Day 8 Walking in Paris

Walk ... Eat ... Walk ... and eat again!

Day 8 Walking in Paris

Our second day in Paris and we were feeling more awake and a little less jet lagged.  We decided to follow a map that our friend Peter in Kitchener had given us before we left.  It looked like a great way to just get reacquainted with Paris in hurry. It ended up being a ten hour excursion and 18Ks from our door at noon and back again at 10 p.m. ... a superb 10 hours!!
So we are calling this walk an Introduction to Paris ... but, of course, Paris is so very much more than this! There is a map in this link above. Remember that you can shorten the walk from 18 K if you simply take the metro to the starting point at the Seine River. 
On this walk you won't have time to go into the Louvre but at least you will familiarize yourself with the layout of this part of the city. You can always head back to visit some of the museums on another day.

We did do a tour of the Petite Palace, as our friend Peter had recommended, and we were glad we did ... it was magnificent and there was an impressionist exhibition there as a special event.
 

An absolutely beautiful day to walk around Paris for 10 hours! Hello Eiffel Tower

Yes, we had to make a stop at the Eiffel Tower.  We hadn't walked around it this way before so we got some great pictures. Thank you so much Peter!
By the time we got home again we were absolutely done ... but the feeling was good.

Another day and another walk in Paris ... after a good rest we will be off again.
Walk On Strong,
Sue

Day 6 Walking in Paris!

This might be hard to make out but it is lights out time on Air France on our flight last night

Day 6  Walking in Paris!

Well, we made it to Paris! 
Dave and I left Toronto yesterday at almost 7 p.m. and arrived in Paris at about 2:30 a.m. ( Toronto time) today. The flight with Air France was quite wonderful ... great service and the hours flew by (no pun intended).  It was 7:30 a.m. Paris time so we had a good head start on our day.
 

The RER train takes you right through the center of Paris and connects with the metro ... easy!

We took the RER train into Paris from the airport.  The train system is so easily accessible it was about a half an hour and we were just a few blocks from our final destination in Montparnasse.  We have stayed in this area before so we felt a bit more sure of ourselves as we walked toward what we hoped was our little apartment getaway. We were met by a friend of the owner and he guided us the last block and helped us get in and look around.
It is just wonderful to have a real home to stay in while we are here. It really does feel like a home away from home.

So we settled into our new home and had a celebratory glass of wine ... this is Paris ... it had to happen sooner rather than later!

The next thing we did was plot our first walk to orient ourselves to our location so that we would be able to find our way back ... always a good idea when you are on holiday.  

We walked toward the river and the Montparnasse Tower which is an amazing landmark and definitely helps a poor traveler in Paris orient him or herself.  We walked for a hour or so and all of a sudden I felt absolutely exhausted ... so, not wanting to push our first day too much, we headed back home. 
We stopped at the grocer briefly to pick up the essentials of life: red wine, cheese, baguette, cream for expresso and croissants!
Life is great here in Paris and it is only our first day!!
We promise you more soon ... Walk On Strong ... in Paris,
Sue

Day 22 CBC has a walk30 nature challenge

 

The amazing Walk On Strong group heading out into the wilds of Waterloo, Ontario!

Day 22 CBC has a walk30 challenge

Yes it is true! The Challenge is called The 30X30 Nature Challenge and they are challenging you to get out into nature for 30 minutes every single day for 30 days ... imagine that!  I haven't been blogging much lately but I have still been walking ... almost every single day because I just can't stop myself.  The benefits are too many to be ignored and it just feels good!

The idea behind the 30X30 Nature Challenge is to engage the public in embracing nature every single day ... to that end there is a big tree on the 30X30 Nature Challenge webpage that grows when you go and log in your steps. 

Check out the 30X30  nature challenge and log your 30 minutes ... it is the Canadian Broadcasting Company that is putting this out there but you can add your steps no matter where you walk.

If you haven't started the walk30 habit (walking 30 minutes a day for 30 days in a row ) then this is the perfect opportunity to just do it!

Walk On Strong!

Sue

Day 3 International Walking Day ... a great idea!

The American Heart Association (AHA) has deemed this National Walking Day ... COOL!

Day 3 International Walking Day ... an great idea!

