Paris: Les premiers jours

I've reinvigorated this blog to (partially) document my trip to Paris.  Partially because I've already noticed that I'm not great about actually documenting things. I went on a lovely walk around my neighborhood yesterday, but there is no evidence of that fact, aside from a receipt from Monop'.

My trip over was essentially uneventful, although longer than expected due to a train delay (some sort of electrical problem at another station, from what I understood) and the fact that I wanted to get a monthly travel pass, which involved much longer lines than a normal ticket.

I'm staying in the 11th arrondissement, pretty close to the Place de la République. I have one room, which has a bed, a tiny table, some shelves, a shower, a kitchenette, and that's basically it. The toilet is down the hall. It is perfect. Here is a distorted view from my room, which is on the 6th floor (I'd call it the 7th). You can -- just -- sit on the balcony and watch the street below.

Today I thought I'd walk around some, in an attempt to get my body to acclimate to the time change. I went to Brancusi's workshop, which was recreated in a little building next to the Centre Pompidou. He wanted all of his work to be shown together, so he donated it on that condition.

I also walked down to the Seine, where I was able to just glimpse Notre Dame's towers.  I thought I smelled smoke, but that was probably psychosomatic.

My walk back to my place went down a very lovely street, full of shops, which I completely neglected to take photos of. I went to a grocery that specializes in food from Brittany (particularly salted butter) and one that specializes in jam. So I obviously will be eating that with bread for dinner.