The enjoyment of rest

IMG_4609.JPG, originally uploaded by objetsparis.

We're lucky to be staying in an apartment with large windows that open onto a green wall of trees and bamboo. There are roses climbing up the window frame, and the nearly constant sound of birds flying about in the trees. There are more distant sounds from a school a few buildings away, and occasional voices or footsteps from neighbors passing in the courtyard.

When we leave this sheltered world, we step into a bustling street in the Sentier, the local equivalent of New York's garment district. Just around the corner is the busy and exciting rue Montorgueil, a pedestrianized market street full of boulangeries, mini-supermarkets, cafés, bars, fleuristes, patisseries, vegetable and fruit markets, a fish market, a butcher, and more. Anything we need for day-to-day existence is there, and if we need to go farther afield, the bus or Metro is steps away. getting us to the Marais, to Saint Germain des Près, to Montparnasse. The temptation to take advantage of it all is strong.

While Susanne and Ari were here we found ourselves rushing off each day to "do" something, and reasonably so; Ari is a first time visitor to Paris and wants to see it all, and we enjoy sharing our favorite city. But this morning our visitors left for home, and I'm enjoying sitting here, listening to the birds and watching the sun move across the floor.