(I wrote these posts 12!!!! years ago! and didn't realize that they were not visible until a few days ago. I know they're outdated, but someone might find something interesting in them. So much has changed since 2014!!!!!
MY PARIS, FRANCE, VACATION 2014
Tuesday, October 7, evening
I just realized that I failed to mention that I went to the Musee d'Orsay a few days ago. I don't know how, but I had missed it every other time I've been to Paris, and it was a gross error to have done so. It was filled -- filled with fine works of art from around the period of the Impressionist painters, that is, from around the late 1800's up into the early 1900's. Each room I entered nearly brought me to tears to see many of these paintings that I have seen only in books before. Many works by the most famous painters were there, of course, such as Rousseau, Gauguin, Monet, Manet, van Gogh, Cassatt, Degas, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, even Whistler, and many, many more.
Interestingly, no photo-taking was allowed, which in the beginning annoyed me, but then I realized that if I wanted to get to know these paintings, I needed to study them -- up close and in minute detail -- which I did. I don't think I would have done as much of that if I had been able to photograph the paintings. It was, in the end, a welcome and pleasant restriction. I did take a few photos from a terrace up on around the 3rd floor, and I'll post those later. I got some good shots of the city from there.
Since I last wrote, other than going to the Musee d'Orsay, I've done a lot of painting -- and a lot of walking in my neighborhood. I've noticed some interesting things about these Parisians -- and perhaps about people in many of the world's larger cities. Every day, I walked all around the 18th arrondissement, always in a different area. And every day, I encountered hundreds of people going about their lives. The saddest and most noticeable observation I made about all these people is that they never, ever first made eye contact with me but instead looked down or away -- and I never saw a smile. I followed what appeared to be the custom up until the last two days: In the last two days, I purposely smiled -- not a big American grin but a kind, gentle smile -- as I passed people, and I tried my best to make eye contact. When I did make the rare eye contact with someone, the person appeared to be surprised and immediately turned away. Not one person returned my smile.
In a few instances, I spoke to someone if they were elderly, someone I recognized from my immediate neighborhood, or if I encountered someone, say, in the lobby of my apartment building. All I said was "Bonjour, Monsieur or Madame," Not one person responded. Sad.
Being alone, I didn't go to many cafes; but the few times I did, I went during very slow hours and attempted to speak to the proprietors, who were also serving the very few customers there. Again, I could not engage anyone in a conversation. And, yes, I did speak French to these people. And, yes, I know my accent is probably a bit annoying to their ears, but I don't think that's why they didn't appear to want to talk to me. It seemed to me that I was breaking some kind of social rule, in fact.
I am making no judgments from these observations; they are merely observations. And the behavior here, though, affected me directly and quite negatively: I felt terribly isolated and lonely.
On the positive side, the few times I felt a bit disoriented and dragged out my map within the city proper, someone always came to my aid to get me going in the right direction again.
In thinking about all this, I now remember how isolated I (and my daughter) felt when we lived in Toulouse long ago. It took at least a year before I even really had any friends at all, and even then, I was kept for the most part at arm's length.
It was then, after remembering my difficulties in Toulouse, that I had glossed over in my memories, that I realized that it would take a Herculean effort to be able to integrate into any community in this country -- and perhaps in most other countries as well. I know people do it every day, go to another country to live, but I have a new admiration for those who undertake such an endeavor.
Wednesday, October 1, morning
As I feared, I've begun to hole up just a little -- but not too much -- and I am getting some painting done, which was part of my intention all along.
I went again to the Louvre Museum a couple of days ago and spent the entire time in the Dutch and French painting wings. It was a very interesting few hours, and I took tons of photos. However, I realized after only a short while that I was focusing on animals in paintings -- who woulda thunk!!
Anyway, I'm posting a few of them below:
Saturday, Sept 27
My family members have left now, and I'm in Paris alone. It's a strange feeling after all the bustle and hurry of playing tourists for two weeks -- and not just a little lonely, too. The good news, though, is I'm now painting again, which is what I had planned all along. As I mentioned early on, when I arrived here, I went to a great arts supply shop nearby and bought some acrylic paints and canvas and other necessary tools of the trade -- except for brushes, which I brought my own. Yesterday, I laid in the basic shapes and colors for a 16x20" cow painting I'm doing. It's a Holstein cow lying in a field, and she's beautiful. I hope I can do her portrait justice. I'll do just a little more work on the painting here and then take it home to finish it in oils, so it will be a multimedia painting. Then I also started working on a painting requested (not a custom, though!) by a mom who is having twins: She wanted me to do two little baby chicks on also a 16x20" canvas. I've found some chicks on a copyright-free site, wetcanvas, and I've already worked out how they'll fit together on the canvas. I'll lay in the colors on that painting either tomorrow or Monday. After that, I only have enough canvas to do two more kind of large paintings, two 11x14's. I don't know what I'll be doing on those yet. But my goal is to have at least four paintings completely laid in and ready to finish up when I return to the US.
I know it may sound silly to some that I've traveled 9000 miles just to hole up in my apartment and paint, but it's exactly what I had planned to do in the first place. I wanted to spend time in France, so I'm getting to do that. I'm not a particularly gregarious person, and I find myself quite interesting, so I'm really not lonely -- well, I miss my family and my sweet little dog, who is apparently not doing well at all without me. I'm really concerned about him. He's getting on in years, and he's apparently completely withdrawn since I left. I think in the future when I travel, he's just going to have to go with me. I know travel can be difficult for dogs, but I think it's better than his pining away when I'm not there. And he has traveled internationally in the past, a couple of times, and he handled it very, very well. So that's my plan.
Regarding living here, I'm going out for long walks every day, eating too much, having a second glass of wine some evenings, and doing a lot of people-watching. I've been going to parks and sitting with all the other people who seem to do this on a regular basis, and I just soak up the atmosphere and watch people going about their daily lives. It's amazing how similar life here this time is to my time in Toulouse years ago. It's kind of like returning to a former home town in the states and finding that in the beginning, it's quite different and strange feeling and then in just a couple of days, feeling as if you've never been away.
I'm walking to a cemetery tomorrow, Cimetiere de Montmartre, just for a nice Sunday away-from-tourists walk. I read that one of my favorite authors, Emile Zola, used to be buried there, but now he's in the Pantheon, but his family are all still buried there, and he still has a headstone with his name on it. Weird, huh? It seems odd to be visiting a cemetery, but it is history, and all historical people of the late 1800's are dead now, and I find that era extremely interesting, so it seems like a worthwhile thing to do.
Later in the week, I'm going to the Musee d'Orsay to study some impressionists' paintings up close and am really eager to do that. Then on the first free Sunday, I'll be going back to either the Louvre or the Musee d'Orsay again for a second look-around. And that's all the tourist sites I'll be seeing. The rest of the time, I'll be here in my own neighborhood, walking and painting.
I've been promising a few photos, so I'll add a few. They're of the touristy sort for now because I haven't done much shooting lately and haven't uploaded what I've shot.
Tuesday, Sept 23
Where did the time go??? Really! I'm drawing a blank! Let's see. Oh, I remember! We went to a smallish weekly outdoor market in the neighborhood on Saturday and had a great time. We bought way, way too many goodies and ate them all!!! Well, I still have some lusciously delicious, very fiery hot (piquant) olives that I absolutely love. They're just the right amount of brine with lots and lots of those really hot little peppers that everyone but "moi" avoids. I snarf those things like candy, though! And with some arugula, some pain de campagne, and some fresh feta, Yum!!! Later in the day, we went again to the Luxembourg gardens. After walking around for a while, we found some empty chairs (a rare thing on a Saturday afternoon, apparently) and sat down for a little break. Well, very quickly we realized why the chairs were empty!! Huge - and I mean huge! -- chestnuts, many still in their spiky outer shells -- started falling all around us. The man sitting just about 10 feet away was having quite a good time watching us try to avoid them. My son-in-law got hit with one on his leg, and it really hurt, so we decided to retreat!!! So we abandoned the almost-perfect chairs and went back to the fantastic playground we had taken my granddaughter a few days earlier, where she played to exhaustion. It was a most beautiful and enjoyable day.
