That time Pacman turned me into a journalist

By Jane Hirt

A couple of weeks ago, an old friend sent me an article I had written for our junior high newspaper—in 1981.

It was an editorial in defense of video games: Pacman, in particular, which cost 25 cents to play at the local grocery store arcade. Even back then, grownups were freaking out about the harm video games may be causing kids.

I made some pretty convincing arguments in that article, like “we should be able to do what we want with our lunch money” and “there are far worse things to spend your time doing.”

Article from the Irving News

It was fun to read something I’d written more than 35 years ago. But most of all, that article reminded me that I’d caught the journalism bug early.

I was about 14 years old when I wrote that editorial for the Irving News. (Fun fact: My brother Mitch Hirt now teaches at Irving Middle School. Maybe you had him for math!)

But back to the journalism bug. Yes, it bit me young and it bit me good. I continued taking journalism classes at Lincoln Southeast, and then got my journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. After that, I moved to Chicago to work for the Chicago Tribune, and I spent 25 years there doing lots of interesting work and seeing lots of interesting times. I even got to run that legendary newsroom as its managing editor from 2008-2014.

I always felt lucky that I got to do what I loved. Journalism was a true calling for me.  If you’re curious, and you like to write and to ask tons of questions and care about things like fairness and righting wrongs, then you might be a future journalist.

Even though I no longer work in a newsroom, I still write every day, ask a ton of questions and try to contribute toward a more fair and just world.

If you think journalism may be a career for you, I hope you’ll join me in the social media newsroom at TedXYouth Lincoln on Aug. 19.  I’m looking for volunteers right now, and it would be an amazing opportunity for you to see what this career is like.

By volunteering for the newsroom, you will be a journalist for the day, covering the event and publishing your work on social media.

Social media platforms are an important distribution method for big news organizations these days, and they’re perfect for #TEDxYouthLNK as well. We’ll be working on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

So fill out this form to volunteer for the TEDxYouth social media newsroom.

I’ll see you there. Unless I come down with Pacman fever, that is.

Executives on maternity leave: Help has arrived

By Jane Hirt, with Melissa Harris

When I wrote and posted “A Radical Sabbatical Survival Guide” on LinkedIn two months ago, I was surprised by the reaction. You’d think that someone like me who’d spent 25 years in mass media — and knows exactly how powerful social media is — would have considered how many people might read my post.

But you don’t really know what it feels like to go viral until you’re in the middle of kind of going viral. And for a few crazy days in January, that post ricocheted around the world.

I appreciated the thousands of shares and likes and comments, including all of the people who told me their personal sabbatical stories. It seems to be part of the human condition to yearn — at least a little — for the time to live life without the demands of a job. And that longing was evident among people from around the world. I heard from businesswomen and men in Brazil, the Philippines, China, Sudan and India, from myriad industries.

Many of the commenters asked me to post again when I decided what I’d do after my gap year. Lately I feel like I’m done gorging at the trough of life, and I’ve started consulting here and there, testing the waters of the gig economy.

This week, I started a four-month stint at Origin Investments, a private equity real estate investment firm in Chicago that has added a crowdfunding platform to their investment options.

I’ll be filling in for Melissa Harris, Origin’s vice president of marketing, who is expecting a baby in May and will be taking a three-month leave.

Marketing isn’t necessarily where I saw myself landing next, but I’m eager to get back in the game and learn new skills and whole new industries.

The aspect I’m most excited about is that I’ll be filling in for a woman executive so she can take a maternity leave and focus on her baby and herself for awhile, with no distractions from work.

When Melissa, a friend and former colleague at the Chicago Tribune, approached me to see if I’d be interested, she was struggling with how she’d be able to leave a job she loves at a fast-growing company to focus on her maternity leave, even temporarily. She’s lucky that her bosses were enlightened enough to agree to bring in a consultant during her leave, which, because the firm has fewer than 50 employees, isn’t even required to follow the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The arrangement is this: I will perform Melissa’s duties while she’s on leave and hand the operation back to her when her leave is over, so she can hit the ground running.

