Just back from a week in France. Eric had to travel to France to support a pilot's training session at Flight Safety, so I came along. Because Eric was working, I was on my own every day...which was great. Although I would have enjoyed sharing my experiences with him, I must say that I'm quite proud of myself that I was able to get around with no difficulty, despite not speaking any French.
Our hotel (near Flight Safety) was in the gritty, ethnically populated town of Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris. This town was one of the sites where the recent riots happened, so it seemed a bit like a combination of "Mad Max" and "Blade Runner" when I walked in the rain along the litter-strewn streets between the smashed store windows and the burnt-out cars and trucks. The "new France" with its foreign-born workers and ethnic minorities was featured on news specials and magazines while we were there. Indeed, these people are disenfranchised (no pun intended, although perhaps there should have been...) in their quest for equal education and employment. No matter what time of day I was in Le Bourget, clusters of idle men stood on the sidewalks, smoking, talking, seemingly unemployed. They came to France in search of a better life that has, thus far, eluded them.
So, each day I walked from the hotel to the bus stop, took a bus into town to the train station, and made my way into Paris. The biggest train stop in Paris, Le Chatelet, is underground like a subway and consists of a rabbit warren of tunnels. Once I finally determined the best route for getting above ground, I never varied from it, even rather compulsively walking around the magazine vendor's stall on the same side every time. Who should see a therapist??
Paris itself was rainy, wonderful, busy, and...friendly. I did not encounter any rudeness toward me as an American; people were very helpful and quite patient, actually, especially if I tried to use a French word or two from my guidebook. Fun food. The street vendors produced -- in a matter of a couple minutes -- yummy 16 inch crepes filled with pretty much anything you might want to choose: chocolate, mushrooms, cheese, ham, apples, chicken, sausage, etc. Cafeteria-type restuarants were a good bet for a relatively inexpensive lunch of quiche and salad. One night for dinner, a friend took us out to a small bistro near Notre Dame where I had lobster salad on green beans, fish fillets with delicately arranged vegetables, and a fabulous, layered warm chocolate/vanilla cake that was doing the backstroke in vanilla custard. One of those places where there are no prices on the menu: very elegant. I could get used to that lifestyle, eventually...I'm sure...if I really HAD to!
Very few tourists were in Paris, so when I went to the Louvre, I walked right up to the "Mona Lisa" and could study it as long as I wanted. Most of the visitors to the Louvre on the day I was there were groups of Asian tourists. I would have loved to ask them what they thought of some of the art, particularly the gallery after gallery of rather gruesome religious art of crucifixions, martryed saints, etc., not to mention battle after battle. What impressions must they have of Western "culture"?
At the end of the week, a hotel employee (not the usual van driver) drove me to Charles DeGaulle Airport. I thanked him, gave him a $2 Euro tip, got out of the van to get my luggage, and was stunned to see him drive off with my bags. Was the tip not enough??! It must have been amusing for passersby to see me running after the van in my heels, yelling, and waving my arms. Finally, some passing cars began honking at the driver and flashing their lights, and he stopped. Oh well. I did get my luggage and when I turned around to make my way into the terminal, I gave the onlookers a big shrug as if to say, "what can you do?" and smiled. They smiled back, shaking their heads in amused wonder, so I guess it was worth the moment of panic.
Well, here are a few photos from the visit.
