Roland Garros 2008 - Day 14

Friday.  The weekend couldn't get here soon enough.  This thing may actually end like they all do.  I worked late, but took another day of rest instead of working out.  Can't quite kick this cold, though I do feel much better now than I have the past three days.

I got out into town this morning to head to Montparnasse Cemetery.  It is less about ancient stones, but it does house two existentialists of note; Jean-Paul Sartre and Samuel Beckett, though I suppose Beckett is more a minimalist than an existentialist.  Either way, both are names in my pretentious mind were worth of a visit.  I caught the metro to the closest stop, or so I thought.  When I got out, I couldn't see the cemetery at all.  So, I started walking.  Finally, managed to find it and start wandering.  I snapped a couple of pictures and then discovered that there were few others I was interested in, and the site had no maps I could carry, so I left after about 30 minutes there.

Well, that presented a mild dilemma.  I was now in Montparnasse with about 2 hours to kill before my day began.  I decided I'd walk in.  So, I pulled out the cheesy mall sponsored street map I had and started heading out.  About 20 minutes in, I decided I should stop and validate the sinking suspicion that I was walking the wrong direction.  Sure enough, I was. :-(  So, I back tracked for the 20 minutes to get back to where I started and began walking toward Roland Garros.  The walk was fascinating, as I got to see some very interesting parts of Paris.  One section of town I swore every other shop offered massage and steam therapy.  Then, I moved into the manicure and pedicure district as every other shop offered those services.  Last, it was the barber district, offering men's haircuts, women's haircuts and afro-European styling though typically not all in the same salon.  I even saw a man getting a traditional shave from a barber using a straight razor!

The walk was just under 6 miles total.  I guess I got a workout in after all, though at much lower intensity than a run.  Of course, I was sweating, so I'll count it anyway. :-)  I got to the venue just after 1:15, which meant I was still a bit early, but essentially right on time.

Play ran oddly longer than it should have.  We didn't get out of work until almost 10 PM.  Another late night for dinner.  We decided we'd try out a suggested 24 hour restaurant L' Alsace.  It was a very odd mix of Eastern French food and seafood.  The plate I ordered was a mix of steamed then chilled seafood.  I wasn't all that impressed, and would up doing more work than the food was really worth.  The total dinner including dessert cost me 70 Euros and that was just my portion!  Oh well, I tried to be a team player.  It will mean I likely will lose money on this trip though as that one blew out my per diem and it wasn't the first night to do so.

Because we got out at 10, we got to the restaurant at 11 and then had a 30 minute wait for a table, we didn't actually start the trek back to the hotel until after 1:30 AM.  I was scheduled to be in early shift, so I know I won't be running tomorrow now either.  At least the walk back was almost a mile, so I got a little more exercise in anyway.

Called Colleen at the house and they were out.  The global card ran out of money for sure as the card operator broke into my call while I was listening to the message on our machine and then it hung up on me.  I called her cell phone directly, but she didn't answer.  She likely wasn't expecting my call and it was 2 AM.  Sigh, I miss her.  I left a quick message and then hung up so I could crawl into bed.  It will be a long day tomorrow.

Cheers!