Sunday in Paris

It's late Sunday afternoon in Paris. Spent time in the Marais district today. What I love about Paris is that you can be yourself. It's been so inspiring that all I want to do is hang out in my neighbor and work on creative projects. I don't want to admire others' creativity, I want to do my own. So I am torn between seeing everything I can and grabbing this creative urge and going with it. Wednesday will be a deciding factor. On Tuesday the government workers go on strike -- teachers, workers and most importantly the metro and bus system will not be working. That's the day I need to be at the tour office two miles away by 6:45AM to catch the bus to Bruge. I went to the offices this morning and paid an extra 30 euro for them to pick me up at my apartment. C'est trop cher! (that's expensive!) The good news is that they will pick me up at 7am instead of having to leave at 4/30am and walking 2 miles each way which would be murder when I will be walking all day on the tour and won't get back until 7/30PM. So I'll save lots of time. As for a taxi I think it would be even more plus they will be in great demand because of the strike and I may not get one. Let's hope this strike only lasts one day. We must wait and see.

Yesterday was a long but very fun day. Had a 3 1/2 hour cooking class making unbelievably fantastic appetizers. We even got extra to take home. there were only 3 of us at class -- a Parisien woman named Clare and Martin from Santa Cruz who is here with his mother. This year there are far more Americans here than last year and much more crowded too. After the cooking class I stopped and bought beautiful blue flowers, almost cobalt in color to take with me on a walking tour of Piere Lachaise Cemeterie where over one million people are buried in some form including Colette, Modigliani, Edith Piaf, Eugene Delacroix, Chopin, and one of my favorites, Oscar Wilde whose tomb is covered in lipstick kisses -- it's amazing to look at. And the just got done cleanding off the tomb just a little while ago. For three fun-filled hours, we saw many others and roamed where people are dying to come. Left flowers along the way and came back to the apartment happily exhausted.

Will fill in the other dates at another time. Must go. Things to see and do and a telephone call to make. A tout a l'heure . . . .