Three cheers for the American Heart Association, what an amazing idea ... National Walking Day!  I suggest that we take it a step further and have an International Walking Day.  Possibly we could designate a different day for every country and then we could walk in honor of that country so that we would have another reason to head out the door 365 times a year. I am probably getting carried away but people who know me would agree that isn't unusual.

Some of you may have noticed that I have not been blogging for a little over a month.  I have to admit that life has been rather challenging and has presented us with more than a few end of life experiences that have made our day to day life stressed beyond what we normally have to deal with.  My mother-in-law (89) passed away in February and my Dad (92) has had a serious failing in his health over the past 4 weeks.  Most of the time we are aware that the end of our story here on earth will be to close our eyes for a final time ... one day.  But rarely do we really consider what lies ahead of us until we see the people around us, who we love, moving into their final years.  I think that there is a time in your life when you are in the middle but the end of life needs to be looked at through your parents eyes ... it is unavoidable. 

 This experience has made a few things glaringly apparent to me:
1. We need to be vigilant right now so that we can be as healthy as possible up to and in our final years.  No one can do it for you ... it is time to get back on track if you have derailed for some reason. 

2. There are really easy ways to make sure that your quality of life is outstanding right now and in the future ... getting out the door, taking the stairs, moving our bodies rather than parking them somewhere in order just watch life instead of being a part of it all.

Let's all join together and make every day International Walking Day ... it's simple, easy and everyone can do it. Go for a walk today and send a message to this blog or to my email or facebook page.  Let me know that you walked on April 3rd to celebrate your healthy life!

By the way the Minds in Motion K W Walking Classic won the Best Walker Friendly Half Marathon for the second year in a row!!  Thank you to the folks at about.com and  huge thank you to all of you that voted for us!!

WALK ON STRONG Everyone!
Sue

Day 20 VOTE! WALK! VOTE! for 30 days

WHO'S THE BEST?  Minds In Motion K W Walking Classic

   Who's the BEST Walker Friendly Half Marathon in the world?...  The K W Walking Classic of course!

So let's vote on that ... Every Day!

HI there Everyone!
We need you to jump into action!  We have been nominated again by About.com as the Best Walker Friendly Half Marathon  and the competition is going to be tough! There are Half Marathons nominated many, many times our size that are in the running (we really mean walking!) so we need you to vote.
All you have to do is go to this link: Best Walker Friendly Half Marathon  ... you can vote once per day per email address!
 Vote for the Minds in Motion KW Walking Classic because we are the walking race with the biggest heart that loves walkers and wants to change everyone's mental and physical health for the better. We need to get the word out so please pass this on to everyone and get them to put this link on their favorites and vote as often as possible.
Walk On Strong!
          and Vote! Vote! Vote!

Sue
Move Your Body Change Your Mind
www.kwwalkingclassic.com
info@kwwalkingclassic

Day 10 KW Walking Classic at the Total Woman Show!

Telling the world about the K W Walking Classic

Day 10   Tired but feeling good after a busy weekend
This weekend a team of dedicated volunteers were at the Minds In Motion Booth telling everyone we could about the K W Walking Classic and the Walking Conference that we will be hosting at Wilfrid Laurier University here in Waterloo on Saturday, May 11 2013.
If you want to know more about this one day conference just go to our website at: www.kwwalkingclassic.com ... more on this very soon.
I want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who gave up part of their weekend to get the word out!
Now I am heading out to walk the dog and myself and take it easy.
Walk On Strong,
Sue

Day 6 A longer walk feels good!

My first 10 K in a few months

Day 6 A longer Saturday walk for me!
This has been a great week of walking.  The weather was not quite as cold and I am feeling that I am walking a little faster. 

This week I was the one to get up early and meet everyone for the 8 a.m. longer walk with our Walk On Strong group.  My husband Dave has been getting up early for the past 2 months while my knee has been healing ( yeah Dave!!).   I was up for it this week and feeling ready to walk a little longer.  At the end of 10K I really felt that I had a workout and the slippery conditions made things a little more intense. 
Dave and I and a few more members of Walk On Strong will be at the Chilly Half Marathon on March 3 so I plan to walk it but not as a race goal but a " I am going to make it to the end" goal. 

Life hands us a lot of lessons and this one has slowed me down and made me pay attention to the important things in life.
It feels good to just get out there and walk30 ... fast or slow ... it is all about just doing it!
Walk On Strong,
Sue