If there's one benefit of working for yourself, it's that when you have a slow day you don't have to stay at the office and pretend to work. Sometimes it's just better to go and do something more enjoyable than try and stretch out a bit of unenthusiastic work.

Unfortunately today's whim of the moment made me cycle out to Parc des Buttes Chaumont and jog around it a few times. I have no idea why, but once the idea was there I had to go. For those that don't know, the park of the chip butty is one of the best in Paris (in my opinion), while being relatively unknown by the tourists - Luxembourg is head and shouders above all the rest, followed by Montsouris perhaps. The Tuileries is a desperate dust bowl of rude waiters, with it's only redeeming feature being the fantastic sculpture, and the little boats the kids sail on the pond thingy.

Buttes Chaumont has a man made mountain in the middle, which is really bizarre, but pretty cool at the same time. The concrete blocks are all carved to look like natural rocks, and all around the park are fake waterfalls. Even at the side of the pavements are mini concrete fences made to look like wooden branches.

To run around it however is not so pleasant. What was I thinking? The whole thing is just one big hill!!! Every now and again I try to take up running, and it usually only lasts a month (um, perhaps). I'm just not very good at it. Oh well, who needs exercise anyway...