"Best of Paris" run!

I went on a great 8-mile run this morning along a route that covers the best of Paris! I started at Trocadéro, the overlook of the Eiffel Tower on the right bank. From there I ran down Avénue Kléber, which leads straight to the Arc de Triomphe and the beginning of the Champs-Élysées. This was the best part of the run: the Christmas market is now set up on the Champs-Élysées, so for a long stretch I was running through a very festive atmosphere! I'll definitely go back and take pictures of it, but in the meantime if you just do a google image search, you'll see why it's so cool! Imagine a state fair but Christmas-themed and classier. I continued across Place de la Concorde (always a challenge to cross on foot) and through the Jardin des Tuileries, then I started running along the Seine. The river's really high right now - some of the places where I've had a picnic are now level with the water or underwater entirely! I stayed on the right bank past Ile de la Cité and finally crossed onto Ile St-Louis (the smaller island to the east), which I essentially lapped before crossing over to Ile de la Cité just behind Notre Dame, whose bells were ringing. I then ran through a couple blocks of the Latin Quarter to get to the Boulevard St-Michel, which leads directly to the northern end of the Jardin du Luxembourg. There, I joined a throng of other runners and ran around the perimeter to the southern edge, at which point I finally started running home. I stopped running once I hit eight miles... I was tired at that point but not dead! I've never run that far alone (ever), so I feel really proud. It's a good sign for the half marathon in March. :) This city is so beautiful and interesting that it's easy to keep running - I always want to see more! The only thing missing from this run is the Place des Vosges in the Marais - I'll have to incorporate that next time (maybe for a 10-mile run).