Well, this entry is going to be short. Not only are my Internet minutes about to expire (stupid 24-hour rule!), but it was a very lazy day. I'm definitely not over my jetlag yet – it usually takes me about 3 days coming East. Don't know why, just is.

I went next door to the Bureau de Poste right after breakfast and bought a ton of stamps for post cards and mailed several. I then hung around a bit before meeting up with an old boyfriend, Mr Bruno Royer. It turns out that his (new to me) shop that sells fencing equipment – sigh, the sport, not the enclosures – is just the next street over from my hotel! Quelle coïncidence, etc. Anyway, I met him at Cartel-Éscrime and we went over to his local favorite sushi place for lunch. It was great seeing him. He hasn't changed much since the 12 years we last saw each other, except that he's now a husband and a father to a 4-1/2-year-old adorable Ukrainian girl name Irina. Bruno had to take off to teaching fencing classes at his club in the Bois de Bologne, but I now have the phone number of his brother Jérôme who is now the mayor of Jarnac… which happens to be Bruno's home town and only a few kilometers from where I'll be staying in Burie with my cousin Ellen!

After lunch, the clouds were gathering so I just went back to the room and read a bit. Hey, it's kinda great just hanging out and reading! And when the thundershower hit, I was glad to have a room at the top floor right under the roof.

Of course, a couple hours later, I couldn't keep my eyes open so decided to indulge in a nap. Sigh. I woke up at 8:30pm (that's 20H30 here) and ran out to take the metro to the Tour Eiffel. The line was prohibitive, so I didn't get to see the sunset from atop the tower, but it was a nice walk and the crepe au chocolat was worth the trip.

I didn't bother going up the tower, but instead wandered over to the Trocadéro and then took the metro back.

Ellen called at one point to suggest that we actually consider staying a night in Bordeaux on our way down to Biarritz. Fine with me! It means more drinking and less driving! :-)