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When I went down for breakfast at 7:00AM this morning there were a whole bunch of very enthusiastic looking people in running gear…um, what the!? The I remembered, it's the day of the marathon! And with about 26000 people running in it this year it's a pretty big deal! So Esther & I headed down to the 3km mark to show some support to her brother Simon by eating croissants & drinking café au lait while he did all the hard work. It's tough to be a spectator! :P Btw, I have now mastered the ordering of "un café au lait avec beaucoup de lait", which seems to be the closest thing I can find in France to a flat white or a latte…and it's really not that close!
We made our way past the Louvre & through the garden to Place de la Concorde, where we saw Simon run past at the 27km mark. The runners were looking considerably more tired & sweaty by this stage but it was a great atmosphere & lots of people came out to cheer them along. There was even an awesome all-girl drumming group doing a funky drum beat dance thing at one point along the route. A lone gentleman stood behind them trying in vain to copy their moves…he didn't quite have the same rhythm. It was tres amusing! :P
After the 27km mark we continued our intensive cardio work out with a stroll down the champs elysees & some hard core shopping. All that card swiping will work wonders for your biceps! ;) I once again fell victim to H&M, but when cute summer dresses are 10 euro & weigh next to nothing, how's a girl to resist! We then had lunch at a café on the sidewalk before continuing on past ritzier places like Louis Vuitton…which fortunately holds absolutely no appeal to me whatsoever!
Maybe it sounds sometimes like we're not really DOING much per say…but my absolute favourite thing to do in Paris is simply to wander the street at look at things! Look at buildings, look at people, look at gardens…there's really no shortage of things to be fascinated by & slowly strolling the streets is one of the best ways to take it all in. We haven't gone inside the Louvre or up to the Eiffel tower or anything like that because we've both done those things before, & by simply walking through the streets of Paris I think you get a more authentic feel for the place.
I spent a few frustrating hours in the afternoon fighting with phone companies & sorting out boring banking stuff…why can't these things just take care of themselves when you're on holidays?? But fortunately this was well & truly remedied by a trip to the Sacre Coeur at sunset for dinner & speculoos icecream (speculoos is a kind of shortcrust biscuit, they crush it through the icecream = yum!!) + a phenomenal view of the city of lights & love :) It was buzzing with visitors, locals, musicians, & street performers - one guy did this amazing show with a soccer ball, bouncing it from foot to foot, climbing up the streetlights, & balancing very precariously on the edge of the stairs! We sat near some very chatty expats from Senegal, listened to wonderful classical guitar music & watched the sun go down :)
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Lija I was thinking of you while I did my French Popular Culture short essay last night... Somehow I think you have found a much more enjoyable way of learning about their culture :P And do you two eat anything that isnt pastry/icecream/pure heaven in a biscuit?! My visit to the Alliance Francaise this Friday is not looking so appetising anymore :P Love reading your blogs and keep having an awesome time! Lija xx