Eunice and I made it to Paris--no problems. Eunice took a cab to the airport directly from Gare Bercy (train station), and I took a different cab to the studio apartment that I have rented for the next 5 days. Eunice is staying at the Ibis hotel near Charles DeGaulle airport so that she can meet her family--Katy, Carl, Channing, and Madeliene. They will come into Paris and stay at a hotel on the Isle Saint Louis--about a mile from where I'm staying.
It's raining in Paris, and I don't even want to go out. I went to Monoprix when I first arrived and got some basic supplies. I have a tiny little refrigerator, 2 burners, a sink, and all the basics for cooking. I confess that I didn't cook though. I have grown accustomed to lots of French cheese and baguettes and fruit--along with a nice Bordeaux wine--so that's what I'm having for my dinner this evening.
I'm going to meet Eunice and her family at their hotel at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and hang around with them for a while. Then Saturday morning, I will go to Orleans to spend the weekend with my friend Fabienne and her family. I have probably said in an earlier post that this year makes 25 since we first met. I was the group leader for 10 students from Wichita, each of whom stayed with a French family once we arrived. Fabienne, who was still at the university, was the group leader for 10 French students who came back to Wichita and stayed with their American families. The group leaders also exchanged; however, since Fabienne was still in school, she was still living at home, so I met her whole family. I'm actually closer in age to her parents than I am to her, but I have spent a lot of time with the whole family over these 25 years. Fabienne now has a 3 year old daughter--Eugenie (after the Emperess). I last saw her 1 1/2 years ago when Eunice and I traveled to France and she got to meet the Legentil family as well. For those of you who don't speak French "Legentil" means "the nice one." When I first heard that name, I said to myself, "I hope so." It turned out to be true. I'm sure that I could not have met a nicer family in all of France.
A little more about my apartment: I have one window, which is the old fashioned kind. There are two parts to the window and the parts open out on a little deck, which has a table and chairs. Unfortunately, the weather is not conducive to using that little deck/patio. Then there are the old fashioned shutters, also two, which open out. When I go to bed or go out, I am to close all, and I have a large metal bar to insert so that anyone trying to break in would have one heck of a time. The apartment is located behind 2 giant green doors. I haveto enter a code. then I come into another little area, and eventually use my key to open my door.
This is such a contrast with the security that we had in Beaune. The apartment was inside a gated area. We had a key to the gate, but the key to the apartment was a joke. The latch was about a 1/4 inch long, maybe less. We tried and tried to lock it, but we could always turn the door knob and open the door. So, we devised our own security system. We put a stool in front of the door every night, and sed a try of glasses on it. We have photos, which I will post when I get home. Obviously, no one tried to enter while we were asleep because each morning, the glasses were still sitting on the stool.
It is now 7:45 in Paris--12:45 CST--and I think I will sign off for tonight. By the way, I love getting comments--or emails. Now that I'm on my own, I miss Eunice.
It's raining in Paris, and I don't even want to go out. I went to Monoprix when I first arrived and got some basic supplies. I have a tiny little refrigerator, 2 burners, a sink, and all the basics for cooking. I confess that I didn't cook though. I have grown accustomed to lots of French cheese and baguettes and fruit--along with a nice Bordeaux wine--so that's what I'm having for my dinner this evening.
I'm going to meet Eunice and her family at their hotel at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow and hang around with them for a while. Then Saturday morning, I will go to Orleans to spend the weekend with my friend Fabienne and her family. I have probably said in an earlier post that this year makes 25 since we first met. I was the group leader for 10 students from Wichita, each of whom stayed with a French family once we arrived. Fabienne, who was still at the university, was the group leader for 10 French students who came back to Wichita and stayed with their American families. The group leaders also exchanged; however, since Fabienne was still in school, she was still living at home, so I met her whole family. I'm actually closer in age to her parents than I am to her, but I have spent a lot of time with the whole family over these 25 years. Fabienne now has a 3 year old daughter--Eugenie (after the Emperess). I last saw her 1 1/2 years ago when Eunice and I traveled to France and she got to meet the Legentil family as well. For those of you who don't speak French "Legentil" means "the nice one." When I first heard that name, I said to myself, "I hope so." It turned out to be true. I'm sure that I could not have met a nicer family in all of France.
A little more about my apartment: I have one window, which is the old fashioned kind. There are two parts to the window and the parts open out on a little deck, which has a table and chairs. Unfortunately, the weather is not conducive to using that little deck/patio. Then there are the old fashioned shutters, also two, which open out. When I go to bed or go out, I am to close all, and I have a large metal bar to insert so that anyone trying to break in would have one heck of a time. The apartment is located behind 2 giant green doors. I haveto enter a code. then I come into another little area, and eventually use my key to open my door.
This is such a contrast with the security that we had in Beaune. The apartment was inside a gated area. We had a key to the gate, but the key to the apartment was a joke. The latch was about a 1/4 inch long, maybe less. We tried and tried to lock it, but we could always turn the door knob and open the door. So, we devised our own security system. We put a stool in front of the door every night, and sed a try of glasses on it. We have photos, which I will post when I get home. Obviously, no one tried to enter while we were asleep because each morning, the glasses were still sitting on the stool.
It is now 7:45 in Paris--12:45 CST--and I think I will sign off for tonight. By the way, I love getting comments--or emails. Now that I'm on my own, I miss Eunice.
I'm sure you are looking forward to meeting with your French "family" in Orleans. Tell them to visit Wichita some time again so we can meet them.
ReplyDeleteThe weather is beautiful here these past couple of days; cool in the evening, and about 80 during the day. No wind. Am I really in Kansas?
They are repaving our street and putting in new gutters, so we can't park in our garage or driveway. Jon is taking this opportunity to paint the garage. I don't know where he is getting all the energy. It looks much cleaner. We should live out there. He practically does.
I'm sure you have heard of the dreadful tragic big tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. Maybe the 2-day outbreak will be the last one this tornado season.
I watched a cute movie on Netflix titled "2 Days in Paris." You should check it out when you get home. Kind of kookie, but sweet.
Bye for now.