While my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were in the playground, I played one of my favorite games: people-watching. I sat on a bench near a children's sand pit, and three and four-generation families surrounded me on all sides. It finally made me remember one of the many things I loved about France way, way back in the '90's when I lived in Toulouse: the obvious love and caring between family members -- and their friends as well. It's a beautiful sight, and it's something I don't often witness in the US, at least in public settings like this, anyway.
I baby-sat with my little granddaughter while my daughter and her husband went back to the Louvre on Sunday afternoon. According to them, it wasn't a good time to go. Unlike our visit on Friday, when we arrived early, this time they encountered enormous lines, extending way outside the entrance of the pyramid. And, of course, that's when another huge downpour occurred, too, (and, of course, they forgot the umbrella or raincoats), so they enjoyed visiting all that magnificent artwork in sloshy shoes and soaked clothing! But enjoy it again, they did. They said that once they got away from the popular art pieces, the crowds weren't so bad at all. So maybe timing your visits to the Louvre is the trick! I'll be going on the first free Sunday in October, so I'll report the size of the crowds for that, too.
Monday, yesterday, we went to a place I would very highly recommend but which I haven't seen in any of the travel-book-type recomendations: It's the "bois de Boulogne," a forest full of hiking, biking, horseback-riding, even car-driving, trails and streets just at the western edge of Paris -- just outside the Boulevard Peripherique, but we got there easily by metro. We just wandered around for a few hours, seeing more dogs than you can imagine, of every breed and size, encountering a couple of small bridges that I swear must have been built hundreds of years ago (photos to follow), meeting very nice, friendly people, something that as I have mentioned before, hasn't occurred in the city itself, but here, people seemed to have their stiff guards down as they enjoyed this relaxing scenery. There was a large lake in the center that had rowboats for rent, and on looking closer at the water, we spotted some huge what appeared to be carp in the water; they were at least 3 feet long, and they appeared to be very numerous. On returning, in fact, to the apartment, we looked on Google Earth, and we could actually see them in the center of the lake!
And now to today: After a refreshing early morning walk with my daughter and granddaughter, I have the apartment to myself! They're all playing tourist one more day before tomorrow, which is packing day for their big trip back to the real world. They chose to go to the Champs Elysees and check out the Arc de Triomphe. Me, I've seen and done all those things many times in my life and don't have the desire to do it again -- so, here I am, writing! And relaxing! And wondering how I'm going to fill the next two weeks when I'm all alone!!! Of course, I'll be walking daily, which is something I always do, no matter where I am. And I'll drag out my paints, brushes, and canvases to begin painting finally. However, after having been reminded of all the jillions of paintings already created (most of them around here, anyway, awful!) of Paris, I think I'm going to stick to doing something I still love: painting animals! Maybe I'll do a couple of Paris paintings, but I'm really eager to paint some more farm animals again. We'll see what flows off the brushes . . . .
Friday, September 19
Yesterday, we went to the Louvre Museum. If you're going, I don't know what it's usually like traffic-wise, but I can recommend what we did, and it worked for us. We arrived early, shortly after opening, bought our tickets at a machine, right there in the "pyramid" lobby, almost no line at all. Then we marched straight through the turnstiles with no wait whatsoever -- really. It was a Thursday morning, so maybe that's a slow time. Who knows! All I heard before I came to Paris was that the lines were interminable, and for me at least, they were not at all. Really makes me wonder if there's been a bit of fear-mongering on sites I was looking at (which I won't name), perhaps in hopes that nervous tourists would buy the rather expensive, if you're not going to use it very much, Museum Pass. For me and my family, it would not have been cost-effective anyway, as it includes many sites we weren't going to anyway. But one of its advantages, I have heard, is to allow the owner to be able to bypass long ticket/entry lines.
Wednesday, Sept 17
Some interesting things I notice about the differences between larger cities in the USA (or certainly in the less-enormous cities) and Paris:
1. Little to no eye contact in walking down the streets - and never a "Bonjour." This difference surprises me most because, as most of you know, I lived in Toulouse for almost two years, where everywhere I walked, I was met with a brief small smile and "Bonjour, Madame," or "Bonsoir, Madame." Here, it hasn't happened even once. And I've walked miles and miles here just in the past week, all over the city. Perhaps that's typical of really huge cities; I'm not enough of a world traveler to know. However, I have been several times to Philadelphia in the USA in the past few years; and although people for the most part rush about their business, I did get at least a few smiles and a few "hello's," here and there.
2. One-on-one, though, the Parisian people, to me, anyway, are very kind and friendly: Many times, either I alone or my daughter and I have stopped on a busy street to take stock of our location and how we proceed to our destination, and invariably, some kind person stops and gives us directions or advice about how to go to our destination.
I've been in a few small shops and restaurants, and I've seen the same sort of kindness. It's very reassuring.
3. At the children's playground: I take my little granddaughter to many playgrounds here, almost every day, and I've noticed some unspoken rules among children that I haven't seen in the US. My granddaughter was oblivious to these little rules until we discussed them. Now, she already seems to be catching on to what is proper playground behavior. Example: Swings are always in high demand at playgrounds, and there are never enough of them. Thus, when one child is swinging, children who want to be next to swing sit on the sides of the swing structure -- or stand out to the side -- in both cases, in full view of the swinger in both cases. The swinger, after a reasonable period of swinging time, steps aside and takes her/his place in the "waiting" position -- and in this manner, all children get a fair amount of time in the swing. The same also holds true to such things as little "cocoons" on some of the climbing structures (photos later). As my little granddaughter wasn't understanding the "rules," one little girl went to her dad and complained. He, realizing my granddaughter spoke English, told the little girl to say, in English, "Will you be finished soon?" It worked!!
4. In stores and other places where you, the public, interact with people behind counters, it really is true that everyone starts each and every encounter with "Bonjour, Madame (Monsieur, madmoiselle) and ends each encounter with "Merci, Madame" (etc.) and "Au revoir." I like this custom -- very much, and wish I saw more of it in the US.
5. What I've heard about potential thieves seems to be true. We've already had two encounters ourselves -- and I'm not talking about beggars here, either, but people who I'm quite sure were intent on taking our belongings. Both incidents happened in busy areas, one in a very tourist-filled area and the other on one of the inner-city metro trains. Otherwise, I've felt in no danger of having anything stolen -- quite to the contrary, in fact. And I certainly don't see ordinary Parisians walking around with a noticeably tight grip on their belongings -- a reasonable grip, I would say, but not the wild-eyed look I've seen in what appear to be tourists' eyes. So I guess a somewhere-in-the-middle is the best place to be: alert, aware, but not paranoid.
Today, we wandered the streets in the 18th, with no specific destination in mind. We passed back by the Sacre Coeur and actually went inside. It's beautiful inside and is massed with tourists and people selling all sorts of bric-a-brac outside. Takes away some of the solemnity and beauty of the inside . . . With only a week here so far, we already have a very good feel of direction and what the main streets are, which really surprises me. I've looked at Paris on Google Maps, and just to look at it from above, or at street level even more, it looks like an impossible maze -- no square street corners anywhere, but instead four, five, and even six streets meet at random and frequent intersections. But as with most things human, there is some order in it after one gets to know it even a little bit.
