Fri, Jun 28, 2013 - 11K - 01:15:00
11K Notre Dame de Paris Run
Got up at 6 A.M. and looked out onto a drizzily 19th arrondissement street below our hotel room window, and decided to go run through it down to see an early morning view of the Notre Dame. As with all rainy runs, it's only the first 20 seconds that is uncomfortable, then the cold and rain turns fun and refreshing. On the way down Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin I mostly passed shopkeepers opening up their stores, delivery men unpacking their merchandise, surprisingly there was not that much traffic and the sidewalks were free and open to run. Running accross the Pont Notre Dame was a highlight of this run, as it had a spectacular view of early morning rainy Paris with ships loaded with cargo chugging down the river and the giant museums lined up on the right and left bank getting ready for the hundreds of thousands of tourists the day had in store for them. I finally reached Notre Dame, enjoyed the intricate architecture for a couple minutes, then made my way back. It stopped drizzling on the way back which made for really nice running, especially with the wide sidewalks of Boulevard de Strasbourg. On the the way back, the clientele on the streets had changed from delivery people and shopkeepers to people on their way to work, on their way to school, or taking their kids to school. In all, a refreshing run down into the center of Paris and back to the outskirts again. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Gare de l'Est: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Centre Georges Pompidou: 
 
 
 
 
 
Nearing the Seine: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The intricate architecture of Notre Dame: 
 
Heading back: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
An office depot store I remember from previous visits: 
 
 
 
Car with a "boot", like in Philadelphia: 
 
Rain stopped on way back, very nice for running: