Yes, it hurts.: 6/9/14. The post where we climb a zillion stairs.

6/9/14: woke up much earlier this morning. We are slowly becoming acclimated to the time change. As usual, the night's rest did my foot good and it was back to a very manageable 4.5. As soon as we got up, my patient, long-suffering husband opened the blinds and said, "Uh oh, cruise ship!" We had read that cruise ships sometimes stop in the harbor, bringing hordes of day tourists. We wanted breakfast and fresh bread, so we raced into the village to beat the rush.

We had a nice breakfast at an outdoor table and we could already tell it was going to be a hot day. Vendors were setting up in the same area as yesterday's antique market, but the merchandise today was very different. Sunglasses, blowup swim toys, t-shirts, and every tacky tourist item you can imagine, all of which were emblazoned with "Côté d'Azur", of course. Once we were down on the harbor, we could see that it was a Disney cruise ship and soon the village was overrun with (mostly) American families with young children. We did our shopping and toured two churches, then drove back to the apartment.

While the apartment is very close to the harbor, it is high up on the hill, so we have been driving to the village each day, which is more of an undertaking than it sounds. It means navigating the crowded, narrow streets while avoiding a collision, finding a parking lot with available spaces, and mastering the automatic parking pay system. All to get to a place we can see from our garden. So my patient, long-suffering husband did some navigational research, courtesy of Google maps, and discovered there is a way to walk to the village. We were both feeling strong and adventurous today, so we decided to try it at lunch time.

The trip down was fairly easy. The Google map directions were right on the money and we had no trouble finding our way. As we expected, though, it was straight down. And we knew what that meant for the trip back. We had yet another delicious lunch outside and enjoyed the people-watching. The day got hotter and hotter. The weather forecast before the trip indicated highs in the high 70s to 80 and I worried that I hadn't packed warm enough clothes. The high today had to be 95. No wonder everyone was heading to the beach.

We did a little more shopping and exploring, bought the largest bottle of water we could find, and started the trip back up. And up and up and up. Some of the path was shaded, but even so, by the time we got to the apartment, our clothes were completely soaked and we were exhausted. A quick shower and a nap were in order. And it's a good thing our apartment has a washer, because our clothes are unwearable. In fact, they are unpackable. We either have to wash them or burn them.

My health monitor tracked the timing of the walk and even with several rest and water stops, it only took about 12 minutes. It sure seemed longer than that. My foot did not seem to bother me during the walk. Maybe it was because I was busy being bothered by my ten extra pounds and lack of recent endurance training. (Pre-CRPS, I could have done it standing on my head. Well, maybe not standing on my head, but it would have been much easier.) After showering and lying down to rest, though, my foot announced its presence forcefully. The nap did wonders. Even four hours later, it is still a little red, but the pain level is down to about a 6 and diminishing rapidly as I drink this glass of rosé.

Despite all I just said, it still seemed better than driving. We've resolved to try it again tomorrow, but in the morning instead. We expected this to be a trip involving a lot of walking and I am mentally prepared. Repeating the trek each day may not do anything to help my foot, but it will certainly help with the weight and endurance. And it may be the only way to fit into my clothes by the end of the trip, since I am incapable of laying off the pasta and risotto.

We've developed a very nice pattern - spending most of the day exploring the village and the late afternoon and evening in the garden enjoying the scenery. This evening, I have been very productive. I studied intensely the onboarding process of the tourists back on to the cruise ship.