After two planes, 3 movies, 4 Valium, 2 Vicodin, a couple of glasses of wine, and one really long cab ride through some scary areas of Paris, we finally got here! Sat next to a lovely man from Geneva on the flight from Phoenix, and I'm pretty sure I snored in his ear because when I said I didn't think I'd slept at all, he just smiled and said "trust me, you slept a long time". ;-) Heathrow was very busy so we had to circle in the air and then had to sit on the tarmac until there was a gate for us. This made us really late and we had to run at stop speed from one end of Terminal 5 to the other, which is huge, to make our connection. Needless to say, there was much sweating and swearing going on. But, we made it. Our bags were waiting at baggage claim (how often does that happen?) and once we figured out how to use the pay phone and dial the right numbers to tell our landlord we were on the way, we jumped in a taxi and 60 Euros later, voila!. we were at our apartment.
After four trips in the lift (2 for people and 2 for luggage) because it is so small, we met our wonderful landlord, Francoise (a woman). She is very sweet and did everything she could to get us acquainted with the apartment and the neighborhood - tons of maps, books, and brochures. She also lives in the building, and she and her very tall son-in-law (Gabriel, who she says truly is an angel) from Cameroon clean and take care of the apartment. We were supposed to pay a 200 euro security deposit and after meeting us she decided that wasn't necessary. She had looked up my address on Google Maps and decided that my house looked nice and therefore I must be trustworthy! Not that I'm not, but this place is full of so many gorgeous antiques it will be hard to leave them behind. It's a mix of classic French furniture and African art with walls covered in silk fabric and very ornate moldings everywhere. There's china and crystal and sculptures and an abundance of stuff to see (too much actually) but it feels like you are a guest in someone's home, which is very nice. Will send pictures when I can. My most favorite part is that we have multiple balconies with tables and chairs, each having a different view. The only downside so far is the huge mirror directly in front of the toilet, which provides ample opportunity to view your ample thighs. Perhaps that will inspire me to eat healthy while here? Nah...
Some friends from Germany, Sarah and Simon, happened to be in Paris for the weekend so they came by to have dinner with us. We got the last table at a nearby bistro and squeezed in for a dinner of St. Pierre (fish) and endive salad. Yum - very light. After a couple glasses of wine, the jet lag kicked in and I couldn't wait to get to bed. Left the windows open all night and slept through sirens and other street sounds for 10 hours!
First stop tomorrow, Musee Rodin. Au revoir for now.
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