As opposed to North America, in France Sunday is still a day of rest. Almost everything is closed except for the a few bakeries that open only in the morning (people need their bread after all) and close around noon. While trying to decide to do with all my extra time this morning I decided to go for a run and get some exercise but ended up getting far more exercise than I had bargained for. It started out well while I was jogging down the hill and the flat portion by the river was also quite nice. What I hadn't considered was the upwards trek. I began optimistically and ended up gasping for breath after the first 250 stairs so I walked up the rest of the way gasping all the way to my room. I am going to take this as a sign that I am still human, because I maintain that no one is meant to gain that much elevation while running, except for perhaps super-marathoners.
Today I did not even have the mountain view as motivation to climb the hill as it is rather overcast and when I woke up, I was in the clouds. I does seem to be clearing up now though and some of the smaller hills have appeared with cloud type halos surrounding their bases. I tried to take a picture to show everyone but just discovered that my camera battery needs charging so you will all just have imagine it for yourselves.
I also recently found out (courtesy of the internet) that on a clear day you can sometime see Mont Blanc from Grenoble (approx 110km away) so I will definitely be keeping my camera ready in case she decides to show up. For those who don't know Mt Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the EU. Mont Blanc is also on the border between France and Italy so technically I can (sometimes) see Italy from where I am. Pretty cool eh?
Mais oui, pretty cool indeed. Fine word-pictures you are drawing, Adele. I well remember how, er, aloof the shop girls in the boulangeries were when Jan and I did our bike trip in France a few years back. Once, confronted by a small gang of pretty but particularly surly young women I was inspired: I remembered what Bobby Nagel often says to raise a smile, so I tried his line, in French. "Toujours un grand plaisir!". Well, you'd have thought Daniel Craig or Matt Damon had just walked through the door. Or maybe Justin Bieber. The women's faces lit up and they were instantly as friendly as could be.
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Alan
I will have to try that! I have found that one I speak to people enough and they hear my Quebecois accent they are usually a lot more friendly. Perhaps saying 'Toujours un grand plaisir' will help me further improve the French's image of Canadians.
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