the final tally.....

ok, so.....i wore my pedometer from the time i left home on thursday the 8th until i got home last night..the 13th.....the final step count was 79,602.....which averaged out to 13,247...or roughly 5 miles a day...but considering that we traveled the bulk of 2 of those days......our actual in-paris days were more like 17,500 steps.....more like 7 miles a day........on sunday we walked over 20,000 steps alone......8 miles.......during our trek from the marais back to the eiffel tower area.....though we walked, we took many pictures of the communal bikes available to rent in paris....these are available on the street in electronically controlled bike racks.....one buys a ticket then runs the bar code over the specific bike holder, and voila....you have the bike for as long as you want, and your credit card is charged when the bike is returned to the same spot, or one of many locations throughout town....we saw business people on these bikes, families, even elegantly-dressed women......at all times of day.....alas, no helmets were in use......but one cannot expect everything......we were also impressed by the growing number of small cars on the streets of paris.....to the extent that parking areas where once would have stood 2 regular sized cars....there were now 3-4 smart cars tucked in easily with room to spare......gentle readers....these cars are not for people who have children, as we saw a smart car parked next to a mini-cooper....a car that many in america see as almost too small.....and the mini-looked like a limo compared to the ultra-small smart car.....we saw not one suv or pickup truck on the streets, and no limos, curiously.....just a succession of very small cars willing to pay for gasoline that was running upwards of $9 a gallon...wow......if it cost that much here there would be riots in the streets......