As I noted at the end of my last post on induced demand, I do want to discuss that a little more, just not this week. I’m traveling. I was traveling last week too, for work, the day job. They wanted to do a sort of team building get the whole department together event. I would say it was reasonably successful with regards to accomplishing the goal. Probably a mixed result for some people though. About a third of the team got sick the first night which caused a need for adjustments the next couple of days. I was not one of the ones who got sick and I’m very grateful for that.
I was not excited about the trip initially. I’m very good at getting stuck into a routine and it required a complete disruption of all my routines. And I don’t usually like group exercises, so I was quite reticent about going. However, it allowed me a chance to catch up with some colleagues outside my department and reconnect and connect face to face. A nice treat. An even bigger and better treat was what my sister had in mind.
I usually take the last week of April for vacation because it includes my birthday. It’s my treat for myself. This year my sister asked what I was doing for my birthday. At the time I didn’t know but when I mentioned the timing of the work trip, she said it was perfect. As it turned out my sister wanted to take me on a trip to Paris, France for my birthday. Yes. Please.
When you travel a lot for work and earn travel miles with airlines, sometimes, you just have to use them because why not.
So now I am in Paris and having a great time. We’ve seen the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysée, walked to the Louvre, and through the gardens, and had some lovely chocolate. Not to mention the croissants for breakfast. We’ve also been rained on pretty good but it’s Paris so who cares.
I’ve enjoyed our hotel which is in the middle of the city, maybe not exactly the middle. Certainly, the middle of things we want to see. It is very modern in its décor which I really like. We are located between the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. And yes, we walked to both in the same day. I may go home in better shape and having lost a few pounds as compared to when we arrived. We’ve walked a few miles and have many more miles to walk before the week ends. That is not a bad thing.
I’ve learned a few things about myself so far. One being that in spite of my Taekwondo workouts I do not move near enough and I don’t walk near enough. Of course, where I live does not lend itself to a lot of useful walking and that is a problem. Walking in my neighborhood for ‘exercise’ is not the same as walking as part of your everyday going about your business. When we walk for exercise, we often walk for a certain amount of time or a certain distance. And we walk differently. The pace and the gait are a little different, and our hands are often empty. When we walk as part of our everyday, we might be carrying things in our hands or in a bag over our shoulder or in a backpack. We might stop for lights or street crossings. We also might need to do a fair bit of direction changing to avoid others. All of this requires a different awareness of our bodies and the environment. We still get exercise, but it is very different and involves so much more than just the physical exercise.
Some other things I’ve noticed are more a recognition, or re-recognition of things I already knew or felt. Like feeling like I don’t really have the type of clothing and shoes that make it easy to pack a bag for travel. Not to mention the right luggage. And, ironically, I have too much stuff. At least that’s how I feel. I know, how do you have too much stuff and yet not enough? It’s about having the right stuff. The stuff that allows you to live the way you want to live or travel. Which is something that will come up in one of the upcoming posts related to induced demand.
I am having a great time in Paris and am so thankful to my sister for wanting to bring me. I may be a little slow to get going, a little creaky in the body, and need an extra stop or two, but I would not have missed it for anything. And I won’t let any achy body parts keep me from seeing as much as we can. I don’t know she will be back, and I have a feeling I will too. She was here in November and now it’s April and she is already planning her next trip back. And I understand. I could definitely come back.
Enjoy the photos. I’ll be getting back to the topic of induced demand and its cousins soon.