It’s been a real challenge to beat the jet-lag, and last night was no exception. It’s hard to say at what time I finally went to sleep, but after seemingly hours of breathing exercises coupled with trying to tire my eyes out with reading, I finally got to bed. My best guess would be around 3:00, but I didn’t have my phone to check.

Nonetheless, we got up around 10:30, which was a minor success. After an hour or so of getting ready, eating breakfast, and having coffee, we were ready to face our activity for the day– a trip to the Musée Carnavalet.

The museum was a fifteen-or-so minute walk from our AirBNB. The trip was not terribly remarkable, but worth noting how focused on walkability this city is. Pedestrians everywhere. This neighborhood, and perhaps city, is build upon seemingly endless streets full of shops. Cheese shops, Meat shops, fruit shops, hat shops, clothes, luggage, succulents, baked goods— everything at street level was a shop. Jessie and I were in awe of how everyone is seemingly always shopping. Perhaps its just for the tourists, but that can’t be the full story.

Arriving at our destination, we learned that we needed to reserve our spot ahead of time. The tickets themselves were free, but due to covid, there were timed entry restrictions, and they were all full for the day.

Disappointed by the change in plans, we went back to Jessie’s initial research document. Jessie is a great travel buddy, in part because of how thorough her preparation is– even in more loosely scheduled trips such as this one. She had a full document chockablock full of different shops, parks, and walks we could take.

Nearby, there were a number of decent cafes and tea shops that we could choose from. We decided to return to the Marché des Enfants Rouges, a courtyard market full of restaurants and food vendors. We had lunch at a Moroccan restaurant. In order to keep things simple (and to save face on having to order anything complicated in my barely passable French), I ordered the Plat du Jour for myself, and the Kefta and Vegetable Tajine for Jessie.

After lunch, we browsed other offerings at the market. At a nearby produce vendor, we bought some tiny bananas, almost just for the fun of it, and some red currants. An adjacent cheese stand was able to help me find some pregnancy-safe cheese using pasteurized milk (up until now, we’d been buying it at the local grocery store, which is not nearly as exciting).

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With no grocery bag to speak of, Jessie stuffed the cheese and fruits into her jacket, and we were off. We walked down to the Seine, stopping near a courtyard full of more shops: Le Village Saint-Paul.

On our way back, we stopped at the park Place des Vosges, which is (according to wikipedia) the oldest planned square in Paris. I’m not entirely certain what makes it a square (other than shape), or what an unplanned square would look like, but it was beautiful nonetheless. In the center, the typical European sculpture of a guy on a horse. Around the exterior there is some playground equipment that appeared shamefully hidden in some shady trees. There were a few sand-boxes, but they nearly blended in with the rest of the surroundings.

Of the few parks we’ve been in, they all seem meant to function both aesthetically, but also as a play place for children. So far, we haven’t encountered one with actual grass you can play on– it’s all been sand and gravel. Even the parks with larger playgrounds still seemed as though they needed to be a bit more grown-up.

Approaching our apartment, we stopped for a boba tea. To my surprise, they required several more choices while ordering than in the states. Iced? Sweetness level? I fumbled my way through that conversation, with the attendant finally speaking English seeing my confusion.

I left Jessie back at the apartment so that I could run some errands. I needed some new luggage to fit souvenirs and my booze from yesterday in, as well as seeking out a baguette for dinner. With these acquired, I returned, and had our picnic dinner: A baguette, some cured meats, some cheese: (for posterity, pasteurized cheeses Brillat savarin aux truffes, and some Comté…. but dang… that Brillat-Savarin), and currants and wine for me, juice for Jessie.

And that’s where we are now! Planning the next few days, getting read to watch Voyage Dans La Lune film in preparation for our trip to the Cinémathèque Française.

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