change, now my body is pretty confused.

Nick had arrived safe in Tanzania, and I hope we will hear from him on this blog as he gains some valuable experience working in a hospital in Iringa. He was a great travelling companion. I had many health issues along the way, and he was always empathetic and helpful. He was really good at reminding me to take my meds too – something very difficult for me when I am out of my routine. Like my other boys on their trips, he spent more time reading than ooooohing and aaaaaawing at the scenery, but I hope some of what he had seen and experienced will stay with him forever.

Today at 11am I am going on a food tour….hope my stomach holds up. I will write about it tonight.