Tuesday, September 16, later in the day
I just realized that I failed to mention that I went to the Musee d'Orsay a few days ago. I don't know how, but I had missed it every other time I've been to Paris, and it was a gross error to have done so. It was filled -- filled with fine works of art from around the period of the Impressionist painters, that is, from around the late 1800's up into the early 1900's. Each room I entered nearly brought me to tears to see many of these paintings that I have seen only in books before. Many works by the most famous painters were there, of course, such as Rousseau, Gauguin, Monet, Manet, van Gogh, Cassatt, Degas, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, even Whistler, and many, many more.
Interestingly, no photo-taking was allowed, which in the beginning annoyed me, but then I realized that if I wanted to get to know these paintings, I needed to study them -- up close and in minute detail -- which I did. I don't think I would have done as much of that if I had been able to photograph the paintings. It was, in the end, a welcome and pleasant restriction. I did take a few photos from a terrace up on around the 3rd floor, and I'll post those later. I got some good shots of the city from there.
Since I last wrote, other than going to the Musee d'Orsay, I've done a lot of painting -- and a lot of walking in my neighborhood. I've noticed some interesting things about these Parisians -- and perhaps about people in many of the world's larger cities. Every day, I walked all around the 18th arrondissement, always in a different area. And every day, I encountered hundreds of people going about their lives. The saddest and most noticeable observation I made about all these people is that they never, ever first made eye contact with me but instead looked down or away -- and I never saw a smile. I followed what appeared to be the custom up until the last two days: In the last two days, I purposely smiled -- not a big American grin but a kind, gentle smile -- as I passed people, and I tried my best to make eye contact. When I did make the rare eye contact with someone, the person appeared to be surprised and immediately turned away. Not one person returned my smile.
In a few instances, I spoke to someone if they were elderly, someone I recognized from my immediate neighborhood, or if I encountered someone, say, in the lobby of my apartment building. All I said was "Bonjour, Monsieur or Madame," Not one person responded. Sad.
Being alone, I didn't go to many cafes; but the few times I did, I went during very slow hours and attempted to speak to the proprietors, who were also serving the very few customers there. Again, I could not engage anyone in a conversation. And, yes, I did speak French to these people. And, yes, I know my accent is probably a bit annoying to their ears, but I don't think that's why they didn't appear to want to talk to me. It seemed to me that I was breaking some kind of social rule, in fact.
I am making no judgments from these observations; they are merely observations. And the behavior here, though, affected me directly and quite negatively: I felt terribly isolated and lonely.
On the positive side, the few times I felt a bit disoriented and dragged out my map within the city proper, someone always came to my aid to get me going in the right direction again.
In thinking about all this, I now remember how isolated I (and my daughter) felt when we lived in Toulouse long ago. It took at least a year before I even really had any friends at all, and even then, I was kept for the most part at arm's length.
It was then, after remembering my difficulties in Toulouse, that I had glossed over in my memories, that I realized that it would take a Herculean effort to be able to integrate into any community in this country -- and perhaps in most other countries as well. I know people do it every day, go to another country to live, but I have a new admiration for those who undertake such an endeavor.
Wednesday, October 1, morning
As I feared, I've begun to hole up just a little -- but not too much -- and I am getting some painting done, which was part of my intention all along.
I went again to the Louvre Museum a couple of days ago and spent the entire time in the Dutch and French painting wings. It was a very interesting few hours, and I took tons of photos. However, I realized after only a short while that I was focusing on animals in paintings -- who woulda thunk!!
Anyway, I'm posting a few of them below:
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| Studies for a painting with a dog - by Pieter Boel. |
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| All of the above 5 are details of paintings, all by Dutch painters, showing, of course, dogs. Sorry, I didn't record the names of the artists.
I also realized that I haven't said much, if anything, about my apartment. It's in the 18th arrondissement, just north of the Sacre Coeur basilica, in a rather quiet neighborhood. I say "rather" because during the past few days, a lot of construction has been going on at two buildings, one straight across from me, and one just a couple of doors up -- lots of banging, electrical saw noises, loud voices, etc. But fortunately, it's very quiet at night.
The apartment is quite small but perfect for one person (and my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, and I also fit in it nicely while they were here). It has a nice little kitchen, with a full-sized fridge, a very nice dishwasher, a coffee-maker, a six-burner stove!, and a convenient trash drop, so no trips to the garbage can! And it is completely equipped with everything I need to make whatever sized meals I want. Well, the corkscrew wasn't so easy for me to use, so I bought - and am donating - one that's easier on my hands. I do not like to take too long opening a wine bottle!!
There is a comfortably large living room, with a nice TV, an Ikea-type couch that turns into a queen-sized bed (where my daughter and her husband slept). There are bar stools for the counter dividing the kitchen from the living area. And there's a nice desk in a corner of the living room, with even a laptop to use if you don't bring you own (I do, though, so I'm not using the apartment one.) A good internet connection is included, too, I might add.
The bedroom is just a little small but very comfortable, with a queen-sized bed as well, a nice wardrobe with both drawers and a closet, a small TV, and even a fan. There are two large closets in the little hallway going from the bedroom to the very nice bathroom.
The bathroom, while not large, is very functional. It has a rather narrow shower, with various shower heads in it, including one that is removable. It has nice storage and large comfortable towels and best of all, a clothes washer. I chose an apartment with a washer so that I could easily bring few clothes, as I've mentioned before. It's worked out great.
The floors throughout, except in the bathroom, which is tiled, are nice wooden floors. There are sheer curtains for daytime and heavy, room-darkening ones for night. Each room, the living room and the bedroom, has a room-width balcony overlooking the street below, and there are a table and chairs on the living room one. Both street-facing walls are all glass, with glass doors as well.
The apartment is located on the 2nd (American 3rd) floor of a nice building, with a pass code to get into the building, and there are two nice elevators just inside, in the large, bright lobby. And the good news: I got the apartment for an entire 30 days for what comes out to $78 per day, so a little under $2400. You can't get a very nice hotel room for that price. And there are no hidden prices, either; that's the entire amount I've paid. I recommend it very highly, by the way, and I got it through airbnb. I would rent it again.
Oh, and it's very convenient to several metro stations, a large grocery is right across the street, just a few doors down. There are, needless to say, as this is France, cafes, boulangeries/patisseries, bistros every few yards, it seems. There's a Saturday farmers' market just a few blocks away, and there are parks everywhere, including several with nice children's playgrounds. I only have a few photos of the apartment, but here they are:
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| A side street just a very few minutes from my apartment. Note the beautiful curved building fronts. |
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| Looking outside my living room window. (Yes, I know it looks claustrophobic, but it isn't at all. It's just a neighborhood.) |
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| Inside the living room, computer corner, with my make-shift easel and a cow painting I'm working on. |
Saturday, Sept 27
My family members have left now, and I'm in Paris alone. It's a strange feeling after all the bustle and hurry of playing tourists for two weeks -- and not just a little lonely, too. The good news, though, is I'm now painting again, which is what I had planned all along. As I mentioned early on, when I arrived here, I went to a great arts supply shop nearby and bought some acrylic paints and canvas and other necessary tools of the trade -- except for brushes, which I brought my own. Yesterday, I laid in the basic shapes and colors for a 16x20" cow painting I'm doing. It's a Holstein cow lying in a field, and she's beautiful. I hope I can do her portrait justice. I'll do just a little more work on the painting here and then take it home to finish it in oils, so it will be a multimedia painting. Then I also started working on a painting requested (not a custom, though!) by a mom who is having twins: She wanted me to do two little baby chicks on also a 16x20" canvas. I've found some chicks on a copyright-free site, wetcanvas, and I've already worked out how they'll fit together on the canvas. I'll lay in the colors on that painting either tomorrow or Monday. After that, I only have enough canvas to do two more kind of large paintings, two 11x14's. I don't know what I'll be doing on those yet. But my goal is to have at least four paintings completely laid in and ready to finish up when I return to the US.