Who knows, after I finish this job I may move on to help another executive who is having a baby. There is certainly no shortage of women who want to have a successful family and a successful career.

I recently met an entrepreneur whose ears perked up when she heard about this arrangement I’ve got going with Melissa and Origin. This new friend of mine? She’s due in August.

I think it’s clear by now that businesses with women leaders are more successful financially. And if we’re going to expect and encourage more women to take on executive roles, we’re going to need to figure out arrangements like this to help them do it. I feel good about the fact that this is how I will be re-entering the workforce.

It must mean something that nearly even woman I mention this arrangement to is captivated by the idea. They’re all as inspired by the possibilities of it as I am. Perhaps Melissa and I are in on the beginning of a movement; one in which former female executives support current female executives in new ways. Wouldn’t that be great?

I’ve asked Melissa to write about what led her to think up this arrangement and what she hopes will come of it. Here are a few words from Melissa:

 

On the eve of Christmas vacation, my boss, Michael Episcope, sat across my desk and explained that he didn’t think the firm could go without a marketing chief during my maternity leave.

Although we’re a small firm at fewer than 15 employees, we control nearly $500 million in commercial real estate nationwide and are rapidly growing our investor base through both traditional means and our website. Michael worried that if we didn’t bring in a consultant, we’d lose momentum. I shared his concern, but my first instinct was to panic. What if this temporary replacement stole my job?

Michael did two very important things to get me comfortable with the idea. First, he gave me full authority to select the consultant, and, more importantly, he kept his word about it.

I created a list of three people, all women, with Jane at the top. But the more I thought about it, the more I decided that Jane was the only choice. I told Michael, “Either Jane signs on, or I work through maternity leave and the company provides my child care.”

I want to be very frank about why I feel so comfortable with this arrangement. First is the fact that Jane was the last person to hire me, seven years ago as a business columnist at the Chicago Tribune. Thus, we have been schooled in the same culture, ethics and even the same writing style.

Second, I trust Jane. Aside from the fact that she’s a friend and mentor, she also is a sorority sister and media industry veteran. Our social networks and experiences overlap so much that both of us would be placing a lot of goodwill at risk if either balked at or tried to amend the arrangement.

And third, and most importantly, she’s going to be great for Origin Investments. She has both launched a startup as founding editor of RedEye and led a 450-person newsroom as managing editor of the Chicago Tribune. She knows how to grab people’s attention, having kept a close eye on audience metrics for decades. And she knows how to execute a strategy.

Meanwhile, I get three months to focus on my family. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank Jane for signing on. But the people I most need to thank are Origin’s cofounders, Michael Episcope and David Scherer, for being progressive, innovative leaders in the private equity and real estate industries, which are home to far too few women executives.

 

 

 

Xi chapter newsletter

XiSymphonyWinter2016_final

A Radical Sabbatical survival guide

 

I posted this on LinkedIn and Medium last week and boy did it go crazy. As of now, it has almost 235 ,000 views, 993 comments, 375 shares and 2,800 likes. It’s also spawned tons of LInkedIn, Facebook and Twitter messages. It’s been kind of crazy. Here it is, again, organized with some of my other Gap Year observances.

• – – – – – – – –

When I announced in late 2014 that I was leaving my job as managing editor/vice president of the Chicago Tribune to take a career break, reactions were varied: confusion, suspicion, horror and grudging respect. Close friends were happy for me; others no doubt thought I was crazy.

But the thing people said most frequently, at least to my face, was: “Wow, I wish I could do that.” My response? “You actually can.” And I still do respond that way. Because 13 months later, I look back and am happy with my decision. I wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Before I go further, I must acknowledge that yes, I know that I am incredibly fortunate. A career break is a First World luxury that many people can only dream of because they work hard to barely scrape by. I never cease to be grateful for the hand I’ve been dealt in a world that is unfair and unjust in so many ways. I always strive to build on the opportunities and gifts given to me and to give something back in return.

Before leaving my job, I did a few things to prepare that I believe have made all the difference. They involved planning, lots of planning and a few extra plans. I wanted to go into my career break with a purpose and leave it a better person.

