Russell's Blog

Mimi and I spent the day walking around Paris. The city is very, very different from how I remember it, though that isn't much of a surprise. Not only is my memory of Paris warped by the fact that I was six years old when I was here before, but it was also twenty years ago. I think this is honestly the first time I have been able to say, "It's been twenty years since I bla bla bla..." Clearly, Paris has changed a lot since 1986 -- the most important difference being cleanliness. Paris was positively filthy when I was a little kid, and I came away with a stronger memory of the city-wide layer of grime than any of the beautiful artwork of the Louvre. I also remember the stink of the subway (which smelled powerfully of feet and urine) far more vividly than the famous Paris bakeries. Today, Paris is beautiful and (mostly) sweet-smelling.

We had a good time walking about yesterday -- we did the "Left Bank Walk" from Rick Steves' Paris guide. We started at the Pont des Arts, past Voltaire's garden (and smirking statue), and paused for espresso at the famous La Palette Cafe.

Unfortunately, I still seem to be suffering from the lingering effects of my head-cold / chest-cold / bronchitis / pneumonia / plague thing, and I had a miserable four hours of agony as the pressure in my sinuses reached stellar-core levels. It was a bit like having someone pound a nail out of my skull from behind my right eyebrow. After four Tylenol and many hot compresses, something in my head made a bony snapping noise, followed by the much-anticipated squealing noise of air rushing through a very small hole. Mimi dropped the book she was reading and looked worried and slightly ill. Sweet, sweet relief!

We did a quick visit to Notre Dame, had lunch at the Montparnasse train station (Mimi had to buy tickets for her students' trip tomorrow), had coffee at the Louvre, and watched Floyd Landis win the Tour de France.

All in all, a successful day.