I know it may sound silly to some that I've traveled 9000 miles just to hole up in my apartment and paint, but it's exactly what I had planned to do in the first place. I wanted to spend time in France, so I'm getting to do that. I'm not a particularly gregarious person, and I find myself quite interesting, so I'm really not lonely -- well, I miss my family and my sweet little dog, who is apparently not doing well at all without me. I'm really concerned about him. He's getting on in years, and he's apparently completely withdrawn since I left. I think in the future when I travel, he's just going to have to go with me. I know travel can be difficult for dogs, but I think it's better than his pining away when I'm not there. And he has traveled internationally in the past, a couple of times, and he handled it very, very well. So that's my plan.
Regarding living here, I'm going out for long walks every day, eating too much, having a second glass of wine some evenings, and doing a lot of people-watching. I've been going to parks and sitting with all the other people who seem to do this on a regular basis, and I just soak up the atmosphere and watch people going about their daily lives. It's amazing how similar life here this time is to my time in Toulouse years ago. It's kind of like returning to a former home town in the states and finding that in the beginning, it's quite different and strange feeling and then in just a couple of days, feeling as if you've never been away.
I'm walking to a cemetery tomorrow, Cimetiere de Montmartre, just for a nice Sunday away-from-tourists walk. I read that one of my favorite authors, Emile Zola, used to be buried there, but now he's in the Pantheon, but his family are all still buried there, and he still has a headstone with his name on it. Weird, huh? It seems odd to be visiting a cemetery, but it is history, and all historical people of the late 1800's are dead now, and I find that era extremely interesting, so it seems like a worthwhile thing to do.
Later in the week, I'm going to the Musee d'Orsay to study some impressionists' paintings up close and am really eager to do that. Then on the first free Sunday, I'll be going back to either the Louvre or the Musee d'Orsay again for a second look-around. And that's all the tourist sites I'll be seeing. The rest of the time, I'll be here in my own neighborhood, walking and painting.
I've been promising a few photos, so I'll add a few. They're of the touristy sort for now because I haven't done much shooting lately and haven't uploaded what I've shot.
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| Well, this one needs a little explaining: My little four-year-old granddaughter is my best friend, and she decided to give me a pedicure. Here are the adorable results. |
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| This, I think, is in the Tuileries Garden. Happy pigeons in Paris. |
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| A bird fishing for its dinner at the lake in the Bois de Boulogne. |
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| A street somewhere in Paris. |
Tuesday, Sept 23
Where did the time go??? Really! I'm drawing a blank! Let's see. Oh, I remember! We went to a smallish weekly outdoor market in the neighborhood on Saturday and had a great time. We bought way, way too many goodies and ate them all!!! Well, I still have some lusciously delicious, very fiery hot (piquant) olives that I absolutely love. They're just the right amount of brine with lots and lots of those really hot little peppers that everyone but "moi" avoids. I snarf those things like candy, though! And with some arugula, some pain de campagne, and some fresh feta, Yum!!! Later in the day, we went again to the Luxembourg gardens. After walking around for a while, we found some empty chairs (a rare thing on a Saturday afternoon, apparently) and sat down for a little break. Well, very quickly we realized why the chairs were empty!! Huge - and I mean huge! -- chestnuts, many still in their spiky outer shells -- started falling all around us. The man sitting just about 10 feet away was having quite a good time watching us try to avoid them. My son-in-law got hit with one on his leg, and it really hurt, so we decided to retreat!!! So we abandoned the almost-perfect chairs and went back to the fantastic playground we had taken my granddaughter a few days earlier, where she played to exhaustion. It was a most beautiful and enjoyable day.
While my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were in the playground, I played one of my favorite games: people-watching. I sat on a bench near a children's sand pit, and three and four-generation families surrounded me on all sides. It finally made me remember one of the many things I loved about France way, way back in the '90's when I lived in Toulouse: the obvious love and caring between family members -- and their friends as well. It's a beautiful sight, and it's something I don't often witness in the US, at least in public settings like this, anyway.
I baby-sat with my little granddaughter while my daughter and her husband went back to the Louvre on Sunday afternoon. According to them, it wasn't a good time to go. Unlike our visit on Friday, when we arrived early, this time they encountered enormous lines, extending way outside the entrance of the pyramid. And, of course, that's when another huge downpour occurred, too, (and, of course, they forgot the umbrella or raincoats), so they enjoyed visiting all that magnificent artwork in sloshy shoes and soaked clothing! But enjoy it again, they did. They said that once they got away from the popular art pieces, the crowds weren't so bad at all. So maybe timing your visits to the Louvre is the trick! I'll be going on the first free Sunday in October, so I'll report the size of the crowds for that, too.
Monday, yesterday, we went to a place I would very highly recommend but which I haven't seen in any of the travel-book-type recomendations: It's the "bois de Boulogne," a forest full of hiking, biking, horseback-riding, even car-driving, trails and streets just at the western edge of Paris -- just outside the Boulevard Peripherique, but we got there easily by metro. We just wandered around for a few hours, seeing more dogs than you can imagine, of every breed and size, encountering a couple of small bridges that I swear must have been built hundreds of years ago (photos to follow), meeting very nice, friendly people, something that as I have mentioned before, hasn't occurred in the city itself, but here, people seemed to have their stiff guards down as they enjoyed this relaxing scenery. There was a large lake in the center that had rowboats for rent, and on looking closer at the water, we spotted some huge what appeared to be carp in the water; they were at least 3 feet long, and they appeared to be very numerous. On returning, in fact, to the apartment, we looked on Google Earth, and we could actually see them in the center of the lake!
And now to today: After a refreshing early morning walk with my daughter and granddaughter, I have the apartment to myself! They're all playing tourist one more day before tomorrow, which is packing day for their big trip back to the real world. They chose to go to the Champs Elysees and check out the Arc de Triomphe. Me, I've seen and done all those things many times in my life and don't have the desire to do it again -- so, here I am, writing! And relaxing! And wondering how I'm going to fill the next two weeks when I'm all alone!!! Of course, I'll be walking daily, which is something I always do, no matter where I am. And I'll drag out my paints, brushes, and canvases to begin painting finally. However, after having been reminded of all the jillions of paintings already created (most of them around here, anyway, awful!) of Paris, I think I'm going to stick to doing something I still love: painting animals! Maybe I'll do a couple of Paris paintings, but I'm really eager to paint some more farm animals again. We'll see what flows off the brushes . . . .
Friday, September 19
Yesterday, we went to the Louvre Museum. If you're going, I don't know what it's usually like traffic-wise, but I can recommend what we did, and it worked for us. We arrived early, shortly after opening, bought our tickets at a machine, right there in the "pyramid" lobby, almost no line at all. Then we marched straight through the turnstiles with no wait whatsoever -- really. It was a Thursday morning, so maybe that's a slow time. Who knows! All I heard before I came to Paris was that the lines were interminable, and for me at least, they were not at all. Really makes me wonder if there's been a bit of fear-mongering on sites I was looking at (which I won't name), perhaps in hopes that nervous tourists would buy the rather expensive, if you're not going to use it very much, Museum Pass. For me and my family, it would not have been cost-effective anyway, as it includes many sites we weren't going to anyway. But one of its advantages, I have heard, is to allow the owner to be able to bypass long ticket/entry lines.
Wednesday, Sept 17
Some interesting things I notice about the differences between larger cities in the USA (or certainly in the less-enormous cities) and Paris:
1. Little to no eye contact in walking down the streets - and never a "Bonjour." This difference surprises me most because, as most of you know, I lived in Toulouse for almost two years, where everywhere I walked, I was met with a brief small smile and "Bonjour, Madame," or "Bonsoir, Madame." Here, it hasn't happened even once. And I've walked miles and miles here just in the past week, all over the city. Perhaps that's typical of really huge cities; I'm not enough of a world traveler to know. However, I have been several times to Philadelphia in the USA in the past few years; and although people for the most part rush about their business, I did get at least a few smiles and a few "hello's," here and there.
