August 1, 2011

• Pre Amble to Paris Blogs

  Bonjour!

  Blogging about my vacation for my birthday to Paris is still percolating in my head.

  This has been the longest and furthest away vacation I have ever been on in my life.

  Lots of foot notes and photos were posted to facebook, but I am looking forward to writing out the time I experienced there.

  So, the jet lag, the laundry, the exhaustion, the catching up on my mail, phone calls and emails need to be sorted so that I can set my mind to writing about Paris proper.

  Right now I am getting back to being in Davis. Also, I am moving house about ten miles away to Woodland now and through half of August.

  And! My friend, Caryn, and I are throwing a big birthday bash for ourselves at her place the first weekend in August.

  I could not even lay around my first real day back. Having sat around for two days (recuperating for my birthday and the entire 24 hours of travel) I awoke at 5am and could not stay indoors. I had cabin fever.

  Now I want to walk everywhere. That is all we did while we were in Paris. Everything is a walk. Sometimes a long walk (to the Eiffel Tower from our flat) or a short walk (the Seine was fifteen minutes from our flat). My body wants to be in motion. That is a really good thing.

  My usual walk here in my neighborhood had not been done since weeks before my trip. Maybe even more than a month. I do not remember. It is an under an hour stroll that takes me from my residential South Davis neighborhood to a agricultural thorough fare that boundries the nieghborhood from the adjacent farm land.

  The bike path meanders along the backs of homes and apartments, along Putah Creek, past a playground, an orchard over a plank bridge back to older neighborhood sidewalks of South Davis taking you back to the main road along the farm lands. If you go to the left the road eventually takes you past farms, University ag research buildings, the University itself and eventually into downtown Davis. But that is a bit of a trek on foot. It is a terrific bike ride and I have done that many times.

  This morning, after my cup of tea, my body demanded a walk. We have been having cool mornings and this one is no exception. I grabbbed my sweat shirt and headed out the door.

  The sunshine felt energizing while the neighborhood was still hushed with morning softness.

  My first thoughts are which way will I go with my loop? I decided on the pathway to begin. 

  I crinkled my nose as I realized that someone had not cleaned up their pooches very stinky and very fresh poo on the path. Ack.

  As I meandered I practised French words in my mind. The usual Au Revoir and Je Voudrais and S’il Vous Plaits. I wonder if instead of saying my Good Mornings to the people that I pass I might say Bon Jour. But I don’t. I still say my good mornings though.

  I think about Paris a bit but then pay attention to my route.

  I noticed the quiet of my ambling. No chatter, banter, conversation, laughter.  I think I have been avoiding this quiet all year. This morning, for me, loud would not do. At the moment, I embraced the sound of the air instead.

  My mind has been too busy with worries and assorted anxious junk since I got home.

  Finally, last night, I made myself dinner, watched a movie and cooled my jets.

  I am home from my birthday trip to Paris France and very soon I will come back here and tell you all about it with lots of pictures, mes ami’s!

   

  • 12:00 pm
  • 20 Comments