STAIRS

Here you are, folks - the stairs that I have already come to detest. I was prepared to climb five flights of stairs, given that I'm on the 5th floor of the building, but I was NOT prepared for a spiral staircase! So, not only am I out of breath, but I'm dizzy by the time I get home! Lovely.

On the bright side, at least I'll get into good shape climbing these bad boys. Goodness knows that I could use the cardio workout!

So, my first "normal" day of living in Paris went quite well. I had a terrible time waking up this morning, so I decided to wake up this afternoon instead. Just kidding ... sort of. Between jet lag and the sleeping pills, I was completely out of it for a long time. I think I finally got up around 11 am, reluctantly. Didge, of course, kept me company. So, at least I wasn't the only lazy beast around here. (OK, so Colin had already taken him for a walk -- at least he came back to bed!)

So, after much cajoling on the part of Colin (and the promise of a slice of the gourmet chocolate cake), I got out of bed. Eventually, I got dressed and we went out for lunch (after all, it was nearly lunch time by the time I was presentable and coherant!) We went straight to "our" café, which really was quite lovely. (For those of you who don't know, Colin picked out a café that he wants to be a regular at, hence the "our" café reference.) I had the BEST bowl of Onion Soup (I guess we would call it French Onion soup in the US, but they just called it "soupe à l'oignon"). About half of the bowl was covered in a thick cheese (some kind of mozzerella, I think), and you KNOW how I love cheese! Colin had the biggest slice of quiche on earth, which he also seemed to like (even though it had vegetables in it ... ewww!!)

We got to take Didge into the café with us, and he (surprisingly) laid quietly under the table for most of the time. The waiter brought him a little silver bowl with water in it, but that was just the beginning. All of the other patrons in the place kept cooing and fussing over him, and one woman kept bringing him little nibbles of cheese and bread. It was actually quite darling, but I couldn't help but wonder whether Didge was going to get in shape in Paris after all .... !

We also went to a pet store to get bowls for Didge, since I couldn't find a spot to pack his in my luggage. One of the shopkeepers just fussed and fussed over him, and asked what kind of dog he was. After Colin told him the breed mix, he continued to fuss and pet. I said, "Il est un peu bizarre," (he is a bit bizarre), and the shopkeeper said, "No, il est beau!" (no, he is handsome!) Yes, I'd say that Didge is going to be thoroughly spoiled if this day is any indication (he is currently asleep in the middle of our bed).

To wrap up the day, we left Didge in the apartment and went grocery shopping. Apparently, nothing is open on Sundays, so we had to "stock up" for tomorrow. Of course, the most impressive part of this store was the cheese aisle ... as Colin put it, it's a bit intimidating. But, it's fun to see all of the options out there!

Dinner was tortellini and sauce (think Digiorno ready-made kits, not something from scratch). I guess some habits die hard, since we made something quick and easy. And, we're going through Orangina like you wouldn't believe ... that, and a lot of bottled water.

Well, I have the fun task of balancing the checkbook tonight, so I probably ought to get on that now! (Plus, I'm already sleepy again, so I don't want to have to stay up too late.) Not sure what we're going to do tomorrow - maybe do a little bit of exploring on foot. I don't really know what's open, but there are a TON of Paris guidebooks in our apartment that I can read through. Colin says the Louvre is free tomorrow, so perhaps I'll go check out the Mona Lisa! ;)