As I noted in my last post, I’ve spent the last two weeks traveling. The first week was to Central Florida for work. The day job decided we should have department meeting to get together and do “team building”. For the week after I was scheduled to be on PTO (paid time off, also known as vacation) from the day job. My sister announced to me she wanted to take me on a trip and wanted to go to Paris since she knows more about what’s in Paris to see.
I had an extra day or so after the work meeting before we left for Paris, so I stayed with my sister, and we went to see the Cirque du Soleil playing at Disney Springs. Yay. The current Cirque is “Drawn to Life” and is about drawing and animation and is a really cool story. As an artist who draws and enjoys animation, I found it inspiring and maybe even a little motivating. I’m really glad we got to see it.
The trip to Paris was fabulous. I may have walked more miles in a week than I have in a month, if not ever then certainly in a very long time. My sister thinks I will roast her about this. I’m not. I did sign up for it. I just didn’t realize how unprepared for it I was. I guess I’ll be making adjustments to my activity routines to hopefully make the next trip, wherever that is, a little easier.
As I mentioned I discovered that I don’t really have the right things for making travel efficient. Particularly for multi-hop travel and for international travel. When I was first packing, I forgot I was checking bags so I neglected an item or two that I would have preferred to have along. The exclusion of the items didn’t cause problems, they just would have been beneficial. I’ll remember that for the next trip.
I also packed a few things that I didn’t use, or wear and that weren’t really useful. But they were meant to serve a particular purpose and I didn’t have another option for that. I’ll be working on that as well. When I made my trip to Australia, I wasn’t very efficient either, but I went by myself, and I hadn’t traveled internationally since I was a child and travel was really different then. This time I got to travel with my sister who has not only made a couple more international trips she also does a lot a travel for work. That allowed me to observe a somewhat different travel method and see the things that I think might work for me. I’ll be taking that information and using it for things like purchasing luggage and finding the right clothes and footwear. As well as the travel accessories that will make travel life just a little better.
Along with learning new things for traveling I observed different behavior for living and getting around. When I was in Australia, my fist couple of days were in Sydney. This was the biggest city I had been to, to actually get around in in a very long time. And doing it on my own was new. I was fascinated by the masses of people moving about and the people and cars navigating and negotiating. I feel the same about Paris. The Sydney stay was really short, so I only got a small taste of city activity. This trip we stayed in Pars six days and had to find our coffee and breakfast and dinner opportunities most days. No, we didn’t eat in the hotel. We decided to eat in the cafés and restaurants in the surrounding neighborhood.
We walked to and from our meals and we walked to and from most places we visited. We did take an Uber a couple of times and that worked out really well. I now have an idea of how-to Uber. But I haven’t used the app yet, so I guess I’ll need to get that going next.
I was once told that rural or country walking was much different than urban walking. At the time I was struggling to get a stride or cadence while walking through a field we had parked in for an event. The premise was that with rural or country walking, the ground is uneven and sometimes at odd angles and that sort of thing where walking in a city or urban setting with paved roads and sidewalks things are more solid and more even and the stride and cadence are different. I had a little fun pointing out to the person, who told me that rural walking was different than urban walking, that that assessment was not entirely accurate when it comes to walking in Paris. We had plenty of walking areas, there just weren’t many that were smooth and even. But they were good for exercise and probably helped to strengthen my ankles.
I’ve been home almost a week now and several people have asked what I like best about Paris. That’s a difficult question for me to answer. Mostly because, as you can see, what I liked was probably not what people expect for an answer. I loved getting to see all the sites we made it to, I also loved being in the city as the city went about its day. I loved the activity and the mix of activity from the people off to their jobs, doing their jobs, to the older people doing their shopping or walking their pets. These are the things that I found most interesting and striking, and I know it’s because I come from a very suburban world where those activities are often segregated. Work happens miles away from where we live, shopping happens miles away from where we live, and pets might be walked, or they might have a fenced backyard in which to play. I also loved the movement, the activity. Not just of the city but for me. The need to be out and moving and walking to places to get things done. I know many people who prefer to just order things and have them delivered, and when there is a real need for that, like a pandemic, I do too. What I find now is that barring the need for significant car travel to get to places, I would prefer to go out to get my stuff myself. I like the activity. I would be happier if I could walk or even bike, safely, to the grocery store, or for a croissant, or to a bookstore, or art supply store, or any number of other places. Even if the place has to order what I need, the ability to walk a few blocks or so to pick it up a day or week later, really makes good sense to me. Especially when most times, I don’t need that whatever right away.
One of the other what did I like best questions was probably my favorite because it was specific and easier to answer. I was asked ‘what was my favorite thing to eat’. My answer was crème brulee with berries, and the croissants. I had several different crème brulees and that one was my favorite. And the croissants because they weren’t like the ones we get here. They didn’t linger in the mouth as an oily coating. They were of course quite buttery, and crisp and fresh and delicious.
I found Paris to be a great city. I would absolutely go back. As I said I learned a lot during the trip, much of which I’m not sure I can really properly express. But much of it is likely to show as I go about re-orienting my world. And that’s the great thing about travel, when it’s not just for work that keeps you tucked in offices and hotels. When that isn’t happening, you get a chance to see different ideas, different approaches, different ways of thinking and being and it all provides you an opportunity to decide if how you’ve been doing things is still right for you.
So that was my travel. Apologies that this post is late. I started it before we left Paris but wasn’t able to get back to it to finish it. It’s been quite a week back with lots to do at home and at the day job. I’ll be working on more of that induced demand idea because I think it is important. And I’ve come to recognize a couple of other places where it comes up. And I’ll be getting to some art again. I took a few pictures that I think will make great paintings. And there is a little of the art adventure from Paris to share. Though I did not have an opportunity to sit and sketch, maybe next time. Cheers.