2. One-on-one, though, the Parisian people, to me, anyway, are very kind and friendly: Many times, either I alone or my daughter and I have stopped on a busy street to take stock of our location and how we proceed to our destination, and invariably, some kind person stops and gives us directions or advice about how to go to our destination.
I've been in a few small shops and restaurants, and I've seen the same sort of kindness. It's very reassuring.
3. At the children's playground: I take my little granddaughter to many playgrounds here, almost every day, and I've noticed some unspoken rules among children that I haven't seen in the US. My granddaughter was oblivious to these little rules until we discussed them. Now, she already seems to be catching on to what is proper playground behavior. Example: Swings are always in high demand at playgrounds, and there are never enough of them. Thus, when one child is swinging, children who want to be next to swing sit on the sides of the swing structure -- or stand out to the side -- in both cases, in full view of the swinger in both cases. The swinger, after a reasonable period of swinging time, steps aside and takes her/his place in the "waiting" position -- and in this manner, all children get a fair amount of time in the swing. The same also holds true to such things as little "cocoons" on some of the climbing structures (photos later). As my little granddaughter wasn't understanding the "rules," one little girl went to her dad and complained. He, realizing my granddaughter spoke English, told the little girl to say, in English, "Will you be finished soon?" It worked!!
4. In stores and other places where you, the public, interact with people behind counters, it really is true that everyone starts each and every encounter with "Bonjour, Madame (Monsieur, madmoiselle) and ends each encounter with "Merci, Madame" (etc.) and "Au revoir." I like this custom -- very much, and wish I saw more of it in the US.
5. What I've heard about potential thieves seems to be true. We've already had two encounters ourselves -- and I'm not talking about beggars here, either, but people who I'm quite sure were intent on taking our belongings. Both incidents happened in busy areas, one in a very tourist-filled area and the other on one of the inner-city metro trains. Otherwise, I've felt in no danger of having anything stolen -- quite to the contrary, in fact. And I certainly don't see ordinary Parisians walking around with a noticeably tight grip on their belongings -- a reasonable grip, I would say, but not the wild-eyed look I've seen in what appear to be tourists' eyes. So I guess a somewhere-in-the-middle is the best place to be: alert, aware, but not paranoid.
Today, we wandered the streets in the 18th, with no specific destination in mind. We passed back by the Sacre Coeur and actually went inside. It's beautiful inside and is massed with tourists and people selling all sorts of bric-a-brac outside. Takes away some of the solemnity and beauty of the inside . . . With only a week here so far, we already have a very good feel of direction and what the main streets are, which really surprises me. I've looked at Paris on Google Maps, and just to look at it from above, or at street level even more, it looks like an impossible maze -- no square street corners anywhere, but instead four, five, and even six streets meet at random and frequent intersections. But as with most things human, there is some order in it after one gets to know it even a little bit.
Tuesday, September 16, later in the day
We went again to the Notre Dame cathedral today and went up into the tower. It's the third time I've ever done it, and it never gets old. It doesn't cost much at all, 8.50 euros per adult, and children under 18, I think, free. It is well worth every cent -- even if this time we weren't able to see either the smaller bells or the huge one, due to renovations in the bell towers. (Photos will come tomorrow.) Unfortunately, this time there was no directed tour, except for audio self-guided tours. Oh, well, some things had to change since my last visit. But, all in all, it is a must-do in my opinion if you're in Paris. One little bit of advice regarding using the metro to get there, too: Do not get off at Les Halles unless you're really, really, really into shopping (it took us f-o-r-e-v-e-r to escape the maze of shops), but instead, take the Cite exit on Metro line No. 4.
One little wardrobe change suggestion: Unless you're going in the really late fall or the dead of winter, take at least one hot-weather outfit. The weather has been quite warm a lot of the time since we've been here; and fortunately, I did take a nice sleeveless top that I was able to wear with a skirt today. But I really need something cool to wear around the apartment when we got back to the apartment. Fortunately, my daughter lent me a pair of shorts she had. So add that one tiny item to the wardrobe list I gave earlier.
Monday, September 15 later in the day:
Since I'm far behind in what's been going on, I thought I would try to write a bit more today.. But first, some photos:
Yes, we had to go do a little "touristing," so this was my son-in-law's first view ever of the Tour Eiffel. He was quite impressed by it, needless to say.
A beautiful view looking down the Seine toward the Tour Eiffel.
Monday, September 15:
Well, yesterday was a true day of relaxation because I had forgotten that pretty much all stores that would interest me are closed on Sundays. I guess I thought that might have changed in the past twenty-something years, but fortunately, some things don't. I do like some traditions like that and think it's a good thing -- makes us plan ahead a little.
As promised, today I'm going to talk about the "economy comfort seats," which added an extra $100 to each flight I had/have them on -- in this case, only one so far. I had a seat by the window in the very front row of the economy section, which, of course, was a bulkhead -- and which, of course, gave me tons of space in front. However, there was one small drawback: As there were no seats in front of me under which to place my "personal item," I had to stow it overhead, which, it turned out, was difficult as I was unaware of this necessity when I got on the plane. So it had to be some rows back before I found a place for it. After the flight was going, though, I was able to retrieve it and keep it until the end of the flight. The chairs themselves seemed wider to me, and they did indeed lean back to a more comfortable tilt. As "special" economy customers, we were treated a bit more nicely than I have found to happen in the "economy economy" section. We were served unlimited amounts of drinks -- too bad I'm not much of a drinker, but I did take one glass of wine, as I think I mentioned earlier. Before the usual plane meal, we were kindly treated to a hot wet nap to wipe our hands off. Of course, we got our meals earlier than everyone else in the back, for what that's worth. Being vegetarian and not being a frequent flyer -- and having had no time between flights to buy something "edible," I just nibbled at the food, of which there was a vegetarian choice but in typical plane tradition, it was nearly inedible in my opinion -- mushy noodles with some kind of tasteless red stuff squirted on it and the usual bread, butter, etc. So note to self and others: If at all possible, be sure to get a good meal at one of the many pretty good eateries before your departure gate(s). (I think I might be getting into way, way too much detail here! -- so I'll move on).
Bottom line on the economy comfort seats: Yes, I do think they're worth the extra $100 per flight if the flight is more than a hop, and I will continue to use them without hesitation.
Okay, on to a few more things I said I would cover. First, my carry-on-bag-only flight: Yes, I definitely would do it again. I have had absolutely no problem at all without a ton of things with me. 'Nuf said! Do it! In the future, I think I could do with fewer, not more things. It's worth avoiding the hassle of luggage carousels in my opinion.
Regarding something I spent a lot of time worrying about, I'm embarrassed to say, the CDG airport is not at all intimidating. It's just another airport, and the signage, in various languages, and with good illustrations, too, is clear and understandable. And my family members who arrived from Denmark after I did, and who don't speak French at all, had no trouble negotiating it, either.
Regarding the RER2, which I took in the early morning from the airport to the Gare du Nord in Paris, I was a bit surprised by its nearly dilapidated condition, but otherwise, it got me to my destination in pretty fast order. One little observation I made which has nothing to do with anything on my trip, but I must say it: As it was still dark outside when I boarded, I looked off at the horizon, and there, hanging just above the horizon was a very huge full moon! It was gorgeous -- and what a way to start my fun vacation in Paris!
