La France ne change jamais...

In all of my plans for the beginning of the trip, I had no idea what would occur.

First, my flight was early. An hour early, so I arrived in Paris at 6:30 am and not 7:45. That was convenient; an earlier start is always preferred. As usual, I hadn't the slightest hint of sleep on the plane. Au contraire, I sat awake all 6 hours of it. That was miserable in itself. I did, however, have an empty seat beside me so I had room to stretch, thankfully.

Following the flight, I immediately had to stand in line for baggage (about 30 minutes) and I also had to stand in line to purchase tickets for the subway system. Thank God I am familiar with that system already: I was able to purchase a one-way ticket into Paris proper and then buy a ticket that is good for a week.

All the while I'm carrying my luggage, mind you. Within Paris I decide that it's best to get my luggage somewhere to stay (not a hostel), so I head to Versailles. At this point it's nearing 11:00 am. I arrive in Versailles and don't hesitate whatsoever to attempt to discover the Furman kids there. They discovered me, though. I was toting that luggage around, and I heard, "Is that Isaac?" Yes it was.

A few of the Furman kids I knew told me that they were having a scheduled lunch with Madame Maiden (the supervisor/professor on the study abroad), so I attended the luncheon. Mme Maiden obliged and allowed me to leave my suitcases at her hotel room while I gallivanted. Gallivanting included a trip to Notre Dame with the young 'uns. That was enjoyable; it was nice to do the simplistic yet interesting traveling. After the trip to Notre Dame, it was getting late so I returned to Versailles to find some lodging arrangements (yes, procrastinating). I called Mme Chauchat who happened to have her grandchildren for the night. All the hotels in Versailles were booked. Of course. Then Mme Maiden and I talked, and she suggested les Sinnigers. We made plans for that so I had dinner with the Sinnigers and then stayed the night. Whew. In the meantime I booked a room at Cheval Rouge (the hotel where Mme Maiden stays) for the following night (Thursday night).

So. I have new muscles, I have a new understanding of traveling (and its pains), and hopefully very soon a new city to conquer.

Also, I ate pork or beef. I'm not sure which. I was invited to dinner chez the directors of the Study Abroad program from two years ago. They were on a roll with a completely vegetarian meal. Then came the half-cooked pork or whatever. I almost cried. I ate it. It didn't taste too bad, but god. I was devastated.

La France ne change jamais.