In hindsight, these were the most important steps I took:

Know thyself

Don’t leave in haste or in anger. I thought about this move for a long time, and I was confident I was making the decision for the right reasons.

If you’re a worrier who can’t handle uncertainty or risk, then this won’t be a very comfortable thing for you. But you can still do it. Just try to anticipate how you’ll react—you know yourself best– and set up things to inoculate yourself against doubt. I’m not a risk-averse person, but I still prepped on this front.

Before I left my job, I wrote down the reasons why it was time for me to move on from a job and a company that I absolutely loved and for which I still feel a great deal of loyalty. I’ve kept that document on my laptop in case I was ever struck with a case of regret. I’ve never opened it. But it’s comforting to know it’s there.

Because a few months after you leave a job, a fuzzy cloud emerges that obscures the sharp edges of your work memories. The danger is that you become wistful and regret what you did. But pop open that Word doc. See? You did have good reasons for your decision. You even wrote them down.

I also kept all the nice notes, tweets and messages people sent me when I left, all for future consultation if needed.

Financial planning

Besides a bit of emotional planning like what I described above, I planned for this move financially. If you’re not prescient enough to have saved your whole life for a gap year, then at least save during the months or years leading up to it.

Financial experts say it’s smart to have six months of your current salary saved in case you lose your job. I used mine during my break. I also made sure to clear all the debt I could. I felt more confident going into this break without a bunch of heavy debts breathing down my neck.

Finally, don’t forget to factor in health insurance. It’s expensive when you have to pay for it all yourself. Very expensive.

I frequently remind myself that the goal of a career is not simply to acquire a pile of money to collapse and die on at the end. At least that’s not my goal. So I’ve spent some of the money I saved without guilt.

Goals and lists

I wrote down a long list of things I wanted to accomplish on my break. Some was specific (learn to code), some was more vague (say yes to every invitation). I wanted my break to be purposeful. I wanted to recharge my creative batteries and pick up new skills, perspectives and friends.

That list has lived on my laptop all year, and I’ve crossed off things as I finished them. Naps and binge watching TV were also on the list. I’m no saint.

I put myself out there and met new people. I had drinks, coffees, lunches and dinners with so many people– old friends and new. I said yes to every invitation, whether I knew the person or not, and got back to the people who’d told me “we should get together ” in my last days at work.

I’ve especially enjoyed hanging out with former work colleagues without that whole “she’s my boss” tension hanging over the conversation.

Accountability

All of these lists play an important role. I knew that if I told myself and others what I planned to accomplish, then I’d be more likely to do it. Even my 2015 Christmas letter served as a sort of final report on my break.

I also made a Break Resume. I was so busy living life and gobbling up experiences that I started to forget all I’d done. So I’ve been keeping a running tally in resume form. For whom? Who knows. Myself, I guess.

Did it work?

Yes. I’ve had the best time. This year I’ve been able to indulge my rabid curiosity, learn new things, travel to new places and follow my own agenda for 13 months. I’ve thrown myself into my break like it was my job. I’ve hungrily collected experiences, big and small.

I’ve traveled around the U.S. and abroad. My husband and I lived in Paris for five weeks just to see what it was like (it was marvelous) and hosted friends and family in our rental apartments there.

I’ve learned so much this year. Like how to make ramen noodles from scratch and how to write basic computer code. I took improv classes at The Second City and built a web site for my hobby record label (sweetpearecords.net).

I’ve volunteered –- a lot. For various boards, my neighborhood elementary school and for an agency that sends books to women in prison. I gardened and arranged for long-overdue improvements to our house. It’s been an epic year.

But we Americans live to work, it seems, and the question I hear most frequently now is: What’s your next job going to be?

Which brings me to my final point.

Know when it’s time to move on from your break

Recently, I started coming to the end of my lists, and I’ve started to feel ready to head back out there. So I plan to start looking for work, be it full-time, temporary or consulting work. I’m open to lots of things.

