Je vais a la Piscine

I've taken up swimming here in Paris! The French are big into swimming as exercise so I decided to join the ranks. My back is so not in good shape and I am desperately in need of exercise so I bought myself a 3-month pass to the Piscines of Paris.

A couple things to note:
This is a cultural experience if not anything more.
I have become immune to the shock and fright of Speedos (yikes)
Changing rooms are co-ed
One must pass through a pool of water as a right of passage to enter the pool zone
I can shower however long I want at the pool unlike at home
Lap lanes are kinda fun
I'm a self-taught swimmer who, I'm sure, looked ridiculous flapping around trying to master the Freestyle
Swim caps are mandatory!
There's a "pieds nu" zone in the changing rooms (naked feet) where shoes must be removed before

 Some piscines (like the one in the 16th where I took the picture of the trees) is basically full of old people. Some like Piscine Keller and Les Halles are like crazy training pools. And then my fav, piscine Armand Massard at Montparnasse, is a good in-between.

I convinced Hannah to get a pass as well and so she sometimes joins me in my swimming endeavors. Although, she doesn't do lap lanes so I have to do those on my own. She's more of a recreational swimmer for fun.

One day while I was trying to find the St. Germain piscine, I came across the city's smallest Cupcakerie. It is the size of a closet! I took a picture of the outside but what was even funnier was that, behind the teeny tiny little counter, was a huge body-guard looking black man. I don't know how he ended up serving tiny little cupcakes from a tiny little closet but it was pretty hilarious.