A week to myself

And, in the same day segment 3

Weekend of March 28^th and onward…

Once I got to Jill and Patrick’s I just crashed and didn’t do much all weekend: watched the kids, watched TV, read, played with the kids, read to the kids, etc. I ended up staying till Tuesday because there was nothing for me to do at Blanc-Mesnil just then. Actually, Tim told me I could have the whole week off J

So, I left the McDaniel’s a little after 4 on Tuesday and had lots of fun trying to get home. The bus to Les Baconnets went smoothly, but then the trains were stopping and making everyone get off. After I had been waiting about 20 minutes, I saw an announcement saying that the next train to take passengers would arrive in 20 minutes – so I thought “meh, not too bad.” Those 20 minutes came and went. So I called home, figuring if I was stuck not being able to do anything, at least I could talk to someone. Dad answered and he got on the RATP website to see if he could figure out what the issue was. During the phone call, I overheard a conversation other people were having with a security person at the RER and he said they didn’t know when the trains would start taking people. Dad found an announcement on the website saying that the next train would be at 6 (it was just after 5), but that wasn’t definite. He also saw that it was just between Les Baconnets and Antony (which is two stops farther) that the trains were not taking passengers. After talking through some of my options, (I was lugging around a pretty heavy duffle bag, so I didn’t want to have to do too much roundaboutness) I decided to go back two stops to Massy-Palaiseau and take the C line to Notre Dame and switch back to the B line there. That was fun… It worked, but I wasn’t the only one who decided to do that, and it was now rush hour, so talked about a packed train. Absolutely no breathing room. But it worked and I finally got back to Blanc-Mesnil at 7:30 (normally an 1.5 hour trip – over 3 hours that day).

And, what did I find when I got back to Blanc-Mesnil? My couch was gone and the door to the office kitchen area (where the only fridge is) was locked. I was not happy. After going grocery shopping (and being careful not to purchase anything that needed to stay chilled – the window sill no longer works as it has warmed up quite a bit) I called home and mom talked me into contacting Tim. So I sent an email and got a reply call the next morning. The couch belonged to Paul’s daughter and she needed it back at the end of March – which Mimi had told me way back in the fall, but I had completely forgotten about that – and there had been no reminder. Paul also stopped by that day and unlocked the door to the office area. He had understood from Tim that I wouldn’t be here that week because I had it off, so it makes sense that he locked it. It was just too many unpleasant surprises in one day.

I was planning to go into Paris that day, and did, but left a bit later than planned because I helped Paul with a couple of things before going in. But, I got in (and forgot my camera!!!) and had a pleasant afternoon in the Latin Quarter. Bought a ring, some gifts, an Eiffel Tower (because you can’t come to Paris and not get one, right? – granted, I had to justify it by deciding to use it for displaying my rings – becoming less and less fond of too many knick-knacks on shelves. Don’t get me wrong, I love knick-knacks. It’s just, after you have so many, they aren’t so pretty anymore), got bubble tea… and all in all had a pretty great day. One thing that was interesting was I was asked several times if I was Parisian, or French (and once if I was Russian). I always answered truthfully, but had all my conversations in French, so that was fun J

Mimi came to spend the night that night (this is still Wednesday) because she had two workdays in the area and it saved her lots of driving time – and it was fun to host her for once J Thankfully, I still had the air mattress from when mom was here, so Mimi used that, and she said I could leave it up to use as a ‘couch’ – which I have done.

Thursday afternoon, I went back into Paris (remembered my camera this time) and went to Saint Chapelle, walked up and down the Seine, got bubble tea again, and did some shopping. I didn’t buy anything (didn’t really see anything that interested me, but that could be because I was tired…) and came back to Blanc-Mesnil.

Saint Chapelle

Building to the left is St Chapelle

Walk along the Seine - Yes, Notre Dame again... But with greenery and flowers this time :)

Eglise St. Jacques (the tower)

On Friday and Saturday, I had intended to go into the Louvre (first just Friday, but then didn’t feel like getting out, so decided I could do it on Saturday – and did the same thing). I got up in plenty of time both days to be able to spend a significant portion of my day inside. I just didn’t have the motivation. Friday I was fine with having stayed in all day, but Saturday I started getting a bit depressed. One problem is that I have no natural light in my room because I cannot open the shutter thing (you have to crank it to raise and lower it and the crank is broken). I was also feeling pressure that I should have gone into Paris because, well you’re in Paris, so other people would expect me to go in. It also didn’t help that I was completely unproductive either of those days – I think I would have felt a bit better if I had at least gotten my blog updated… but no, didn’t happen. Thankfully, I had already planned to go to Mimi’s that evening and spent the night there. We went to church the next morning and then to market (where I bought a purse and one pair of flats – I would have bought more but they didn’t have the styles I liked in my size). It’s not the purse I’ve been looking for, but I needed a better cross-body bag for walking around Paris and the cities Michelle and I will be going to in May/June. And I really like this bag, so I’ll use it.

My ring, bag, flats and Eiffel Tower

Sunday afternoon, Michelle and I talked about some of our plans and tentatively set specific dates for our travels. Now, I’m looking up busses, flights, and trains and getting ready to book hotels and tours J. There is so much to figure out (and it does make it more complicated when you are trying to not spend too much money) but it’s starting to come together.

Yesterday and today I spent in Blanc-Mesnil, but I’m doing much better. I’ve taken to sitting in the kitchen area, where I can open the shutter and the window, and even go outside when it’s nice. Mimi is lending me her lawn chair and that’s a bit more comfortable than the other seating. All in all, it’s been a good two days. I think I’ll go into Paris tomorrow and take the sewer tour and, who knows, do some other things. After that, not sure what I’ll doing. I have the week off again, but next week will be working on getting a mailing out and the week after that will be in Toulon (southern France) to help with a day camp. Then I’ll have 3 weeks before Michelle gets here to fill… Maybe I’ll try to plan some day trips to other areas of France…