Moving And More

Yesterday I moved to Hotel Parc Saint Séverin, located in the Latin Quarter. This particular area is very touristy, but thankfully the hotel is on a very quiet pedestrian street just outside of the tourist zone. I was able to get into my room early. Once I dropped my luggage in the room I met up with Susan at Hotel de Ville to go explore the Canal St. Martin area. I had to cross over the bridge to Ile de la Cité, then over another bridge to Hôtel de Ville. As I got to the far side of the bridge I had to go through security. I was wanded and my purse was looked through. Their having a celebration for the 2024 Olympics, being held in Paris. Yes, 2024. The French like to celebrate and demonstrate.

The Canal St. Matin area is supposed to be the newest up and coming area and attracts hipsters. I was underwhelmed.

I needed to return the apartment key to Suzanne between 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. She texted me at about 5:30 to tell me her plans changed and I should arrive by 6:30. Yikes! I had to walk to the Maria’s, which meant crossing back by Hôtel de Ville again. I got wanded twice in the same day!

Today I woke up after sleeping over 7 hours. I haven’t slept that much in a very long time. I love this room. It’s quiet and the room has black out curtains.

My goal today was to hit the outdoor markets. I love going to markets in France. First I went to Rue Mouffetard. It was primarily fruits, veggies, cheeses, etc. I didn’t stay long.

As I walked down Rue Monge towards the river I passed the street where we stayed in 2008. I stopped at Eric Kayser for breakfast.

The next market was at Bastille. That was a good one. It had more variety.

The 3rd market I went to was the Aligre. It had two components. The largest area was primarily fruits, veggies, meats, eggs, etc. Off to the side was an area that was a flea market. As I was leaving a man stepped on the toes of my right foot. Hard. Great, my right foot hurts and my left ankle hurts. I stumbled across the Promenade Plantée. It was an elevated railroad track and is now a park, similar to the High-line in NYC. I walked it to the end (or beginning, depending how you look at it), though I didn’t start at the other end.

I limped my way back to the hotel and decided to take a nap. Even though I had a good nights sleep, I’ve been sleep deprived since I left home on the 5th. In reality it’s probably been longer than that. Today is the 24th. Yep, a nap is a good idea. I set my alarm for an hour and woke up refreshed. I wandered around the area and did some shopping.

Here are some random pictures I took: