Originally written Sunday November 13
Yesterday I went to hot yoga and afterwards met my partner, Ernie, for lunch at Bouche in Paris’ 11th arrondissement.
From brunch we wandered around what is becoming a familiar region of Paris to us: the Marais and Canal St. Martin in the 11th, 3rd, and 4th arrondissements.
Once the sun set and the wind turned cold and the first star shone in the twilight sky, we had been on our feet for hours. But we still had three whole hours until our late dinner at Rigamarole. We considered tucking ourselves into a cozy wine bar and holing up there for a while. But I still had my yoga mat and sweaty yoga clothes in a bag. And I couldn’t remember the last time that afternoon I had drunk any water whatsoever.
So we forwent the wine bar and headed back to our apartment in the 20th. We drank lots of water. We listened to music and read and did some planning for our week ahead in Paris. We rested.
I can feel silly when I’m on vacation and I ‘miss out’ on things just to rest. But I felt a million times more refreshed after I took the time to sit, be alone, and read. Remember this the next time you’re traveling. You have permission to both sight see and rest. You’ll be all the happier for it.
The Paris Project
I’m Sarah, a travel and wellness writer based in the US. Join me on my 30-day journey in Paris as I post something new each week. You can follow along here on my blog or subscribe to my newsletter. I’ll send a weekly missive to all my newsletter subscribers while I’m here of all of my favorite Paris discoveries and adventures.