IN PURSUIT OF FITNESS, SHOPPING AND ENTERTAINMENT

Mardi, le 16 juillet

Normally, sleeping until 9:15 in the morning does not give one a very long day; but here it does, since it is light until 10:30 p.m. I am sure that I am still exhausted from the trip and settling in, to say nothing of the busiest and hottest June I have ever experienced.

After my leisurely breakfast (I am detoxing from coffee today) I walked almost a mile to the Sport and Dance Fitness Center, for which I had high hopes. There were many machines, weights, mats, etc. and the desk person gave me a tour. There were no customers, and the three people there had no idea what I was asking even though so far I have been able to converse somewhat with those in other shops. The price for one month membership was 120 euros, and I decided that for that much money my mind could better meditate and my body could walk in the beautiful nearby very large park for free, La Parc du Poudrerie. 

After lunch I wanted to see the new Woody Allen film and decided to walk first to see the shops near the train station. There was only one small shop with clothing; the others were hair stylists, eye specialists, etc. so I think one has to go to Paris to shop as I could not even find a shop in order to buy cards or stationery items. No problem, I would just get a hot chocolate at the cafe across from the train station and watch the people. It was a nice day and I enjoy doing this, so I chose a table furthest away from two gentlemen who were smoking and was enjoying sitting there when another man arrived on his motorcycle and sat at the table next to me where he promptly lit up and began conversing on his cellphone. Almost all of the young people here seem to smoke.  However, inside the cafes they may not smoke.  So ... do I go back inside or stay out in (what was once) the fresh air. Well, time to escape the smoke and go to the film.

I arrived at the theatre and had the time wrong so I was 20 minutes late; they would not let me go in late so I walked back to the flat, got everything ready for dinner later and made my salad.  After resting for 15 minutes, back to theatre. This theatre was basic, by which I mean there were no snacks or popcorn and no water fountain. Fortunately there is a "toilette".   After going down quite a few steps, I walked into the room where there were no people yet; the seats were quite comfortable and covered in a red material resembling velvet. There are no previews, and the film started at exactly the posted time.

I do not recommend wasting your time on this movie as it does not make any sense at all. It is about a mixture of people, mostly visiting Rome, some of whom end up interacting with the others and some whom I have no idea what is going on with them. Carmen Diaz ends up in the hotel room of a man who has come with his fiancee to be married in Rome. The fiancee goes out for a walk and loses her cellphone after which she becomes lost and after asking a lot of questions, ends up in a restaurant with a man she meets on the street and where her fiance is having dinner with Carmen Diaz and three seniors who appeared at the hotel room at his door and now they are all together at this restaurant. The film was in the original English version but a lot of the speaking is in Italian, of course; the subtitles were in French so I did try to pay attention to that. I thought Alec Baldwin was absolutely awful, but not as bad as the script. For those of you who are writing screenplays, if this one can sell, yours should be a snap.

Finally, walking home right before 9 and nowhere near dark yet, I enjoyed just looking at the homes and my surroundings. A shower felt good after a very busy walking day, and I was happy I had prepared food for dinner as I could then enjoy it with my wine and collapse into bed.

Pictures coming soon.