IMPORTANT: On my arrival at the Gare du Nord train station, I found it to be quite intimidating and confusing simply and mainly because I didn't know which exit to take. So I just took the plunge and exited the one that appeared to be the busiest. Before exiting, I bought at a newspaper kiosk a map by arrondissements, which has proven to be priceless to me. In fact, the only other map I've used has been one which is a little larger than the pages in the book of the metro lines and stops. Then, on exiting, I had a pretty bad shock! I had mapped on Google Maps the direction from the train station to my apartment in the 18th -- BUT I had no internet on my smart phone, so I had no map! I didn't know what to do! Then I found in one of my bags some hand-written notes I had taken about how to walk to my apartment, not realizing that had even taken it but hoping madly that I had -- and I did have it! So, using those notes and the great map book, I found my way (nearly 3 km) to my apartment without a single mistake! So plan ahead!
Now, I've covered everything that I wanted to before my actual time here in Paris. So next time, I'll quickly go over what has happened since I've gotten here -- not much, really, just having a nice time and exploring a bit. I'm not much of a traditional tourist, so I've only spent to visits to the usual tourist sites in Paris, the Eiffel tower, of course, and, of course, the Notre Dame cathedral. I'll spend a few days going to art museums (OF COURSE!!), and the rest of the time, I'll spend just enjoying being here and visiting with the ever-so-kind Parisians. Happily, I've found that my French ability is better than I expected -- and less than I had hoped for! It more than suffices, though, and I'm learning more very rapidly.
I want to thank all of you who have written to me and thanked me for what I'm writing. I really appreciate it, and it makes all this what often to me appears to be very self-centered writings on my part. I'm glad it's encouraging to many of you. And I'm especially surprised and flattered that I am getting so many views from people from other European countries, including France itself. It's nice to look at my stats and see the sources of all the countries who are following my great adventure. Thank you!
Saturday, September 13:
Since I'm far behind in what's been going on, I thought I would try to write a bit more today.. But first, some photos:
Another photo he took of it.
And one I took of my daughter and son-in-law
Sorry, I can't remember where this is, but one of the many bridges, anyway. I wasn't in charge of the camera.
In the Jardins des Tuileries.
A photo my daughter took, looking up into one of my favorite trees, a platane (sycamore, I think, in English. This photo was taken at the Luxembourg Gardens, a refreshing retreat from all the tourist areas.
I'll try to add more photos as time goes on.
Back to my adventure. The first day here, I arrived at my apartment that I had rented through airbnb.com, and I met the owner of the apartment, who showed me how everything worked, and then he left. Shortly afterward, I took my only daytime nap, and I napped for about an hour, completely exhausted from the flights and the search for the apartment and the wait (around 6 hours) for the appointed time to meet the owner. The apartment is on the 2nd floor (USA third), is comfortably small, even for all four of us while my family are with me. My daughter and son-in-law sleep in the living room, and my little granddaughter and I sleep in the bedroom. We have two balconies that overlook a very quiet residential street somewhere up in the 18th Arrondissement. Unbelievably, we have a rather large (but expensive) grocery only about 50 feet from our front doot, so that's convenient. And we have already, in the past nearly week, learned the neighborhood quite well. We know where there is another larger and more reasonably priced grocery, where the best neighborhood playgrounds, boulangeries, patisseries, etc. are nearby. We've learned where the most convenient metro stops are located, and have even learned how to use one of the at-first-confusing ticket vending machines for the metro tickets. And we have had very few mishaps.
It's good having my family with me for the first couple of weeks because I'm having some support as I learn to navigate all the streets and metros. Plus, I enjoy their company, obviously.
One more thing I did the second day I was here was go to an art supply store that I had located before I left the USA, and believe it or not, it just happens to be around the corner from where I live. There, I bought paints, some flat canvas, and a support on which to paint. I brought my own brushes with me. So after my family have left, I have two more weeks here alone, and I intend to get some serious painting done during that time. What a great place to paint!
In between painting sessions, I intend to spend as much time as I can, gathering photos, going to art museums, just soaking in the ambiance of my one-month "home."
Well, yesterday was a true day of relaxation because I had forgotten that pretty much all stores that would interest me are closed on Sundays. I guess I thought that might have changed in the past twenty-something years, but fortunately, some things don't. I do like some traditions like that and think it's a good thing -- makes us plan ahead a little.
As promised, today I'm going to talk about the "economy comfort seats," which added an extra $100 to each flight I had/have them on -- in this case, only one so far. I had a seat by the window in the very front row of the economy section, which, of course, was a bulkhead -- and which, of course, gave me tons of space in front. However, there was one small drawback: As there were no seats in front of me under which to place my "personal item," I had to stow it overhead, which, it turned out, was difficult as I was unaware of this necessity when I got on the plane. So it had to be some rows back before I found a place for it. After the flight was going, though, I was able to retrieve it and keep it until the end of the flight. The chairs themselves seemed wider to me, and they did indeed lean back to a more comfortable tilt. As "special" economy customers, we were treated a bit more nicely than I have found to happen in the "economy economy" section. We were served unlimited amounts of drinks -- too bad I'm not much of a drinker, but I did take one glass of wine, as I think I mentioned earlier. Before the usual plane meal, we were kindly treated to a hot wet nap to wipe our hands off. Of course, we got our meals earlier than everyone else in the back, for what that's worth. Being vegetarian and not being a frequent flyer -- and having had no time between flights to buy something "edible," I just nibbled at the food, of which there was a vegetarian choice but in typical plane tradition, it was nearly inedible in my opinion -- mushy noodles with some kind of tasteless red stuff squirted on it and the usual bread, butter, etc. So note to self and others: If at all possible, be sure to get a good meal at one of the many pretty good eateries before your departure gate(s). (I think I might be getting into way, way too much detail here! -- so I'll move on).
Bottom line on the economy comfort seats: Yes, I do think they're worth the extra $100 per flight if the flight is more than a hop, and I will continue to use them without hesitation.
Okay, on to a few more things I said I would cover. First, my carry-on-bag-only flight: Yes, I definitely would do it again. I have had absolutely no problem at all without a ton of things with me. 'Nuf said! Do it! In the future, I think I could do with fewer, not more things. It's worth avoiding the hassle of luggage carousels in my opinion.
Regarding something I spent a lot of time worrying about, I'm embarrassed to say, the CDG airport is not at all intimidating. It's just another airport, and the signage, in various languages, and with good illustrations, too, is clear and understandable. And my family members who arrived from Denmark after I did, and who don't speak French at all, had no trouble negotiating it, either.
Regarding the RER2, which I took in the early morning from the airport to the Gare du Nord in Paris, I was a bit surprised by its nearly dilapidated condition, but otherwise, it got me to my destination in pretty fast order. One little observation I made which has nothing to do with anything on my trip, but I must say it: As it was still dark outside when I boarded, I looked off at the horizon, and there, hanging just above the horizon was a very huge full moon! It was gorgeous -- and what a way to start my fun vacation in Paris!
IMPORTANT: On my arrival at the Gare du Nord train station, I found it to be quite intimidating and confusing simply and mainly because I didn't know which exit to take. So I just took the plunge and exited the one that appeared to be the busiest. Before exiting, I bought at a newspaper kiosk a map by arrondissements, which has proven to be priceless to me. In fact, the only other map I've used has been one which is a little larger than the pages in the book of the metro lines and stops. Then, on exiting, I had a pretty bad shock! I had mapped on Google Maps the direction from the train station to my apartment in the 18th -- BUT I had no internet on my smart phone, so I had no map! I didn't know what to do! Then I found in one of my bags some hand-written notes I had taken about how to walk to my apartment, not realizing that had even taken it but hoping madly that I had -- and I did have it! So, using those notes and the great map book, I found my way (nearly 3 km) to my apartment without a single mistake! So plan ahead!
