Water is life!

You have heard me say those words so many times, right? Water is life! Well, I am an Aquarius, after all. I need water, and I recommend water for anything.  In times of emotional distress water has a calming effect. Some people take a long shower to forget about their problems, other people take a long bath to calm down, and I go for a long swim in the pool. Perhaps in a symbolic way we try to wash off all our problems? The water has a renewing effect, perhaps one could say that we are reborn, that we come out of the water like Venus by Boticelli?

In Marseille I was swimming a couple of times a week during my lunchbreaks. It was not always easy to find the time, but it was a good break during a stressful working day. Since I am in Paris I have not been to the pool, but I have recently gone through an emotional upheaval and have lost temporarily my sense of direction. This morning I therefore packed my swim bag and walked the short way over to the local swimming pool, though I somehow got the way there wrong and ended up making a detour. I concluded that I needed more than one session in the pool to find my way again, so I signed up for thee months.

So how do Parisian pools fare compared to pools in Marseille? Well, the first impression is extremely favourable. There is a website showing where the pools are, what they look like, and when they are open!  link In Marseille it is a bit hit and go to find a pool that is open. You never know which pool is open and when. More often than not you turn up to a closed door without knowing why and for how long it will remain closed. During school holidays most pools in Marseille are closed, and when they are open, they are overrun. It is no wonder considering the limited opening hours to the public (two hours at lunchtime, two hours at the end of the afternoon and closed on Sundays!

Parisian pools are open from Tuesday to Sunday, they open at 7 am, they open at lunchtime, and they open in the early evening. More importantly they open all Saturday and Sunday. It would even appear that Parisian pools remain open during holidays and stay open to the public all day! This is paradise!

Back to the pool this morning. At the counter I asked the employee for a carnet, and as it apparently was a bit complicated or lengthy, he wanted to know if I was together with the short, stocky man next me.

Employee: "Are you together?"

Me:  "Not yet"

Stocky Man: "Right away?" 

Me: Yes, in the pool, but I warn you that without my glasses I don't see much."

Anyway, followed an hour of peaceful swimming with slow, respectful swimmers whilst a group of about 15 women were hanging on to the lips of a middle-aged man conducting a course of aqua gym. Outside the temperatures were below 0, but in the pool everything was perfect. My body felt weightless, the water was like tender caresses, and time stood still. I really felt as if I had washed off the last week's trouble, and when I walked into the Sunday morning sunshine, I was smiling. A big smile. A smile to life, to the future, to Paris, to me!