2008 so far & Future Plans

In front of the Ritz Hotel

So what have I been up to in the New Year? Well, for one thing I’m done with school. Classes did not begin until January 8th. I was originally planning on staying in Paris until the twenty-something so I figured I saved the money from those 2-3 weeks and just spend it doing some tourism in Paris or maybe even nearby cities now that I had the time. But those plans have changed a bit…not much…but just a bit. For once I decided to stay most of this time in Paris. I’m still enjoying being in this city so much and living such a tranquil, stress-free and quiet life that I do not really want to give it up; at least not yet. I realized that for the longest time (just like most of us) I’ve been always busy and even stressed between school (college), going to school and working at the same time, jumping from school and a part-time job to a full time job at FPL, and almost 8 years of working different jobs at FPL (sometimes 2 jobs simultaneously) plus working through a couple of hurricanes. In other words it has been non-stop. Even when vacationing: wake up at a decent time in the morning to be able to see as much of the visiting city as possible, walk all day long, go to museums, take trains, planes and buses, wake up early to catch a train/plane and so on. So in 2008 I’ve been just enjoying this time by myself without all the hustle and running around; doing things at my own pace: total relaxation. And it has been great!!! In the morning I wake up whenever I feel like waking up; usually between 10-11AM. I always say I think I’m still recuperating all the lost sleep from the last year or couple of years in Miami where I was getting an average of 5-6 hours of sleep per day during the week. Ok, so I wake up and go for my morning jog which now lasts between 1 hour and 1hour and 20 minutes depending on the weather and my energy level. On the way back from jogging I stop at the supermarket, which is located on the first floor of my building, and I buy whatever it is I’m going to cook for lunch. I get home and have something quick to eat to recuperate the energy lost in the jog, take a shower, and finally cook lunch. I then go out for my tour of the day. I either go to a museum, a monument, an exhibition, the stores, a church, a concert, or just simply a walk to discover a new area or new neighborhood in the city. Sometimes I go to Carolina’s house to have some tea and watch a movie (I’ve been getting caught up with a bunch of movies I had pending to watch) or we just get together to chit chat. At night I come back home, have something for dinner and depending on what I feel like doing I go out to one of the free concerts offered throughout the city or I just stay home chatting with my roommate, surfing the web, reading, or writing. So as you see, I’m living a very stress-free and relaxed life. I don’t think that I could live like this all my life but for now
I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can while it lasts. I know that once I get back to the real world and begin working again this life will seem surreal.

So what does the immediate future hold for me? This weekend I’m going to London for a week. I will be visiting Esperanza (my uncle’s wife). I’m super excited because I will be taking the Eurostar: the train that crosses the English Channel (under water) and which places you in the new St. Pancras station in London only 2 hours and 30 minutes after leaving Paris. I booked my trip the first week in January and got a very good deal. Actually I’ve learned that if you plan your trips ahead of time and purchase your tickets (air or train) ahead of time you can get some very good deals anywhere in Europe. I’m paying 77 Euros for the round trip ticket to London on the Eurostar. If you purchase a one way ticket only a couple of days in advance you will end up paying around 200 Euros. So it does pay to plan ahead; especially when you are on a budget. Once I get back from London I will be in Paris for about 10 days. A friend is coming from Munich to visit me so I will have he opportunity of now being a Paris tour guide. I will then head to Madrid with my 2 bags on February 13th. Yeap!!! Only 2 bags left to move to Madrid. My friend Marelys, who came to Paris for a business meeting at the beginning of the month, took one of my bags with her to Madrid which left me here with only 2 bags to carry once I re-locate to that city.

In the meantime, here are some more pictures of gorgeous Paris which I have been taking these days of Exploring Paris.

Louvre Museum -- Opera Garnier

St. Chapelle -- La Concergerie

(prison where Maria Antoinette spent her last days before being decapitated)

Pont Alexander