It appears I need to remain a night owl, as the residents in my building come and go until the wee hours and the walls are fairly thin.  I am such a light sleeper that it is 2:00 am by the time it settles down enough for me to be able to sleep.  I’m hoping that this will improve or that I will learn to tune it out.

I decided that a quieter day was I order as I have a bit of a froggy throat and perhaps the beginnings of shin splints.  Nothing serious but all the walking and climbing all the flights of stairs takes a bit of getting used to.

I went for a short walk that somehow turned into a long one.  It is just so darn tempting to see what is around the next corner, or a bit further down the street.  I watched a boat use the locks on the Canal St. Martin, along with a large group of Japanese business men, all in suits and ties.  It sounded like they enjoyed watching it as much as I did.

I was looking for a stationary store so I could buy a highlighter for my map and it took a bit of doing, but I saw so many other interesting stores along the way, like this little book shop.

There are book stores on almost every street and I found a really neat one today with a lot of different art and design books.  Too bad all the ones I like are so big and heavy.

Sometimes my family teases me about packing all the little things that I think I might need on a trip, but this guy at the Gare de l’Est definitely has me beat!

I have never seen anyone travel with a TV before!

Sorry about not putting the proper accents on words, for some reason the IPad just won’t let me do it.  Anyone know how? I tried holding the key down and the options pop up but nothing happens when I click on them.

I did pick up tickets for Giverny, Monet’s house and garden, and the train tickets to get there and back.  It is about an hour outside Paris and I will try to get there in the next couple of days while the weather is nice.

I witnessed a rather unsettling event today, just south of the Gare de l’Est. A young man wearing a backpack had collapsed on the sidewalk and he was not moving at all. He appeared to be on his own, but some people were calling for help. It took at least ten minutes for the police and the ambulance to arrive; I heard their sirens as I came out of the nearby stationary store. He did not look very well at all, and it makes me wonder what happened. Also made me think a bit more about being on my own…

Actually one thing that is difficult when travelling alone is not having someone to share things with. I guess this blog is my antidote for that. I do miss sharing things with Bob and  having him here to carry things for me!  My bag seems to grow heavier as the day progresses.

Thank you to everyone who has sent emails or left comments left on the blog. I really enjoy hearing from everyone.

Bonne Nuit, Trudy

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