I think it says something that in America, we don’t have a widely accepted term for what I did this year. Sometimes I call it my Gap Year, the one I never took after college. Other times I call it my Radical Sabbatical, which makes people giggle. At my most introspective, I think of this as what I’d do if a doctor told me I had just one year to live.

Here’s to the great unknown in 2016. I’m going to try to make it as enlightening as 2015 was.

In fact, that’s now on the list.

 

 

Jane’s Top 10 things to do in Paris

Friends of mine get to live in Paris for a month in spring 2016. Lucky them!

They asked me for the best things I discovered in Paris during the month Michael and I lived there in spring 2015. Here’s what I came up with.

A couple of times you’ll see me reference the Marais and the Place des Vosges. That’s because that’s where their apartment will be.

1. Walk, walk and walk some more.

That’s how I discovered the best parts of Paris. My iPhone said I walked 180 miles that month; I walked like it was my job. Walking down all of those streets cemented the city map in my mind and left room for all the cheese I ate. Sometimes I walked to specific places; sometimes I meandered, got lost and then found myself on my iPhone map.

2. Walking tours

I took seven Paris Walks walking tours. They last two hours, weave in lots of French history, are run by native English speakers. Most cost just 8 euros and require no reservation. There are two tours of the Marais, both excellent. And both end at the Place des Vosges. (How convenient). These two Marais walks would be good ones to take at the beginning of your stay to orient yourself. I liked every single Paris Walk I took. You can peruse the list on their web site, http://www.paris-walks.com/. The chocolate tour was cool. I learned so much about chocolate, its history and how to buy it with confidence, though it’s so well-regulated in France that if it’s called “chocolate” it’s very unlikely to be bad.

3. Versailles

The palace of Versailles is magnificent and very worth the suburban train ride. There are long lines to visit the palace itself, which is a cool thing to see at least once in your life. But even more magnificent are the grounds. This last time, Michael and I didn’t even go into the palace. We let our guests go inside and we walked around the grounds for hours and hours. The Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette’s little fake farm are on the grounds and worth visiting. So be sure when you buy your ticket to buy the one that lets you into all of the palaces, not just the main one. If it’s too much for Noa to walk, there is a shuttle that looks like a little train that will drive you around.

 4. Buy advanced tickets

When you go to Versailles, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and Musee D’Orsay, you simply must buy advanced tickets when possible. It allows you to use a special line at the entrance, bypassing the regular lines that can take an hour or more to stand in. The lines for the Eiffel Tower elevators and Louvre, especially, are heinous.  Also, take advantage of the museums’ evening hours when you can. They’re usually offered once a week and the crowds there at night are much smaller. As I mentioned to you at dinner, I was even able to see the Mona Lisa, something I’d never even tried before because of the insane crowds around it. Also, don’t accidentally go to one of these museums on their free day. Yikes.

5. Restaurants

I used the TripAdvisor app to find good restaurants near my apartment. There’s a map function that plots the restaurants near you, and I paid close attention to their ranking. There are 14,700-ish restaurants in Paris. I tried to stick to those ranked 1,000 or better. Prix fixe menus are usually the best deal, but force you to eat three courses, entree/plat/dessert. (You probably know this, but French entrees = American appetizers and French plats = American entrees.) It was hard for us to eat such rich food every day, so a lot of times Michael and I went to Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. I had some damn good Pho in the 3rd arrondissement.

6. Park sittin’

The thing I love to do best in Paris is sit and read in the park. My favorite has always been the Jardin du Luxembourg, but this last time I also spent a great deal of time in the Tuleries Gardens. Both offer free, comfortable and plentiful chairs. I’d bring a lunch, park myself and alternate reading a book and watching the people. The Tuileries Garden is a great place to sit and wait as your guests visit the Louvre, if you’ve already seen it and don’t want to go again. The Luxembourg Gardens has the cutest little restaurant where you can get an only-slightly overpriced coffee and sit in the shade. There is one bathroom in the Luxembourg Gardens, behind the restaurant and down some stairs. It costs a euro, and there’s often a line, but it’s good to know it’s there during a day at the park.

