Marinas, Miles, and Metrics

I have found the perfect place to go running in the morning. The Port Cannes Marina is just .25 miles from our house, and there are thousands of boats parked there. It has a great paved trail wide enough to drive on all the way around it, and I can run 2 miles or 10 miles around the marina (the most I have done to date is 3.75 mi). In just 3 weeks when we move, I will have to find somewhere new.

The only bad thing is the stagnant harbor smell sometimes—you know the salty, fishy seawater smell—but it only bothers me once in a while. These pictures are some of the views I have on my run. The population density of this area in Mandelieu must be high, because there are apartment buildings everywhere. Everyone wants to live close to the beach I guess. I don’t blame them.

 

Warning: the following paragraph is a little nerdy:

Just an aside about what I posted about the mileage I am logging while running: did you notice I reported my distances in miles and not kilometers? I bet none of you even gave it a second thought, right? I’ll admit that I am still way more comfortable with the American system of measurement, flawed as it may be. Thanks to my science background, I have some knowledge of the metric system, but it’s just not the same when you don’t use it regularly in the U.S. When the thermometer in our house read 28⁰C, I knew it felt uncomfortably hot, but until I did the conversion to 82⁰F, I didn’t realize quite how hot it really was. A kit for enchiladas I bought called for 500 grams of “poulet” (chicken) and 150 grams of “fromage” (cheese). I had no idea how much that was. Other package directions I was reading called for 200 milliliters of “lait” (milk). I have measured that amount a million times while teaching, but in my French kitchen here, I don’t have a beaker or a graduated cylinder. Needless to say, I overestimated the amount and ruined that dish. Don’t tell my students! A pizza we bought the other night on the street was advertised as 26 cm. I wasn’t sure if it would be enough for all five of us; we bought two; that was too much. It just goes on and on. It will take a while to get really comfortable with using the metric system exclusively, and I have studied it and even taught it for years. The average American would be so confused and annoyed. You’ll know I’ve really integrated into the culture here if I ever report my jogging distances in kilometers!

Jason wants me to add one more thing to this post. He went running on the same trail around the marina and found one of the nicer boats with a name on it he thinks is hilarious. He even made me and the kids take a walk to it yesterday just so we could take some pictures. So silly. His final words, “Tiff, you are not allowed to make friends with any rich, French boat owners.”