And then.....: ....just some random thoughts

Random Thought #1: I don't know if I have mentioned that Saint Cloud is HILLY! When we want to go to the tram to get to Paris or points beyond, we take some stairs that are close to the apartment. The stairs end right at the street we need to cross to get to the tram. Nice, huh?

This is the first part of the stairway

This is the middle part

And these are at the end
Kinda pretty, huh?

Well, after you get done running your errands or going to visit places (which you have walked to and around) this is what the stairway turns into.......

What!

OMG!

Do they EVER end?!?!

Home stretch....breathing optional

That is why, after only a month, we call them the Stairs of Gloom! Also, Patrick climbs these everyday coming home from work......in the dark. OOOoooweeeeOOOoo!

Then you come down the street and turn the corner........

To the apartment building

....and have to climb up this hill (okay, halfway) to get to the entrance to our building! I should be loosing weight by now, right? Doesn't feel like it yet.....

Random Thought #2: After we moved in, we received the word that domestic animals (yeah, you people with cats who live here...get your cat inside so it quits taunting my dogs!!) were no longer allowed in the park in the middle of the apartments! Well that threw us for a loop. One of the reasons we rented here was because we were told the dogs could go out there (the other reason was because the kids were supposed to be going to the American School down the road......but are now going to the British School...oh well!) So now I walk the dogs about 4 times a day. They are getting a routine and doing very well, except for the other morning they tried to chase a loose cat and I had to grab a parked car to stop!! The place I take them to is down the street from the apartment on the way to the Stairs of Gloom.

From the top of the park I can see the Eiffel Tower

Down on the left side is the end of
the street and the
Stairs of Gloom

It is a nice walkway with green space so they can do their "business". In France it seems no one cleans up the dog poop so there are lots of interesting smells for the girls (just be careful stepping into the grass!). Beside the apartment building in the picture there is an area about 75 yards long and 40 yards wide where I let them wander and smell and eat grass and do what dogs do..... They are always on the leash because there is a road right on the other side of the grassy area, but they have learned quickly to do their "thing" with the leash on. Einstein is terrified of cars and car noises, so she stays close if I decide to walk them on the sidewalk on the street side. However Morgan, big dumb Lab that she is, tries to go up to MOVING cars! Freaks me out! My dog is going to get hit by a car while on her leash! DUMMY! So I usually just walk them up to the end of the park and turn them back to go down the other road because it is a dead end and has very little traffic.

Random Thought #3: So often during the day when I walk the dogs I see this guy. Pretty sure it's the same guy everyday. It seems his job is to spend all day walking up and down the street and the Stairs of Gloom picking up trash. He is definitely NOT picking up dog poop, though! No one does! The thing is, since the road is a dead end, there really isn't that much trash. But yet, there he is everyday.....wandering around.

Guy in yellow....is that really your job?

Random Thought #4: It has been sunny here for the past 3 days and people are everywhere. I have been going to one of the only major shopping malls I know how to get to because it is off the big Metro station. The place is huge and every time I go I see stores I somehow missed last time. To get from the Metro station to one of the wings of the mall, you have to go out and cross this enormous plaza by the Grand Arch. The past couple of times I have been it has been around lunch time. So the French are famous for their leisurely lunches and recently have also been soaking up the sun.

This is the Grand Arch (huge) and all the little black specks
are people sitting on the steps having some lunch

People everywhere

Random Thought #5: As I go about my travels looking for things I need to set up house, I have noticed something you wouldn't dare see in the United States. I guess because of all the nude statues and works of art here in Paris, the human body is not so taboo as it is in America.....it's either that or the model they used to make all the mannequins here in France was way cold when they cast her form because you can't pass a woman's clothing store without seeing..........