7. Beverages

* French hot chocolate: You’ll learn on the chocolate tour that chocolate was first brought to France by foreign queens who drank it. It’s like drinking liquid chocolate. Hot chocolate can be found on many menus, but usually it’s the milky American kind. If you want this special drink, you have to look for “chocolat a L’ancienne.” It’s so rich, they serve it with whipped cream to cut it. Ha! The best place I found for this kind of hot chocolate was at Angelina http://www.angelina-paris.fr/fr/. There’s more than one Angelina location, but I went to the one at the edge of the Luxembourg Gardens. I do recall many years ago getting a cup of this kind of hot chocolate at a restaurant on the edge of the Place des Vosges, so maybe you’ll find one during the explorations of your own neighborhood!

* Tea

I think you said you like tea. If so, I’d recommend Mariage Freres. The store in the Marais is half tea store half upscale, ladies-who-lunch-style tea room. It’s at 30 Rue du Bourg-Tibourg, in the Marais. The menu offers hundreds of teas, rare and otherwise. If you like the cup you were so carefully served, you can buy a tin at the counter on the way out. They don’t make you eat, but you can if you like.

8. Night boat tour

It may sound cheesy, but I loved the night boat tour on the Seine River. I learned so much about the history of Paris and found it to be a relaxing way to see a lot of the city. I think it lasted just an hour.

9. Rue Mouffetard

If you’re looking for one of those darling market streets with vendors from whom you can buy food for dinner, go to Rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter. I’ve always loved the atmosphere here, the narrow Medieval streets, the bricks underfoot. One warning: They close up tight on certain days and at certain hours that I could never quite anticipate. To be safest, I’d go on a week day in the mid-morning, before lunch. If you want to eat at a restaurant over there, I’d recommend Cave La Bourgogne at the bottom of the hill (just a great, native French place for lunch or dinner) or Salle a Manger, also near the bottom of the hill. Here you can get breakfast or one of those fabulous salads the French eat for lunch.

10. Cooking class

One of the coolest, though most expensive, things I did was take a “market class” at a place in Montmartre called Cookin’ with Class. A super friendly English-speaking French chef took a group of six of us to the market, where he explained how to buy the best meat, fish, veggies, cheese, etc. We bought food to prepare and then adjourned to the classroom where together we cooked a three-course meal as we drank wine and ate cheese, and then ate the meal. He taught us many French cooking techniques. It was a unique and memorable experience that lasted about five hours.  Here’s the web site.  French Cooking Classes in Paris. I booked this a  couple weeks out because they don’t offer a ton of classes

All of this is a lot to consider, I know. Please let me know of any wonderful things you guys discover, so I can try them out the next time I am there. I’m so excited for you. I think Paris is one of the best places on earth!

Jane

 

To Do: Check the To Do List

While it’s been awhile since I’ve written a post, I’ve been busily checking off items on my to-do list. In the last month, I’ve:

• Planned a December trip to Provence
• Taken walking tours of Graceland and Rosehill cemeteries
• Gotten the Sweet Pea Records web site 90% of the way there. (Just waiting for band bios)
• Finished the upstairs room rehab and made plans for a new floor up there
• Been super social, saying yes to all invitations
• Gardened
• Touched base with my mentees
• Made headway on AFPP and Network things
• Finished another Chi Omega newsletter
• Got new light fixtures/ceiling fans for downstairs
• Took a Flavor Dynamics class at Chopping Block
• Joined the Architecture Foundation and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
• Saw a Backroom Shakespeare production

This month, I’d like to return to Code Academy and finish that. I also thought it would be fun to return to my original To Do list, the one I made in November as I finished work. I was gratifying to see that I’d accomplished many things on that list.  So that’s good.

