Paris in March

I arrived in Paris on Thursday morning.  It was quite a nice flight except for a few minor problems--the Philadelphia airport is a mess.  It appears that you cannot fly from there without waiting an hour on the tarmac.  This has happened twice to me in the last month and to many other people I know.  And what kills me is that the pilots always seem to think (pretend) that this is a situation that is not that common.

Also the plane was so cold that my feet were frozen and I was shivering under the  blanket Delta gives you.  I did not get any sleep, but that is not unusual or unexpected.  

The Paris airport is very nonchalant.  We had to fill out no form on entry into the country.  The immigration officer did not ask me any questions.  And there was virtually no customs inspection (the only customs officers--I assume that's what they were--we talking to each other and paid no attention to any passengers).  I'm not complaining--it was quite pleasant.

I got to my hotel about 12:30PM and the room was ready (yeah).  The room is very small but serviceable and it's in a great location on the left bank and close to the Gare Montparnasse, where I will get the train tomorrow for Normandy.

My sister-in-law Ceci, who travels all the time, has a jet-lag cure.  Take a nap in the afternoon you arrive in Europe and then do a little sight-seeing and then go to bed as late as you can.  So I tried to sleep a little but that was not so successful.  Then I went out and did a lot of walking.  I actually thought I could walk to the Eifel Tower, but I soon gave up that idea.

But I did go the Jardin du Luxembourg, a gardens very near my hotel.  Here's the Senate building in Luxembourg.

I then walked to Boulevard Saint Michele, a very busy and lovely shopping district.

Paris has large boulevards like these and small intimate streets as well.  This one looks like it could have been painted by VanGogh

Of course, I stopped for a glass of wine.  Here's the view from my seat.  I aimed up so people would not know I was taking the picture of them.

I thought this was very weird.  The street I was on, Rue Marazine I think, Had quite a few galleries.  This one had an "installation" in the front room, which was a load of corn kernels in a big pile in the corner.  And a very sophisticated, arty looking woman at the front of the store separating kernels by color.

I was getting tired but I did walk down to the river and who should I encounter but Thomas Jefferson, who was a real francophile, I believe.  I recognized him right away.

It was almost 7PM but there were still people waiting in line for the Musee D'Orsay, which houses many Impressionist paintings.  Last year I went there with my friend Lynne and there were armed guards in this courtyard, but none on Thursday--even though there had been a terrorist-inspired incident in Toulouse, France just days before.

I was really exhausted at this point and went home and got to bed about 9PM.....only to open my eyes again at 1AM completely awake.  I took a Tylenol PM and was dead to the world after that until 10AM.

More about Paris to follow.

    It is less than a week before I depart for France.  I am going to spend a month at a house I have invested in with other members of my family in a small village in the heart of Normandy, France--St. Fraimbault.  The place is not on the tourist map--it's in the middle of farming country, I think.  (I've never actually been there yet)  But that is why I though the title of this blog would be apropos.  It's likely the "real" Normandy I will be seeing.

Oh, I intend to see the sights of the area, Mont Saint Michel, the beaches where the allied troops landed in the Second World War, Le Havre, Honfleur, perhaps even Giverny, where Monet painted all of his waterlilies, but most of my time will be spent in the little village of Saint Fraimbault.  I want to get to know the people, the language--or as much as I can pick up in a month. 

Unfortunately, I also have to work--writing a newsletter five days a week, so afternoons will be spent doing that.  But that leaves mornings and the week I took off in the middle of April, to travel father afield.  I have seen episodes of House Hunters International where Americans who work on the internet have no trouble bringing their work with them to Europe.  I intend to test out that theory. 

But first, I fly to Paris on Wednesday, March 28 and arrive on the morning of the 29th.  I'll spend Friday in Paris and then take the train to Flers on Saturday early afternoon.  My brother and sister-in-law (Jim & Ceci) will be picking me up at the train station.  Then it's off to St. Fraimbault.

We have great internet access, apparently--or else I would not be able to go, so hopefully, I'll be able to make regular entries on this blog.  And as soon as I can I will change the picture background to something from St. Fraimbault.

Au Revoir, mes amis!!!