Le Marais

 Bon Jour, mes amies,

I got asked for directions twice today--in languages I do not understand or speak, so I couldn't help.  Also today is Le Jour de Election for President of the Republic.  I did not see any signs of political activity.  I did observe many posters of both candidates all of which had been defaced--in the spirit of bipartisanship, I suppose.  On the other hand, voter turn out seems to be low--very low.  This is not a good trend in my opinion.

I went out earlier than normal because I wanted to explore but not commit myself to a museum because of the bike race.  See the Spring Classics are on, and I have a chance to watch more races than I usually get to, and it's my trip, so we do what I want.

It was cool, and I was glad to wear a mask to keep my face warm, but few other people wore them.  I walked down Rue de Pont Neuf to Rue de Rivoli, turned left and began to stroll towards the Marais.  The name apparently means swampland, but it's nice and dry now and chock full of historic buildings, museums, and interesting shops all of which were closed because it was Sunday morning.  Now all shops used to be closed on Sundays, but now they open in the late morning or afternoon.  Boulangeries and cafes were doing a roaring business though.

I passed by the ornate Gothic Tour St. Jacques with gargoyles reminiscent of  Notre Dame, and speaking of which--I caught a glimpse of the restoration work going on across the river.  I'll have to have a closer look later on.  I crossed the street to have a good look at the Hotel d' Ville, which is Paris's town hall. It's a striking building.  I have not been inside, but maybe I'll go back and have a look.  I did go into the Tourist Information Office to have a look around.  I also was able to walk through the courtyard and formal garden of the Hotel de Sully.  There's a bookstore but not much else inside.

I turned away from the main street now called Rue St. Antoine and prowled around the smaller streets and places licking windows as I went along.  I came upon and strolled through the charming and historic Place des Vosges. People live in the Late Seventeenth Century buildings, but they have to be quite wealthy.  By this time the church bells had begun to ring.  And also I was tired.  I came back another way, which turned out to be a bit of a short cut.  I fetched up at Les Halles because I wanted to try a perfume, but Sephora, etc. was not open yet.  Next time.

My fitness program had largely consisted of trips to Europe where I would walk for hours.  Well, I haven't been doing that, and, moreover, I am older.  I'm very stiff when I get out of bed, but that soon passes.  I mean to walk myself into better shape, and I actually have been doing pretty well even with the not sleeping much.  I feel all right, and I'm not getting the brain buzz.  Nevertheless, it was nice to get home and have some water and take off my shoes and contact lenses.  The bike race will start soon, and then I'll have a refreshing apero.  I hard cooked some eggs for a bit of extra protein.  For the rest I'll have olives and left over cheese with some IGP rose, which is good.

Update:  Congratulations to Annemiek van Vleuten (of Team Movistar, and the women are doing much better than the men on that team.) on her victory in Liege Bastogne Liege.  Women's Cycling is finally being made more accessible to us fans.

Further update:  Congratuations to Remco Evenepoel on his victory in Liege Bastogne Liege giving his Quick Step Team a much needed win.

 A demain