Here are the things still left on that list:

• Read all of Scott’s So Social columns
• Read Flawless Consulting
• Built janehirt.com web site
• Exercise every day, uhhhhh (Though I have started yoga again)
• Go room to room, paint, fix, declutter
• Learn Chinese
• Volunteer at Blind Services Assoc.
• Watch Star Wars movies with Michael
• Get new headshot (Kring)

Now that I’ve relaxed into my new routine, I feel like I’m entering a phase where I’d like to finish up everything on my To Do list … and then possibly look for a job around the first of the year. I’m not in a huge hurry to do this, but I know that I like to be busy, and as my stockpiled list of things dwindles, I’ll be looking for more.

I’ve gotten plenty of job queries over the last few months. Some in legacy media, some in PR, some for consulting, but nothing interesting enough yet.

One thing I thought would be interesting to do would be to create a Break Resume for this year, one that details the things I’ve done on my Radical Sabbatical. Here are the beginnings of it.

JaneBreakResume

Remembering Grammy

When I was in Paris, a headline in a magazine on the coffee table caught my attention. It was something about a mother or a grandmother, but for some reason, it triggered a very strong memory of my grammy.

Grammy was not my grandma, she wasn’t even a relative. She was the old women who baby-sat me and my sister Susan when we were little. I don’t remember a ton of things from my childhood, but I clearly remember so many things about my grammy.

I remember that she never watched us at home, but rather at her house, in a senior-living development in Wayne, NE. Her apartment in the one-story, courtyard cluster of red-brick buildings was tucked in the corner. And we would get out of the car on the street and run up to her door. I remember some of the old people in the other apartments would come out and watch us arrive. One neighbor couple would even get out M&M’s to try to get us to come over to their door. It worked.

We must’ve been a welcome sight for the old eyes. We were probably about 4 or 5, little blond things, my sister and I, running gleefully up to our grammy’s door.

Inside, it was a four-room apartment. It had a living room, one bedroom, one bathroom and a little kitchen. In the living room was the “davenport.” That’s what Grammy called it. It’s was an old-fashioned, scratchy-upholstered sofa that folded out into a bed for us to sleep in when my parents had a night out. That only happened a few times, but I remember them lifting us out of the bed and carrying us to the car on those few occasions.

Mostly, Grammy watched us during the day, when my parents worked as teachers. I don’t know how my mom found her, or whether she watched other little kids before or after us.

I don’t even remember exactly what she looked like and I have no picture. I wish I did. To my little girl eyes, she looked like a typical old woman with permed gray hair, a house dress, glasses. She seemed to me well-built, not frail, and kind of tall.

I remember that she made really good food for lunch. We’d have roast beef with potatoes and vegetables. She’d always mash our vegetables and pour cold milk over them so we wouldn’t burn our little tongues. And I remember once having a lemon meringue pie.

She took such good care of us. She’d always brush our hair before my mom came to pick us up. I had long curly hair and it hurt when people brushed it. But I let her do it because she wanted us to look good for our mom.

In the afternoons, Grammy would watch her “programs,” a soap opera or two. I don’t remember what specifically she watched, because we’d always go play something else inside or just outside the apartment door. Afterward, though, if Lassie or something similar came on, we’d watch a little of that.

I also clearly remember the box of toys she’d get out for us. There weren’t many things in that box, though I do remember these little, old-fashioned dolls that I’d play with. We always found plenty to do in that tiny apartment.

When we got older and went to school, we sometimes would go to Grammy’s after school if my mom couldn’t come right home. When I was about 6, my brother Mitch was born. And we started going to another older lady, whom we called Mrs. Nissen, or something like that. I don’t know why we stopped going to Grammy’s. She might have gotten too old to watch all three of us.

But I was never as comfortable at Mrs. Nissen’s as I was at Grammy’s. (Though I do remember playing with a box of empty perfume bottles there.)

A few years after we moved from Wayne, my mom told me Grammy had died. She went up to Wayne to go to her funeral. I don’t think I went; I’m not sure. I wish I’d asked my mom more about Grammy. My mom told me that Grammy’s husband had fought in the war and that he had a metal plate in his head and was never the same after he came back. I don’t think Grammy ever had kids. Besides us, that is. She took care of us as if we were her own.

I loved my Grammy. I hope I told her that often.

It’s a wrap

So what did I learn about Paris and about myself re: Paris?

