At 8.20 am, Paris is still sleeping. Those that are on the street are streetsweepers, construction workers, and very dedicated business types. I step out my front door, turn right, and head up my small street to start the day.
How can you not love your life when you realize that your new morning commute is roughly 40 minutes that break down as follows:
8.20-8.26 - A brisk walk down a local sidestreet that smells of fresh-baked baguettes. Cross the Boulevard du Montparnasse - where important writers of yesteryear hung out for inspiration, and head down another set of slightly more upscale sidestreets, where every other store is filled with the most adorable baby clothing. Love those little baby shoes.
8.26-8.38 - Enter the Luxembourg Gardens from the southside. Walk straight through the middle to the fountain, up the steps, and out on the north side. The guy that sells nuts and popcorn is slowly setting up his stand. Brave souls are jogging. Brave and slightly "off" souls are jogging and wearing spandex. Stroll out to the maginificent Pantheon, where France's most important men have been buried.
8.38-8.40/8.45 - Pick up an early morning Chai Tea latte.
8.45-9.00 - Cup hands around the Chai Tea while meandering up the rue Soufflot, heading towards the Pantheon. Vear right along a cobblestone street that spills out onto a small plaza where old men feed the pigeons. Amble along, and waste a few minutes away while sipping tea and watching pigeone. Continue following the cobblestone calmly, smiling, and walk into the building.
This is really my morning commute. The evening commute is the same, only backwards, without the tea but with the added bonus of having the gardens full of well-adorned children running, giggling, and clapping their hands while their parents keep a watchful eye.
If anyone ever hears me complaining about my life, please remind me that my father drove an hour and a half each way in heavy Chicago traffic for ten years, and that I walk through Parisian gardens. Just remind me of it. I am grateful today, but I never want to forget how wonderful it is.
As I read your description, I, too, could smell the fresh bread and feel the early morning Paris calm.
Yep, I'm jealous.
Makes getting up and out of the house easier, at any rate.
So, so jealous! Of course, I walk to the bus stop with a view of Lake Washington, ride the bus across the stunning Lake Union, and can spy tiny bits of the Puget Sound between the buildings as I walk from the bus stop to my office... Guess I don't have it that bad...
Paris :::sigh::: You are living in my dreamiest of dream places. Silly, as I haven't even been yet but I have had an affection for Paris/France since the age of a little girl...mmmm, yes, you have much reason to be grateful. Do you like the San Francisco area? We can swap flats for a week!