4.04.2005
airport...
Times reflect the local time in Paris. Due to circumstances beyond my control, but generally regarding not being able to find internet access for my laptop, I was unable to update my blog posts live. Blog postings reflect, thus, the time and date that I wrote the entries, but all of them were posted back here in Oxford on Monday night.
So the weather today is a disgusting shade of gray; a fitting way to end my Paris experience. Not that it deserves to be gray, not by a long shot. But moreso that it rained the first night we were here, and it’s raining the day that we leave, and the four days in between have been nothing if not spectacular. And the weather was nice too.
We began the morning with a reprise of yesterday’s breakfast, but introducing a new player in the equation: salami! The salami was well-marbled and dry and both salty and sweet and also a bit peppery – exactly the way a salami should be. It comes sliced in a tub at the supermarket attached to La Bon Marche, which is the oldest department store in Paris, and which is just three blocks from our hotel.
So we had a delicious breakfast / lunch of baguette, mustard, and salami, which couldn’t have been nicer. We bought some nice things (what, I cannot say, since my family reads this blog, and most of what I bought are presents for them), but suffice it to say that we had a lovely time walking around Paris at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately, Diana slipped on some wet cobblestones and twisted her ankle, which is hardly a record for her considering that she is quite a klutz. Still, I feel kind of bad that I was walking awfully fast when it happened and may have been pushing her a little too hard.
So we got to the airport just fine, and there found even more opportunity to buy food, including anchovies. What, pray tell, might one need with anchovies in the airport. This is, by the way, also well past the check-in counter, so it’s not like I’ll be buying anchovies and then taking them back into Paris…
Little annoyance of the day (and it was little, in retrospect), my carabiner was almost confiscated by the security guards because it’s about the right size to substitute for brass knuckles. So while he yelled at me in “English” or what might be more accurately, but certainly not more politically correctly called “Franglais”, a rather large and boisterous queue was forming behind me, and I panicked. I ended up having to check my bag, which I hope is OK… I hate checking my bags, especially when I am carrying valuables or gifts. Anyway, they’re calling our flight, so off we go. Paris has been lovely.
So the weather today is a disgusting shade of gray; a fitting way to end my Paris experience. Not that it deserves to be gray, not by a long shot. But moreso that it rained the first night we were here, and it’s raining the day that we leave, and the four days in between have been nothing if not spectacular. And the weather was nice too.
We began the morning with a reprise of yesterday’s breakfast, but introducing a new player in the equation: salami! The salami was well-marbled and dry and both salty and sweet and also a bit peppery – exactly the way a salami should be. It comes sliced in a tub at the supermarket attached to La Bon Marche, which is the oldest department store in Paris, and which is just three blocks from our hotel.
So we had a delicious breakfast / lunch of baguette, mustard, and salami, which couldn’t have been nicer. We bought some nice things (what, I cannot say, since my family reads this blog, and most of what I bought are presents for them), but suffice it to say that we had a lovely time walking around Paris at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately, Diana slipped on some wet cobblestones and twisted her ankle, which is hardly a record for her considering that she is quite a klutz. Still, I feel kind of bad that I was walking awfully fast when it happened and may have been pushing her a little too hard.
So we got to the airport just fine, and there found even more opportunity to buy food, including anchovies. What, pray tell, might one need with anchovies in the airport. This is, by the way, also well past the check-in counter, so it’s not like I’ll be buying anchovies and then taking them back into Paris…
Little annoyance of the day (and it was little, in retrospect), my carabiner was almost confiscated by the security guards because it’s about the right size to substitute for brass knuckles. So while he yelled at me in “English” or what might be more accurately, but certainly not more politically correctly called “Franglais”, a rather large and boisterous queue was forming behind me, and I panicked. I ended up having to check my bag, which I hope is OK… I hate checking my bags, especially when I am carrying valuables or gifts. Anyway, they’re calling our flight, so off we go. Paris has been lovely.
