Reconnaissance Mission

This morning I ran a reconnaissance mission out to the airport to figure out the logistics of transporting a box too big for a taxi from downtown to the airport.  All is well, except maybe for the 1 mile walk from the apartment to the regional train (RER) terminal, the lack of a storage room at the hotel, the need to transport all luggage without a cart from the hotel to the airport terminal, and a few other minor details.  All is well.

Upon my return, Diane and I stopped at our favorite crepe stand for breakfast (me) / lunch (Diane) then went to Geppetto Bicycles.  I bought the new kickstand.  Besides being cool, it will greatly aid in the stability of the bicycle in our storage shed.  This evening I packed the bicycle into the giant bicycle box.  A few more pieces of styrofoam and it will be ready to seal up.  I've probably already given the bike more TLC than it has received in all the preceding years.

Diane went shopping again.  It’s time to start thinking about gifts and souvenirs etc.  I went for a walk then to the library.  I passed through the Louvre mall to warm up and then scooted across the street to the Louvre Antiquities mall.  The mall used to be a massive assortment of small shops selling the most remarkable of antiques.  There are just a few stores left: most are now vacant.  I presume because of a changing taste for antiques and the current poor economy. It is a place I would never expect to buy from, but it was cool looking around.  In one of the few remaining shops, there was a beautiful piano for sale.

This evening we went to the Maison Européenne de la Photographie which is the major photography museum.  The show was split between intentionally shocking images (with warnings to parents about children viewing) and a panorama of classic images.  The latter was great; the former was, well, shocking (mutilations, lacerations, death etc).  The Joel-Peter Witkin stuff was the mild stuff.

It is getting colder and colder.  The ponds have frozen over and, should we get precipitation, it will stay on the ground as snow.  It is not THAT cold here; it’s just tougher to do a 2 or 3 hour walk.  The cold eventually just soaks through.  Diane is having a tough time with her feet.