Walking

        Many miles were logged in our worn out shoes today.  My friend Adrian from Austin College is in town for a week before his study abroad program begins in Nantes, France, and we have been exploring the city together a bit.  This morning I met him at his auberge/hostel in the 11th and we walked around the Bastille, on to the Marais, ate falafel on Rue de Rosiers, continued to Ile St. Louis, Ile de la cite, Notre Dame, Place St. Michel, St. Germain, hopped the metro to Pere Lachaise cemetery, and then home.

        I was already fairly familiar with pretty much all of the places that we went, but it was still nice to walk around and show him some of my favorite places.  This is just practice for when all of yall family people come visit.  However, as I have come to realize, it is really hard to be an enthused tourist for much longer than three hours at a time.  After that, you just need to sit down for a while with a cup of coffee or take a nap.  Thus, a new part of my tour guide research has been a focus on finding places to not do anything.  Pere Lachaise provides such a spot if you are willing to navigate the slick and sometimes steep cobblestone streets.  

Some of the older tombs were completely covered in thick moss like this one.

        I love how ornate the Gothic elements of some of these tombs are.  They are like miniature cathedrals and make one realize just how boring most cemeteries in are in comparison.  After we had officially worn ourselves out and our feet were aching, we split ways on the metro and I returned to my little room to sip on off-brand Ramen noodle broth and read the oh so exciting Quarante Hadiths of An-Nawawi as translated by Mohammed Tahar.  It actually isn't that boring, but I keep finding myself copying down the arabic script that is on the right page instead of actually reading the french on the left page.  What has most surprised me about it, is how incredibly similar it is to reading the Bible.  I would make a bet that if you anglicized the names, it would be possible to insert it into the Bible and none would be the wiser.  There's Moses, Adam, Gabriel, Jesus, Paradise, Hell, Resurrection day, Noah, and the list goes on.  It's crazy how interconnected the world's religions really are and the advice they all give on how to live a good life is practically identical.  On foot the world is so big, but in books it is so very small.

Well, my leisure reading time is at hand.  Love and miss you all dearly.

-Kate Alice