And they're off!!

Thursday, August 26, 2010 …. I think!

Allo! Allo!

We are back in France! Paris, specifically, at the moment, and SO happy to be back!
Had quite the journey – separately, of course! We used miles for everybody this trip, with the end result being that R traveled from Phoenix to Paris via Chicago, and I went through Dulles…he left first, and I got here first! So!

Worked part of the day on Tuesday, and headed home about noon to pick up our rental car (to drop in Phoenix) and close up the house. Phil, my boss, was hosting a “summer celebration” that evening, so in the midst of a torrential rainstorm (lots of thunder and lightning!) we headed to the Tucson Botanic Garden. Lovely event; lots of people mingling with great food and wine; Philip gives lovely parties! After cleanup, we were able to head directly to Phoenix, and got to the Best Western Tempe just about 10 p.m. As it was a REALLY early flight (6 a.m.) for Robert on Wednesday, we went directly to bed…but of course had one of “those” nights before trips where you keep waking up to see if you’ve by some change missed the alarm! 4 a.m. did eventually arrive, and we were up and on the road. Check in and security were very easy; not that many people milling around PHX at that time of the morning! R’s flight went first, and then I took myself to one of the little cafes in the terminal for a great breakfast burrito of scrambled eggs, chorizo, and salsa on a chipotle tortilla – yum! (Here we are, haven’t left the state yet, and I’m talking about food…)

I’m very thankful to say that all flights went right on time; in fact, we both arrived 15-20 minutes early in Paris! I had a great seat; behind the area at the front of economy plus that is reserved for sleeping flight attendants, and met a really terrific gal and her 6 ½ month old baby, Armand! To be honest, I wasn’t that thrilled sitting next to a baby because of prior experiences with babies in flight, but both mother and baby were really incredible! Audrey is the French mom who got her Ph.D. in biology at Georgetown and is currently doing her post doc work in Honolulu specializing in malaria and tropical diseases. They were heading back to Paris to see grandparents and friends – and I thought I had had a long day! They started in HONOLULU! Armand was truly wonderful, and Audrey was so well prepared that everything went brilliantly, and while Armand got fussy once or twice, considering what he had been through that “day” – if he made noises for more than 5 or 10 seconds at a time three or four times the entire 7 ½ hour flight, I’d be surprised! It was really a pleasure to sit with him – and talk about a chick magnet! Wow!

I suppose a word or two should be said about United’s selection of movies…which hasn’t improved since our trip to Crete and Istanbul in May! I did watch “Just Wright” with Queen Latifah and Common on the PHX/Dulles leg; enjoyed it, but on the long leg – saw “The Jones” which was AWFUL followed by “The Losers” – hmmm…..good name…

Arrived in CDG and found – voila! – that an actual line arrangement (instead of the usual scrum) had FINALLY been set up to get people more smoothly through immigration! Took just a few minutes and then up the elevator through the center of the building to baggage claim…and the wait…and the wait. I’d just about reached the “I am NEVER checking luggage again” stage when, voila! There was suitcase one! (And as I split our clothes packing between the cases in case one gets lost or misplaced, we now both had clothes to wear!) Then found a quiet place to sit and read and wait the 1 ½ hours for R’s plane to get in. R must have been almost the first one off the plane, because before I knew it, there he was! Together again!! Of course suitcase #2 took a while to arrive, but the point was that it did – so now we are here, all of our things are here (including knives, spoons and measuring utensils!) Made our way to the train station via the wonderful shuttle train, bought our tickets (again, we didn’t even bother to check with the automated machines…) and on our way via RER! Got off at St. Michel and did the 10 minute or so walk to our new hotel – Residence Henri IV at 50 Rue des Bernardins. VERY nice place; at the very end of the street just off Rue des Ecoles.

Fortunately, as it was now about 11 a.m. our room was ready – YIPEE! Number 30 on the third floor. There are only about 12 rooms here, but they are very spacious and beautifully decorated. We have French (what else!) doors overlooking a courtyard from the bathroom, and a lovely square from the bedroom (views to follow!) It also has a very tiny “kitchenette” – two burner cooktop, microwave, sink and fridge – very cute, but can’t imagine cooking here! (Makes the Paris apartment’s kitchen look spacious!) Me into the tub, R into the shower – have to get all the travel “smootz” off – quickly! Then dressed and out looking for food. Found a really nice bistro just a block away – Café des Perigordines. R had filet with blue cheese sauce and frites (French fries); I had a wonderful roast chicken casserole with potatoes and lardons (bacon). Everything excellent, and it was SO nice to wash everything down with sparking water and local wines!

From there we needed to complete our one mission “du jour” – get train tickets for tomorrow’s journey from Paris to Nimes. Headed to Gare d’Austerlitz, the closest train station, via metro; bought carnets (packets of 10 tickets for the bus/metro) as they can always be used in the future! Absolutely no line at all at the station, and we were able to get our tickets, leaving from Gare de Lyon tomorrow about 10:30 a.m….which, I just looked, gets us in to Nimes at 1:23 p.m. … but of course the rental car location is closed for lunch until 2:15 p.m. Oh well!

Took the #63 bus back to the hotel; passes right in front! …but first, a detour just half a block to get my first MAGNUM CLASSIC of the trip! Yum!!! Katy, Hil! Then back to the hotel and – surprise! – NAPS! Up again around 6:30 p.m. and will be heading out soon. A soft, gentle rain is falling; it’s lovely! A chance to actually use our umbrellas! Neither of us is particularly hungry, but I’m thinking a nice walk downhill to the Seine – puts us directly at the back of Notre Dame! -- so, will promenade a bit and I wouldn’t be surprised if we found a glass or wine or two!

So – welcome back to Paris!! Thanks for coming along!

More later!
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