FRIDAY 6th APRIL

Today was a travel day. We were heading to Paris, but first, we had to get our last taste of picturesque Provence. Our first stop was the market in Carpentras. Since we were heading on the train in the afternoon, this was just a visit to browse and experience rather than buy. Then we headed to Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, a spring that feeds the river Sorgue. Our plan was to walk to the source, but the path was closed when we arrived. We still had a very pretty walk along the river.

From there, it was only a short drive to Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. The town is set on the river Sorgue, which has been diverted into several canals that run through it. Numerous water wheels are dotted around town—a legacy of the thriving flour mills, silk, and wool factories powered by the river. The old town is also very pretty, with a warren of narrow streets and pretty shops.

We had a lovely time strolling through the streets and beside the canals before it was time to drop our car off and catch the fast train from Avignon to Paris. We arrived in the early evening, with enough time to catch the metro to the Paris Marathon Exhibition to pick up G’s BIB, and our Paris Breakfast Run T-shirts and Aussie flags for the next morning. We browsed the stalls and found G’s name on the massive board of athlete names.

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SATURDAY 7th APRIL

The next morning, we woke up, put on our running gear and headed out to join in the Paris Breakfast Run. Beginning near the Louvre, the course ran around the roundabout outside the Louvre, then along the river, finishing at the Eiffel Tower. It was a 5 km true fun run … we followed the truck with a DJ on it, which provided entertainment throughout the run, but especially at the points where we paused to let the field bunch up to reduce the time the streets would need to be closed for. It was lots of fun. At the end, we enjoyed our first closeup view of the Eiffel Tower and picked up our breakfast—croissants, orange juice and a banana.

In the afternoon, G stayed home to rest, and S and I went out to do a walking tour. It was designed especially for teenagers, starting at Notre Dame and exploring the history of Paris through the Latin Quarter. Dinner was carb loading with crepes at Breizhe Cafe.

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SUNDAY 8th APRIL

Today was the Paris marathon day. S and I had organised to see G around the 12 km mark, which was not far from Rue Crémieux, so we checked out that while we were in the vicinity. G was looking good at this stage and gave us a wave.

After this, S and I discussed what we wanted to do and decided that we could probably get on the metro and see G again later in his race. We decided to catch the metro to the Bois de Boulogne because the course wound around the gardens and would allow us to see him at a couple of places. G did not expect us to pop up there. He was struggling by then, with this being his first marathon. We cut through the park again and yelled at him to keep running—he may not have appreciated that. The race finished at the Arc de Triomphe so we wandered down there to wait for him to come out of the finishers area. His finishing time was 3:33, which was pretty good for a first marathon.

S and I felt pretty tired after traipsing all over Paris even though we didn’t run the marathon. G and S headed straight back to the apartment while I popped into Le Bon Marché and picked up some food from La Grande Épicerie to help G refuel. In the evening, we had a celebratory dinner with some friends from our running club who had moved back to Paris.