Well, I could definitely live there.  I felt completely comfortable there, even with my limited French. After walking 180 miles of the streets of Paris, I even know my way around quite well. Once you learn the main streets, it’s easy. And Paris is smaller than one would think.

I don’t think I ever will live there for an extended period of time, though, because I don’t think Michael would be very happy there. He would miss too many of the things he loves: hockey, home, his couch, his friends, etc. But he did inform me very sweetly that he’d live there if I wanted to. He warned me, though, that he’d have to get a motorcycle, “two wheels,” he said.

I loved the food of Paris, of course, but if I lived there I’d definitely cook at home often. French food is just so very rich, and after awhile, I didn’t really want to eat it anymore. It’s been nice being home and taking a break from it.

Where would I live? I actually preferred the grittier 2nd arrondissement to the fancier 6th.  So I’d probably opt for a less chic address.

Now, there’s the issue of getting a job there. Ha! I haven’t even looked.

But my experiment of living there for 5 weeks did accomplish its mission. I feel I could happily live and work in Paris.

 

I would walk 500 miles …

 

As I write this, I’m doing the opposite of what I’ve done every day for the last 33 days. I’m on a plane, and I’m not walking.

 

Oh, man, did I walk in Paris. I walked and walked and walked. I walked so much, my left heel is killing me.

 

Some days I walked 8 miles. One crazy day I walked 11 miles. Most days I walked at least 5 miles. Even on the days I tried not to walk (to rest my heel), I still walked more than 3 miles. It almost seemed impossible to walk fewer than 3 miles.

 

By the count of my iPhone, I walked almost 200 miles through the streets of Paris over the five weeks I was there. Actually, it was somewhere between 180 and 200 miles, so I’ll just round up.

 

Walking through Paris is one of my very favorite things to do. Discovering streets and areas and stores and restaurants and unexpected beauties.

 

Through it all, I wore the shoes at the top of this post. They are coated with the dust of Paris, the of Luxembourg Garden, of the Tuilleries Garden, of the Eiffel Tower, of the Metro, of Versailles, of the Louvre, of the Marais, of Montmartre, of the 2nd, of the 6th, of the 5th …

 

So like the Proclaimers, I have walked two hun-dred miles and I would walk two hun-dred more, just to be the one who walked four hun-dred miles  to fall down at your door …

 

 

Luxembourg Garden – my favorite place in Paris

Today I went to Luxembourg Garden to read. I brought the Stephen King book that Michael got me for my birthday this year.

It’s about the fifth time I’ve managed to find a few hours to go there, sit, read and watch people stroll by. I just love this place. Even though my current apartment isn’t at all close, I either walk 45 minutes or hop on the Metro to get there.

The last two times, I’ve gotten lunch from a nearby place and have taken it to the park to eat it. Here was my lunch today.

 

It was a ham and gruyere sandwich, with butter spread so thickly on each side that the butter peaked through the holes in the bread. You can see it in the photo. I got a couscous salad, as well, and the dessert in the little box is a tart citron meringue, or a lemon meringue tart. It was amazing! Our tour guide on one of our Paris Walks tours showed us the shop (Gerard Mulot) and recommended it for picnic lunches. It’s a little pricey but well worth it for the quality and it’s only a few blocks away, at the corner of rue de Seine and rue Lobineau, on the way from the Odeon Metro stop.

Michael even came to the park with me today,

 

Why have I loved this place for so many years? I guess because it’s peaceful and lively at the same time. There are ALWAYS enough green metal chairs to sit on–no matter how busy the park is. There are running, shrieking children and people of all types walking by on the light beige gravel. There’s always a bit of shade to catch, like under these little trees along the path.

I also just love the little cafe tucked way under the trees.

I usually get a cafe or a chocolate.

Except on nice Sunday afternoons, there always is a chair available at the Pavillon de La Fontaine.

 

For a few days I went to the Tuileries Garden, outside the Louvre, and that was very nice too. But Luxembourg Garden is still my favorite and always will be. It’s the vibe, it’s the memories, it’s the peaceful feeling.