Paris Day 1: Sleeping and eating

Last week, I was in Senegal learning about typhoid vaccine introduction with my new project team at PATH.  It was a busy, exhausting week but totally worth it.  I met nearly all of the project staff from Vietnam, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Liberia, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.  What an amazing group!

I flew from Dakar to Paris overnight (11pm-6:30am) and unfortunately, only slept for about an hour.  So, I was dead tired when I arrived.  Fortunately, I was able to check in early at my hotel, and rather than push myself to see Paris right away, I opted for a nap.  I got moving around 1:30pm and went for a walk to explore the area.  The only activity I had booked for the day was a food tour at 5:00pm.  While I was out walking around, killing time until the food tour, I started getting fatigued and sleepy again.  And then I saw it—a park full of people just laying around and snoozing.  PERFECT.  It was exactly what I needed.

The Marais food tour was absolutely amazing.  We went to nine different shops for samples and tastings.  We started off with red wine and variety of cheeses; then smoked salmon; then puff pastries; then a chocolatier; then olive oils, flavored vinegars, and nut butters; then macaroons; then ice cream; and finally, bruschetta and white wine.  Every bite was exquisite—what a way to get introduced to Paris!