The amount of time I have in Paris is interesting. It's not long enough that I can really consider myself to be living here, particularly since I don't have a job here, and that's just as well, since my living situation, while reasonable for a short stay, would be pretty dreary long-term (of course, if I were here long-term, I'd probably spruce up the place a bit, and buy lamps and things but it would still be small and old).  But it's too long to be just a tourist trip.  At this point I've run out of major touristy things to do, and grown somewhat tired of museums (if you can believe that).  Plus there's the fact that tromping around turns out to be exhausting.  Fortunately, a big part of the reason I came to Paris was to write, which at home I seem to always find so many distractions from (even if most of those distractions, i.e. the internet and books are available here, I was correct in thinking that by comign to a different place I'd give myself new habits), so when I'm not touristing I can be doing that.

Today I didn't even make an effort to tourist; in fact, I didn't exert myself physically at all.  First thing in the morning I went to Starbucks (on Sunday it's really the only thing open before ten or eleven).  My goal for the morning was to outline the novel I've been working on, which I did... I didn't so much outline what each future chapter will be about as outline what past chapters have included, which got me thinking about the different elements of the plot and how I think the should develop.  So hopefully this has helped me get a bit more organized.

In the afternoon, I went for a walk; my intention was maybe to find a coffee shop at which to sit and watch the passersby, but there was absolutely nothing open and almost no passersby.  It was actually quite desolate, more so than I've ever seen it.  Usually on Sunday a few things are open, restaurants and a few food stores and the occasional touristy outlet, and there are plenty of people walking.  It could have been partly the neighborhood I was in, which was less touristy than some, but I remember walking in that neighborhood on another Sunday and it being much more populated.  It was actually very spooky.  Every single storefront was locked down, and while there were enough other people walking that I didn't feel like I was really in danger, it was not nice having homeless people hiss and yell at me.  I did find a boulangerie open and bought some bread; I would have liked cheese, but all the fromageries were closed.  After an hour I returned home and haven't been back out.

So, today was not the greatest success in the exploring-Paris department.  I wonder where everyone is?  Perhaps things are closed because the Tour de France is finishing today, or maybe I've just gotten lucky on other Sundays.  It seems like even weekdays have a weekend atmosphere, with people sitting over breakfast at cafes until eleven in the morning, but this was beyond anything I've ever seen.  I think New York would have been more lively on Christmas Day.  Paris seems like a wonderful place to visit - especially after the touristing is done and it's just walking and eating - but I can't imagine living here.

In addition to the outlining, though, I've written 4,000 words today.  I'm now up to about 38,000 words, not counting another project I started in the first week of the trip but abandoned.  Not that they are necessarily good words...

And now the sun is setting behind the house with the flowerpots on all the sills, and I can see a woman setting her dinner table and lighting candles.  Nobody ever said Paris wasn't beautiful.