It's 1:30am Friday night and I am tired. I was very productive today though and covered a lot of ground. I basically walked and walked and walked. I walked for over 5 hours. I walked from my apartment to the Musee d'Orsay then past the Assemblee Nationale to the American Church (where I discovered I can take gymnastics classes if I so desire) over to Tour Eiffel then up to Avenue des Champs Elysees and the Arc De Triomphe, then to the Grand Palais, past the Place de la Concorde through the Jardin des Tuileries to the Louvre and back to my neighborhood. I am very proud of my intense walk-fest despite the fact that my legs and feet are clearly displeased with my decision. I plan to be fit as a fiddle by the time I get home in an attempt to make up for the past 10 years of severe laziness. Is that possible?

I took tons of pictures and saw every kind of person imaginable. The number and variety of stores in this city is amazing. I passed Louis Vuitton, Cartier and all the high-end French designer shops. I saw many, many Starbucks (none of which I stepped foot in, thank you) McDonalds and the Disney store. I shopped in Zara and tried on some beautiful (relatively cheap) clothes. I even acquired a fan while shopping. One of the guys who worked there told me I was his favorite American. I did not, of course believe him, because I am not that dumb, but it did make for a funny moment. The other guy working asked me what his friend said and when I told him, he shook his head and said, “He does not mean it.” I said, “Yes, I know. Thank you.”

There are so many beautiful parks and places to rest along the way. I did not pause today, but now I’ve scouted out where all the good ones are so I can go back with a book and my journal and do some quality sitting.

I was just going on with my friend Megan about how hard it is to be female traveling alone. After everyone who knows and loves you warns you about being careful and not putting yourself in dangerous situations, you feel guilty wanting to go out on a Friday night alone to get a drink. If I were a guy, I know I wouldn’t think twice about it. I would go at whatever hour, start a conversation with anyone I wanted and probably have a really amazing time. But being a woman means you have to watch yourself. Which means you can’t really be yourself. Which is really sad. Most of you who know me know that I will talk to anybody and everybody but when I am alone in another country where I do not speak the language, I am suddenly skeptical of everyone and probably unnecessarily judgmental of all strangers. The world is strange like that and it really is too bad. I know that I owe it to my family, at the very least, to take care of myself. So I will probably continue being cautious but I just wanted it on the record that I don’t like it.

I know you have probably been concerned about the lock downstairs and whether I have mastered it yet. I would like to announce, that I have, in fact, figured the little bugger out. You have to gently angle the key DOWN as you push to the left. THAT’s the trick. This time it only took me about 10 minutes. Fortunately I had just finished my dinner on the go (a crepe with jambon e fromage) so I wasn’t standing there helpless AND starving. I feel so free knowing I don’t have to depend on propping the door and hoping no one comes along to un-prop it. Now I can leave my safety zone in complete confidence as I go about my business of wandering aimlessly through the streets of Paris.

I haven't wanted to talk about it a lot, because I'm being brave and all, but I really do miss my family and my friends. Traveling is amazing and I hope to have the means and the sense of adventure that allows me to continue to do it for the rest of my life. But to me, life really is about the people you are with. As I tackled a not-too-dangerously-late-in-the-evening-to-be-walking-by-myself walk earlier, I couldn't help but look at all of the groups of families and friends laughing and eating, drinking and hugging. We are fortunate if we have people around us who get us, love us, support us, push us and inspire us. I have been blessed with more than my fair share and I hope those of you I'm talking about know I don't take you or our relationships for granted. I'm not going to lie, it is incredibly liberating and genuinely fantastic to spend a day with your ipod in your ears and a camera on your shoulder, walking a foreign land all on your own. But at the end of the day, there really is little that compares to sitting with your nearest and dearest and laughing uncontrollably until your belly hurts late into the night.