Scheduled Mellow Day in Paris

Monday, October 08, 2007.

Yah, ok, so the bliss couldn’t possibly last, could it?

I woke this morning with a bit of a head cold. Runny nose first, but as the day wore on, a little headache grew in my left temple (right above the stuffed left nostril, funnily enough). Sinus cold, I think. No wonder I was feeling a bit tired yesterday (maybe I caught pigeon-type bird-flu from Venice??) Hope it doesn’t mess me up too much during my plane ride tomorrow… have bought cold meds from a local pharmacy, just in case.

Didn’t really have the energy or motivation to do much when I woke this morning. Felt tired and wanted to sleep all day. But I knew I would never forgive myself if I did that, so hauled my ass out of bed, and got showered and dressed, and tried to figure out what I’d do today.

So, quick synopsis, before I get some rest & try to fight off this cold:
- morning, did a bit of computer work in the hotel room
- walked out, and at the last minute decided to head up the street to the Pantheon to take photos
- walked to the Metro station and went to Cimetiere du Montparnasse
- visited the cemetery and took a bunch of photos—this visit was much more quick and civilized, since the cemetery is organized much more geometrically; of course, this makes it far less interesting photo-wise, but it was still lovely to visit (Mitch, i saw Julio Cortazar's gravestone! Hopscotch, Hopscotch!!)
- took the Metro back to the Seine, and thought I’d try the Notre Dame towers again
- boo… three strikes and yer out! there was a HUGE line up, and given my pending head cold, I was in no mood to wait in line (besides, the change in altitude would have messed with my sinuses, right? Right?), so gave up
- walked back to the hotel, had a quick lunch, then did more computer work while I rested
- decided to head out one last time to find the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore
- found it, and spent over two hours in there, browsing and reading (and snapping a photo or two); ended up buying three books (eek)
- bought some juice to re-hydrate, and slunk back to my hotel
- have been writing in bed ever since… trying to fight off this cold

Ok, bedtime for me. Hope I get better by morning. It’s going to be a looooong day with the flight back to Canada....