Now, I've covered everything that I wanted to before my actual time here in Paris. So next time, I'll quickly go over what has happened since I've gotten here -- not much, really, just having a nice time and exploring a bit. I'm not much of a traditional tourist, so I've only spent to visits to the usual tourist sites in Paris, the Eiffel tower, of course, and, of course, the Notre Dame cathedral. I'll spend a few days going to art museums (OF COURSE!!), and the rest of the time, I'll spend just enjoying being here and visiting with the ever-so-kind Parisians. Happily, I've found that my French ability is better than I expected -- and less than I had hoped for! It more than suffices, though, and I'm learning more very rapidly.
I want to thank all of you who have written to me and thanked me for what I'm writing. I really appreciate it, and it makes all this what often to me appears to be very self-centered writings on my part. I'm glad it's encouraging to many of you. And I'm especially surprised and flattered that I am getting so many views from people from other European countries, including France itself. It's nice to look at my stats and see the sources of all the countries who are following my great adventure. Thank you!
Saturday, September 13:
I finally have my computer, so I can now report what's been going on with my Paris vacation. First, I want to talk about what I did to avoid jet lag because -- believe it or not!!! It worked!!!! As I stated earlier, based on some comments I saw online, I decided to start going to bed quite a few hours earlier than normal: at 8 pm -- and get up at 4 am. It wasn't terribly tough to do, but it was hard to get to work that early. Here's how I cheated: (First, this is only what I did. It may or may not work for anyone else, but it did for me.) I took a very small amount of Nyquil liquid, about a teaspoon about 15 minutes before 8, and the sedative effect was strong enough to help me get to sleep. (Note that I said Nyquil, not the new stuff they've come out with, Zzquil, which does not work the same way. And I speak from experience when is say that. Note on the label that the active ingredients aren't the same.) The day of my flight, I was supposed to get up at 4 am, as I had been doing. However, obviously, I was really anxious and had trouble sleeping, even with the medication. And, believe it nor not, for the truly first time in my life, I slept through not one but two alarms. Fortunately, my husband, who was taking me to the airport, got me up. So everything didn't go without at least a hiccup. I did get to the airport on time, though, anyway, and didn't have time to have "nerves."
I had two stages to my trip, the first one being from Portland to Atlanta. I had a very small amount of caffeinated coffee in Portland on departing. When I left Atlanta at around 3:30 in the afternoon, I ate a very light meal, had a small glass of wine, talked the ears off my neighbor (sorry, neighbor!! I don't handle wine very well at high altitudes!!!), took a single liquid capsule of Nyquil (yes, I mixed alcohol and the medication; sorry), and slept as well as could be expected for a person who can't sleep sitting up. But I think I slept more than I think I did, anyway.
Upon arriving at my Paris apartment and being shown around and then being left to myself, I immediately took about a 1 and one half hour nap. Then I got up and went through a normal day, without any further nap until around 10 pm, when I was so exhausted, that I slept all night. I did go ahead and take a single liquid capsule dose of Nyquil, and then I set the alarm for around 9 am, to give myself a bit more rest but ended up waking up at 7:30 instead. I went through the entire day without any really exceptional tiredness at all. When I did feel a little tired, I either did some floor exercises or went out and took a short walk. I went to bed at 10 again, with the same routine again. I continued to do that for about two more days. I NEVER had what I would call jet lag.
I have always, up to this trip, suffered for nearly a week with jet lag, all my life. So this experience is obviously the very best experience I've ever had with traveling over several time zones. Obviously, the test will be when I next travel, to see if I can repeat the positive experience.
Tomorrow when I write, I'll talk about my flight and the "comfort economy" seat I had on my international leg of the flight (I ordered it for the flight from PDX to ATL but was bumped into a regular economy seat -- something I was warned could happened -- and did!)
I'll eventually catch up to real time with my reports, but I feel I have a lot of details I want to cover first, things I mentioned that I would report on and their success/or lack of (such as the "comfort economy" seats, the jet lag "cure," my wardrobe in only a carry-on bag, navigating CDG airport, the RER2 train to Paris, etc., and whatever else I think is important to report.
I will say one thing so far, although I've not even been here a week: DO IT!!! It hasn't been nearly as difficult as I feared it would be. I promise!
I had two stages to my trip, the first one being from Portland to Atlanta. I had a very small amount of caffeinated coffee in Portland on departing. When I left Atlanta at around 3:30 in the afternoon, I ate a very light meal, had a small glass of wine, talked the ears off my neighbor (sorry, neighbor!! I don't handle wine very well at high altitudes!!!), took a single liquid capsule of Nyquil (yes, I mixed alcohol and the medication; sorry), and slept as well as could be expected for a person who can't sleep sitting up. But I think I slept more than I think I did, anyway.
Upon arriving at my Paris apartment and being shown around and then being left to myself, I immediately took about a 1 and one half hour nap. Then I got up and went through a normal day, without any further nap until around 10 pm, when I was so exhausted, that I slept all night. I did go ahead and take a single liquid capsule dose of Nyquil, and then I set the alarm for around 9 am, to give myself a bit more rest but ended up waking up at 7:30 instead. I went through the entire day without any really exceptional tiredness at all. When I did feel a little tired, I either did some floor exercises or went out and took a short walk. I went to bed at 10 again, with the same routine again. I continued to do that for about two more days. I NEVER had what I would call jet lag.
I have always, up to this trip, suffered for nearly a week with jet lag, all my life. So this experience is obviously the very best experience I've ever had with traveling over several time zones. Obviously, the test will be when I next travel, to see if I can repeat the positive experience.
Tomorrow when I write, I'll talk about my flight and the "comfort economy" seat I had on my international leg of the flight (I ordered it for the flight from PDX to ATL but was bumped into a regular economy seat -- something I was warned could happened -- and did!)
I'll eventually catch up to real time with my reports, but I feel I have a lot of details I want to cover first, things I mentioned that I would report on and their success/or lack of (such as the "comfort economy" seats, the jet lag "cure," my wardrobe in only a carry-on bag, navigating CDG airport, the RER2 train to Paris, etc., and whatever else I think is important to report.
I will say one thing so far, although I've not even been here a week: DO IT!!! It hasn't been nearly as difficult as I feared it would be. I promise!
Tuesday, September 9:
I'm in Paris! But I don't have my computer yet, and It's too difficult to post using my phone.
My computer will arrive tomorrow, so then I can bore you to treats with what's happening. I will say this much: My apartment is perfect, and, amazingly, I don't have jet lag! !! I've traveled a fair amount over my life, and I've always struggled terribly with jet lag. Maybe it just hasn't hit me yet, though, so I won't say too much yet. I'll be back very soon with my, too me anyway, amazing life! !
Sept 4
It's tough getting everything organized: checking off all the many lists I've made, and taking care of my business, helping out with my daughter's business while she's gone to Denmark, all at the same time. But I think I'm getting to the end now. I read somewhere that everything goes much better if I pretend I'm going a couple of days before I actually am, so I'm using that advice -- So with that in mind, I'm pretending I'm leaving on Saturday morning, but I'm actually leaving on Monday morning. This means, of course, that I have to get everything -- everything -- done by tomorrow evening. Then, if all goes well, I'll have two days to relax, finish up some gardening tasks, play with my little dog (he's not going with me), and just generally be lazy. Wow, is that going to feel weird!!
I've got my clothing that's going all laid out. As I'm sure I've already posted, I'm going this time to carry only a single carry-on bag and a "small personal item," which this time is a rather roomy soft laptop case(but not too much to slide under the seat, so I'm staying within the airline rules). So I've really had to pare down what I'm taking.
