Tuesday, May 9th: May and Mom drove me to the airport. Left Edmonton at 10:30 am for Calgary. Left Calgary at 1:00 pm for Montreal. Left Montreal at 7:45 for Paris. The latter flight...the longest night eve!

 

Wednesday, May 10th: Arrived in Paris at 8:45 am local time. Accidentally walked right passed the luggage carousel and had to sneak back in through some random door. Security stared a hole in my back. Got my bag, then walked back and forth in the main terminal trying to find a bus or train to take downtown to Jill's aunt Alexa's place. Finally had a map drawn for me then found myself in line for a RER (bus) ticket. In line, met two ladies from Hamilton and Mele, a retired social worker from Hawaii. Turned out Mele and I were going to the same metro station so we struggled our way their together. Thank God she knew what she was doing 'cause I sure didn't. Didn't get to station Ecole Militaire in downtown Paris until 1:00 pm. The concierge at Alexa's apartment goes on break between noon and 3:00 pm so I hung around with Mele for a bit. We dropped our bags at her hotel (which happened to be really close to Chez Alexa), peaked at the Eiffel tower, walked around Rue Cler a bit, and had some lunch at Le Bosquet. I had French Onion soup...seemed appropriate, I guess. Mele kindly paid for lunch. At around 3:30 pm, I got my bag and trucked over to Rue Bosquet where Alexa's apartment is. The concierge Marie Jo spoke really fast, but clear, French and I somehow managed to get the key from her. In Alexa's apartment I repacked my exploding bag and sat with my eyes closed on the couch until Alexa came home. Not to my surprise, Alexa was really kind and welcoming. She was returning from a business trip in Montreal...and it just so happens that we were on the same flight in. Twas a day of coincidences. We talked a bit about my lack of solid plans for the rest of the summer then she made me dinner...whatever it was, it was tasty! I couldn't stay up any longer once 7:00 pm hit so I passed out in a really comfortable bed in Alexa's guest room. All in all, the first day and night in Paris was peachy!

 

Thursday, May 11th: This was the first morning in years that I willingly woke up before 8:00 am. It was the best sleep I'd had in a long time...a good solid 12 hours of undisturbed shut-eye. Called Mele around 9:00 am and we arranged to meet at her hotel later for some Paris exploration. I sat in Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel tower and watched the world wake up, walked down Avenue de la Bourdonnais until Bosquet, visited the Hotel des Invalides (a place Louis the 14th - I think - had built for sick, dying, retired, or injured soldiers would live) then found Mele at Cafe Richards around noon. Turned out Mele's plans of leaving Paris that night on a night train had fallen apart because her friend's dad was dying (she was supposed to visit them). So she was going to stay until Sunday or Monday, before meeting a group of friends for a 2-week tour of Provence and Italy on the Monday. After the cafe, we went to an internet cafe and struggled with the foreign keyboard for a good hour or so. Then we bought sandwiches for lunch and walked passed the Hotel des Invalides to the Rodin museum. Rodin is the famous sculptor of the Thinker, the Kiss, and the Gate of Hell. We walked around the garden, had lunch in an outdoor cafeteria, took some pictures, then left. We walked down Avenue du Gal Gallard, crossed Pont Alexandre III to the Grand and Petit Palais on Avenue Sir Winston Churchill. We turned on Avenue des Champs Elysees to Place de la Concorde, rested in the shade of Les Jardins des Tuileries that are in front of the Louvre where an old man talked to us about keeping touch with people from all over the world (especially women), then took the metro to Les Galeries Lafayette which is a big shopping district. By this time it was close to 7:00 pm. After a quick tour of the shopping centre, Mele and I took the metro back to Ecole Militaire and separated for the evening. Back at Alexa's place, we watched BBC soap operas. Then after making plans for the next day, I went to bed.

 

Friday, May 12th: Woke up early again. Alexa was already gone. Called Mele close to 9:00 am again. We met about forty minutes later on Rue Cler. Mele gave me a money belt to use 'cause mine wasn't the greatest. Mele owns a business where she helps people plan trips to Europe, so she's full of useful information and good advice when it comes to travelling. We went to the internet place again...thanks to all for the birthday messages! After that, we went to Notre Dame, stopping for ice cream in the Latin Quarter along the way. While eating ice cream, I showed Mele pictures from home and she invited me on her tour of Provence which started the following Monday. After throwing around some numbers, I  decided to go. Basically, her itinerary covered all the things in my area of interest that were inaccessible without a car...and they would have a car. So from there, we made arrangements for me to join Mele, and four other grandmothers in Provence for a week. Oh, it gets better. After Notre Dame, stopped in Hotel Dieu which is where sick or injured people live for long periods of time. We attempted visiting Saint Chappelle but it was closed for lunch (yes, people here have siestas) so we had lunch at le Fontaine St. Michel. Afterwards, we took out our maps and decided to split. Mele wanted to go shopping in Lafayette but I wasn't interested. Instead, I took a long walk back home. I offered to take Alexa out for dinner that night in return for the accomodations, but she refused. Then she ended up making me dinner. We watched the movie White Chicks and I crashed around 11:00 pm.

 

Saturday, May 13th: Met Mele at internet cafe. E-mailed Brendan (a potential travel buddy from Edmonton whom I've never met but have contacted through Marlene), tried establishing connections on Couch Surfing, and inquired about hostels in Nice where I would separate from Mele and her friends a week later. After this, Mele and I went to Gare Lyon to reserve seats on the train to Arles Monday morning. Train was to leave at 8:20 am. Then we took the metro to the Catacombes, underground tunnels where thousands and thousands of exhumed bones were stacked meticulously at the end of the 18th century due to spreading diseases. Kinda creepy, but really cool. After the Catacombes, we returned to Rue Cler and parted for the evening. I bought Alexa a plant...couldn't remember the name of it though. She really liked it and after her mom and sister called, I found out it was her birthday. She left for dinner with friends and I watched the Mexian and the Beach on tv. Then crashed.

 

Sunday, May 14th: Woke up late. Watched the movie Birth with Nicole Kidman on tv then met up with Mele to buy some groceries for our train ride the next day. Then I went back to Alexa's where we blew the day away watching Grease 2, True Lies, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Called Mom to wish her a happy mother's day. See, I'm a good daughter. Alexa made me dinner again. She went to bed before I did so I didn't get to say good night or good bye to her.

 

Monday, May 15th: Early rise at 6am. Dressed, packed, and left a goodbye and thank you note for Alexa. Then trucked to Mele's hotel where we then headed by the metro to the train station. We took the wrong metro train but had plenty of time to spare. We got to Gare Lyon within an hour. I validated my Eurail pass and we sat having breakfast until our platform number appeared on the departure board. Found our platform, train, and seats a little while later and soon enough, the train started to move. But then the motion sickness hit and eyes went cross-eyed. Facing backwards didn't help either.

 

To be continued...someday...