running fool

Because there is no school on Wednesdays, I have taken to running before Naud goes to work on those mornings.  Despite the fact that I can’t bring myself to get up early on a regular basis, I am quite fond of running at sunrise.  I love waking up with the city and greeting Paris all its dewy splendor.

We experienced an unbelievably cold stretch earlier this month.  When I headed to run, it was often still in the teens.  I wore many layers, including long underwear and a scarf wrapped around my face.  For the first 10 minutes, it felt like my face and fingers were on fire, but the pain was totally worth it.

 
first signs of ice on the saint-sulpice fountain

During the cold spell, I was constantly awestruck by the perfectly clear blue skies and gold-tinged glow on every facet of the city.  The sun shone brightly but never quite touched down. 

Bitter cold did little to stop life in Paris.  On the coldest of days, the city was a bustle of people going about their day.  I liked that.  It was good for cafes, who did brisk business warming up customers.  No one seemed to hole up at home.  Young and old, alike, were out and about. 

The fur came out in full force.  You name it, I saw it, in fur form.  There were fur hats that reminded me of the soldiers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’, fur capes, fur stoles with little faces and legs, dyed fur, fur vests, fur headbands and fur dog jackets.  Fur was suddenly The North Face of Paris and given the frigid temperatures, it came across as more utilitarian than vulgar. 

staving off the cold with my fur-free north face jacket

An American woman whom I have met and often run into at a cafe near Annabelle’s school, showed up wearing a neck to ankle fur coat, replete with fur headband.  She was so engulfed by her coat that I hardly recognized her.  After a while, her husband joined her and announced that there was another protest going on nearby.  Annabelle’s school is located in an area near a lot of government buildings, therefore protests are a common occurrence. 

“What are they protesting this time?” she asked. 

“It’s PETA”, he said.  “You’d better not go out there with your coat on.”

“Oh no, you’re not serious!”, she exclaimed, visibly panicked.

“Yeah, I’m kidding,” he snickered.   

Good one.