My feet hurt

My favorite thing to do in Paris is walk. It doesn't matter where I walk. I always learn something and I am constantly finding something beautiful that I haven't seen before. Today I needed to find a few token items near Notre Dame. I took my camera with the intention that I would walk around and take a few snaps. I have found that it is such a stress reliever to walk and take photos. Not sure why that is, but it is.

Once I bought the items, I was off on my journey. Watching the river is unlike anything. The breeze of Paris air, the blue of the sky, the sound of the river, and smells of the French food - it is what defines living here. Of course there are the amazing views and history, but not everyone gets to experience half of the greatness without pausing for a full day and walking alone and taking it all in.

This man on the steps of the Seine understands what I am talking about...

Fall is here! I am really excited about this, but I had no idea it would turn THIS cold this early. I am hoping that we get a little more warmth before the bitter cold makes it's way through the city. As you can see, the trees are turning. They actually started changing colors soon after Summer arrived. El Nino really threw the seasons off.

On my walk, I see a few cool things. Um like a light post.

And the Velib bikes. These are the public transporation bicycles that are great if you return them on time. If you forget to, then you might get a nasty little bill on your credit card. No this did not happen to me, but I will say that Velib is a nightmare on wheels. I opted not to blog about my two experiences with one. However, bikes and me have never gotten along - 1) Sophomore year at OSU I was riding my bike across the pedestrian walk during class changes when it's really busy. My shoelace got caught in the chain. My bike stopped mid-stroke and I went kerplunk in the street and stayed in the street because I was attached to this large hunk of metal - 2) That night my bike was stolen - 3) New bike, same year. Riding through Lewis Field parking lot and the left petal falls off. I pulled out my handy toolkit at home and realized that the grooves were stripped. No way I could fix 'er, so Dad fixed 'er. 4) Bike was stolen - 5) Two years later when leaving work at the athletic department, I saw my bike. I knew it was my bike because I had this horrific, gold ZTA sticker on the frame. I guess I put that on there in during the three weeks that I was actually a Zeta. I had a picture of myself posing with my "Zeta Bike", so I took it to the police. Since I had proof, they released the bike to me. However, it was so rusted that I couldn't ride her much longer. To make a short story long, here are the Velib bikes.

The building where Marie Antoinette was housed before her beheading


Pont Neuf

Light posts, again. They are just too pretty. Especially compared to the grey/silver ones at home that have no aesthetic value whatsoever.


Love birds. Every bench in Paris looks like this. Honest.

Bridges, bridges, and more bridges. This is Pont Neuf again, except on the south section. It crosses the tip of Cite (that's the portion to the left) and has a view of Pont des Arts.

Pont des Arts again...from the other side of Pont Neuf. This one has a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Looking back onto Pont Neuf

Random things along the way...




I was walking and noticed all these artists and their art propped up against this beautiful building. It is rather modern compared to the traditional Haussman style buildings, but still gorgeous. I kept walking and saw the front finally. It is the Musee D'Orsay. This is where all of the French Impressionist art is. I plan to go very soon and cannot wait. I was a part of UIL competition in fifth grade. I had to memorize all of the historical paintings from Renoir, Rembrandt, Picasso, de Vinci, and some I can't remember. Memorizing the name of the painting and it's exact spelling (even in French) was part of the task. I LOVED it. Never did I think that one day I would see those paintings with my own eyes.




I continued on my walk, but was nearing home. No big plans for the day, except to rest my feet. I have a few hours before I need to be dressed and on my way to a birthday party for a couple of cool girls from church.