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Long Day’s Journey into Night

Yes, While we wait, at our IBIS, and play the guessing game, and have the iPhone ready to book any number of flights from Paris to get home to Saint Louis, through – (agh, just writing this exhausts me) – Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, LA, Phoenix, Miami, all of which look crappy, thanks to #2 WINTER  POLAR  VORTEX……well, we do have lovely photos of our journey for the past week to look at.  Here are some………

NO!!! I will not wait for another train!! Oh, but you will.

OR:

What? The City of Light is a problem?     (waiting for Bus # 350

Far be it from me to dis  public transportation – anywhere – but especially in Paris.  It did more than get us around without a car for over a year.  It was a “saviour ” of sorts.  Because – it  was phenomenally outstanding & efficient, even at the worst of times.

But today was a different matter.  After our flight was  “kissing” the runway at CDG, we knew it was a “quick RER C” into the Pantheon /Latin Quarter area of Paris to our hotel.      NOT so fast there madame!     The RER was not going anywhere upon our arrival.   Someone left a package near La Courneuve, combined with electrical problems, and voila!  Take a BUS, madame, monsieur.
And,

we did.  But not without fear and trepidation.  The first hour of waiting, we realized the bus – # 350 – was not going to appear along with about 60 other (standing out in the rain & cold) souls.  Welcome to “France behaving like France” as my friend said.

Finally, we were given another bus….that took us to another bus, that took us to a “navette train” that took us to another train , that took us to the BIG train, that took us to GARE du NORD, and there we saw another delay, looked at each other wearily, traipsed upstairs & and took a taxi to the hotel.   This was all in the period of 5.5 hours.  Almost our entire transatlantic crossing.

Were we upset?
No, not really.  This is France.  We have lived here for (only) 2 years, and have learned their perplexing & “c’est normale” ways.

I have to say though, ……..If you are coming to PARIS on a shoestring……….that getting to PARIS ……on a BUS (normally # 350) is ONLY – O N L Y   5 euros each, and cheaper than you can order a coke.      It is long – and it will entertain you with interesting vistas and people,  but it has its FULL MOON moments.  However, should you actually take a BUS to the CITY OF LIGHT –  you will never EVER forget it,  for 5 little euros……….the cheapest thing you will ever do, if you should come to PARIS.

That’s my Travel Advice for this day,  the 15th of January, 2014.  Have a bonne journey!  And when the going gets tough – 

get MACAROONS!!!    🙂                 

HOLY MOLY – STIR CRAZY from ICE, SNOW, FREEZING TEMPS & CABIN FEVER in Saint Louis and Environs

I just took a service call from the gal coordinating our new VIZIO TV repair and honestly, it was the funniest, (then not so funny), fastest, more information than I needed-to-know PHONECALL that I have ever received.   I thought about cutting her short, and acting like I had a call at the front door, but she was too entertaining to do so.   We learned about the snowed-in country road situation in Illinois, the backlog of appointments, the heart attacks that had occurred from too many people playing HERCULES and shoveling their snow, the father-in-law helping out the neighbor who was stuck, the other businesses where NOT ONE SOUL came in to work, the doctor and nurse that had an entire office to themselves cause no one else could get in and neither could the patients,  and on and on and on and ON,  My dog even crawled into his cage and put his paws over his ears.

What is going on with the MIDWEST and their COLD SITUATION ?    We’re all going stir-crazy – is that a word ? And it’s affecting everyone and their cousin!

Sorry this is the first post of the year on a blog that was supposed to be enlightening and nostalgic about the end of 2013 and the new hope for 2014. But, I haven’t had time to really mull that over yet.   I’m still chasing my puppy down the HUGE U shaped hallway of the apartment house– playing catch – 3 times a day – because he especially needs to get out cause  he’s a PUPPY!   Where are all the people?  No one is OUT!

Except today.  Today we’ll all get out.   My friend called, she ‘s getting out, my husband has almost finished FOYLES WAR and I can’t eat anymore OATMEAL for breakfast.   We need real bread…….and stuff, and  EXERCISE!