It's time to pull back. To lower expectations. To put limits, to pump the brakes. Possibly you're thinking I'm referring to economic activity, given that we are in for craziness on that front not seen for nearly a century. But no. I'm still trying to limit my news reading and worrying. No more than twice a day while I'm away. I need a rest from it all.
What I am thinking about is my posting on Ocean. On the average, in addition to my text here, which has climbed along with my Alpine hikes and surfed to new elevations over the waterways of Venice, I have posted a very high number of photos each day. So much so that the average Ocean reader must feel herself or himself to be a bit overwhelmed and perhaps bored by it all. That's okay -- you can skim, skip, dance over and move on to something else of course. But the trouble is, that this much writing and photo journalism takes an enormous chunk of time. Whereas at home, I spend roughly 2 - 3 hours each day on writing and working on Ocean photos, on this trip, I've soared to about three hours in the late afternoon and another two in the evening after dinner. Bedtime has been very very late.
I am about to embark on Leg Three of my Spring Break. Leg Three will be almost exclusively in Paris. (I'm here for nine days.) Much of it will be with my daughter and her family. I'm not seeing the time or the need for extra long posts. I'm setting myself a goal of ten-ish (okay, maybe twenty-ish) rather than forty-ish photos each day.
Honestly, the older I get, the more I love to write and put up pictures from the day. But when my schedule is joined with someone else's, I do have to pull back. It's so rare that I get to travel with my daughter and her fam. My posting has to slow down or else I'll crack at the seams. There just isn't that much time.
So let's see if I can stick with a smaller load. (I've tried before and failed!) No more post-midnight work. Let's take it easy here, on Ocean.
* * *
Of course, this morning, I'm still alone, and still in Venice.
My routine is fixed: I begin the day with a look out my window. Madama Garden (where I'm staying) is on a small lip of land. We are surrounded by water and bridges on three sides. What I like to look at is the Fondamente that seems to be the pathway to work, markets and school.
(she can't stop reading)
It's time for breakfast. Scaling back on this as well. Let's cool our jets here! (A sweet croissant, fruit, yogurt. And only two cappuccinos!)
I have a half an hour to kill before I need to get going. I take a walk along now more familiar alley ways and fondamentes.
(familiar to you as well!)
(a sunny day means you do your laundry)
(This guy has a reputation among pigeons. A good one, I think!)
(The canal-side street that was so full of people last night? I thought it was called Fondamenta dei Ormesimi. And it is that. But names change as you walk along. Approaching Madama Garden, I see that it is now called Fondamenta de la Misericordia)
(From here, I can see Madama Garden. Yellow building with the garden. The window that almost gets splashed by the canal waters is one of the ones from my room -- the Iris.)
(One last look, one last bridge...)
At 10, a taxi comes to whisk me away. And it is a whisk! The boat ride to the airport is a ride on waves that come from the wake of other boats. But it starts out gently, as I look back at the canal that was my source of fascination for three days.
(You may wonder why I'm flying to Paris rather than, say, taking a train. It was a tough decision, but the fact is -- the Paris train departs from Milano Garibaldi. Most Venice trains go to the Milano Centrale station. To make a connection to the train for Paris (which just reopened this month after tunnel damage closed things down for a while) I would have to have left Venice very early, skipping breakfast and skipping my last walk. My time here is so precious! I didn't want to do that. So I did bite the bullet and used miles to fly Air France straight to Paris.)
(one last glance back from the boat...)
(Venice, from above...)
(My Venetian souvenir)
* * *
Here's something that will shock: I arrive in Paris and I cab to my hotel. Why? Because I'm not staying at a place that's especially close to an RER airport train stop. Say what? I'm not staying at my beloved Le Baume??
That is correct. They tried, really they did, to offer rooms that would fit the needs of the young family (and me as well, though I'm not the problem here). But in the end, I said no to their offerings. The only connecting rooms that they have are very small. This is not an issue for adults and especially adults that don't need a chair to read a book before bedtime with a little one, or who dont need two extra people (parents) coming in to help settle the occupants. It is an issue for a young family where one child still naps and both kids need help getting ready for the day and for the night. So I had to look elsewhere.
This was tough! I wanted to stay in "my"neighborhood. To be close to the gardens. And I needed at least one slightly bigger room. I finally settled on the Pavillon Faubourg Saint Germain. A mouthful!
I myself don't need a large room. Though their "small" isn't that small at all!

It is, in fact a lovely, friendly hotel. But I wont compare. Le Baume is grand for me. Pavillon Faubourg Saint Germain is also grand.
(view from my window -- onto a quiet street. this I love about Paris -- that you can have a view onto a quiet street)
The young family wont arrive until Sunday. But I have an agenda for tomorrow. Not for today though. It's as warm as you could possibly want for April. I'm heading for the gardens!
(a different route than I'm used to...)

Spring has sprung in paris, and nowhere is this more evident than in the Luxembourg Gardens. Primroses, tulips, anemonies, forget-me-nots -- all in full bloom.
In the evening, the park is teeming with people. Everyone wants to take in this beautiful weather.

And the chestnut trees! They're all green already.
I cannot tell you how strange it feels to be back "home" in my familiar Paris, yet not in my home at all and for once, not alone. Or at least eventually not alone. And all this following an already extended spring break. My mind can't grasp all this!
Well, I was happy at the farmhouse, I was happy in Grindelwald, I was happy in Venice. And I am really happy to be now in beautifully sunny (oh, the weather on this trip!) Paris. So long as I limit my news intake. Twice a day. That's it. (One can but try.)
Where do I eat dinner? At a place I've come to like, but one that isn't really suitable for when I am here with Snowdrop. I eat at Ottobre, even though it's Avril out there. I knew it would be good, and it is. Full of spring flavors and colors.
I walk back to the hotel along crowded sidewalks. Every outdoor table at every cafe bar and restaurant is full. People, enjoying each others company in the middle of a spring warmup. You get the feeling that they know what's important in life. This.
Time to get some rest. I'm learning to stick to my limits now in Paris. Just 24 pics today! And I'm done before midnight -- a victory of sorts.
with love...