Here it is briefly for any of you women out there like me who agonize over such things: Everything is in a color scheme of black, camel, and brown. I'm taking two pants, a black pair and a camel pair that go with everything else I'm taking (and 1 pair of jogging pants for lying around the apartment), and one pair of dark brown leggings -- so I guess three pants, then. I'm taking around 7 shirts or light sweaters (some tunic length) that all can mix and match; two pairs of shoes (one very city-like grey pair of casuals and a dressy pair of flats for going out); a turtleneck lightweight cashmere charcoal-colored sweater; enough underwear so that I don't have to wash every couple of days; one nice black dress, a black cardigan sweater, a nice wool black dress jacket, which I'll wear often on cool days, a city-like water-resistant camel-colored jacket with hidden hood for rainy days (along with my small fold-up umbrella); and my nightshirt. And that's about it. Again, all the pieces I'm taking can be mixed and matched, can be laundered - except for the dress jacket. And fortunately, the apartment I'm renting has a washer in it.
To keep all my "dull" colors from looking too sad, I'm taking a couple of really bright scarves and a really cute smallish-kind of reddish-orangish cross-body handbag with a good, strong, removable strap. I'm not a jewelry kind of person, but I will be taking a small necklace, and that's about it. Oh, and toiletries, of course. If I've forgotten anything (which I'm sure I will), I can always pick up something there.
For actually getting everything into the bag, I'm packing like things together in large Ziplock bags and squeezing the air out of each. I've already done a test-run, so I know everything fits just fine, with even a little room to spare -- and it's not too heavy for me to put into the overhead storage compartment, too!
Since I have a way to walk when I get off the metro to my apartment, I'm strapping my "personal item very securely to my carry-on bag," which makes it very easy to pull everything down the sidewalks. Or carry short distances if I have to, also.
In my "personal item" bag, I have my handbag when I don't need to have it out, all info regarding my stay and flight information, a pocket for my boarding tickets, something to read, my smartphone for internet, maps, and communicating via Skype with everyone else, and lots of empty space, too, because my daughter has my laptop with her, which I'll be bringing back with me. (She's going to be meeting me in Paris shortly after I arrive, so I'll only be without it --and my good camera -- for a few days.) I think that's everything.
My sweet husband is going to be taking care of my print business while I'm gone because I don't want to shut it down and lose a month of income, so I've been having to teach him how to do everything. I'm so glad he's able to help me out, though; I really appreciate it. And I have finished another beautiful 16x20 stretched canvas Jersey cow painting, but I realized my daughter has my really good camera (which is necessary for photographing original paintings), so it's going to have to wait until I return to be seen. And I hope -- no, I will! -- have several other paintings to show when I return, too, because I do intend to work while I'm there -- as well as soak up the Paris atmosphere as much as possible.
One of my most difficult aspects of traveling has always been jet lag; I suffer terribly from it every time I travel, especially internationally, of course. I'll report how my plans for this time work (or don't work). I think I've already covered this in another post, so I won't say more about it now.
Another thing that's different for me this time is that I've paid a little extra for the not-so-awful tourist class seats (about $300), so I'll report how those turn out, too -- if they were worth the extra expense or not. Since I travel on a bit of a budget, I don't feel justified at all in getting business or first class seats, so I'm hoping this little extra comfort works out.
I know these posts are not about my artwork directly, but I know I personally enjoy reading about others' trips, what works and what doesn't, etc., so maybe some of you do, too. If not, well, I'll be back to talking about art possibly during but definitely after I return.
Sept 4
It's tough getting everything organized: checking off all the many lists I've made, and taking care of my business, helping out with my daughter's business while she's gone to Denmark, all at the same time. But I think I'm getting to the end now. I read somewhere that everything goes much better if I pretend I'm going a couple of days before I actually am, so I'm using that advice -- So with that in mind, I'm pretending I'm leaving on Saturday morning, but I'm actually leaving on Monday morning. This means, of course, that I have to get everything -- everything -- done by tomorrow evening. Then, if all goes well, I'll have two days to relax, finish up some gardening tasks, play with my little dog (he's not going with me), and just generally be lazy. Wow, is that going to feel weird!!
I've got my clothing that's going all laid out. As I'm sure I've already posted, I'm going this time to carry only a single carry-on bag and a "small personal item," which this time is a rather roomy soft laptop case(but not too much to slide under the seat, so I'm staying within the airline rules). So I've really had to pare down what I'm taking.
Here it is briefly for any of you women out there like me who agonize over such things: Everything is in a color scheme of black, camel, and brown. I'm taking two pants, a black pair and a camel pair that go with everything else I'm taking (and 1 pair of jogging pants for lying around the apartment), and one pair of dark brown leggings -- so I guess three pants, then. I'm taking around 7 shirts or light sweaters (some tunic length) that all can mix and match; two pairs of shoes (one very city-like grey pair of casuals and a dressy pair of flats for going out); a turtleneck lightweight cashmere charcoal-colored sweater; enough underwear so that I don't have to wash every couple of days; one nice black dress, a black cardigan sweater, a nice wool black dress jacket, which I'll wear often on cool days, a city-like water-resistant camel-colored jacket with hidden hood for rainy days (along with my small fold-up umbrella); and my nightshirt. And that's about it. Again, all the pieces I'm taking can be mixed and matched, can be laundered - except for the dress jacket. And fortunately, the apartment I'm renting has a washer in it.
To keep all my "dull" colors from looking too sad, I'm taking a couple of really bright scarves and a really cute smallish-kind of reddish-orangish cross-body handbag with a good, strong, removable strap. I'm not a jewelry kind of person, but I will be taking a small necklace, and that's about it. Oh, and toiletries, of course. If I've forgotten anything (which I'm sure I will), I can always pick up something there.
For actually getting everything into the bag, I'm packing like things together in large Ziplock bags and squeezing the air out of each. I've already done a test-run, so I know everything fits just fine, with even a little room to spare -- and it's not too heavy for me to put into the overhead storage compartment, too!
Since I have a way to walk when I get off the metro to my apartment, I'm strapping my "personal item very securely to my carry-on bag," which makes it very easy to pull everything down the sidewalks. Or carry short distances if I have to, also.
In my "personal item" bag, I have my handbag when I don't need to have it out, all info regarding my stay and flight information, a pocket for my boarding tickets, something to read, my smartphone for internet, maps, and communicating via Skype with everyone else, and lots of empty space, too, because my daughter has my laptop with her, which I'll be bringing back with me. (She's going to be meeting me in Paris shortly after I arrive, so I'll only be without it --and my good camera -- for a few days.) I think that's everything.
My sweet husband is going to be taking care of my print business while I'm gone because I don't want to shut it down and lose a month of income, so I've been having to teach him how to do everything. I'm so glad he's able to help me out, though; I really appreciate it. And I have finished another beautiful 16x20 stretched canvas Jersey cow painting, but I realized my daughter has my really good camera (which is necessary for photographing original paintings), so it's going to have to wait until I return to be seen. And I hope -- no, I will! -- have several other paintings to show when I return, too, because I do intend to work while I'm there -- as well as soak up the Paris atmosphere as much as possible.
One of my most difficult aspects of traveling has always been jet lag; I suffer terribly from it every time I travel, especially internationally, of course. I'll report how my plans for this time work (or don't work). I think I've already covered this in another post, so I won't say more about it now.
Another thing that's different for me this time is that I've paid a little extra for the not-so-awful tourist class seats (about $300), so I'll report how those turn out, too -- if they were worth the extra expense or not. Since I travel on a bit of a budget, I don't feel justified at all in getting business or first class seats, so I'm hoping this little extra comfort works out.
I know these posts are not about my artwork directly, but I know I personally enjoy reading about others' trips, what works and what doesn't, etc., so maybe some of you do, too. If not, well, I'll be back to talking about art possibly during but definitely after I return.
1 comment:
excellent pictures! : )
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