Day 9–En route
Okay, okay, okay! This more than makes up for the grief I had yesterday with the train strike glitch. I’m sitting in the Saga Lounge in Keflavik airport, which is pure luxury. After a fitful night’s sleep because of squealing tires, which I thought just might be whale songs in the bay. Turns out some silly neighborhood boys like to squeal their tires into the wee hours of the morning. But all is well as I sit in a comfortable lounge chair, sipping good strong coffee with cream, eating a nice breakfast and waiting for my flight to board. I recommend upgrading your IcelandAir ticket, coming early, and enjoying this place. Wonder if Paris has one of these lounges where I can seek refuge for my 8 hour layover. . . !
Day10 –La France
Since I am staying with an older lady who doesn’t have internet and Facebook is so different here in France– it’s like I’m locked out of my own account– I will lost a lengthy blog right here, right now. Day 9–I arrived in France after a three hour flight, picked up my luggage and headed out of Charles de Gaulle terminal 1. Of course, I had my bags secured and my money pouch tucked inside my jacket and held tight to my chest. Good thing, since right away I was approached from behind going up the escalator by Monsieur le Pickpocket! He was wearing a black leather jacket and had no suitcases or anything. He was “working” the area of newly arriving passengers. He brushed by my left side said, “Exusez-moi” and quickly made his way past me and onto the shuttle. I know he had found nothing in my jacket pocket. Ha! So I went a little further down on that train and stood by three policemen. Ah yes, welcome to Paris. But after that, all was well and I just had to wait for my flight to arrive in 8 hours an fly to Nantes. A short taxi ride later and I was with my sweet friend, Michele. We chatted for a bit and then I headed to bed. I slept well and slept until 10 a.m. Oh la la! After a shower and breakfast, we reminisced about the time she came to visit me in 1995 and then again in 1997 after Scott and I were married. We had our lunch and then took a little walk downtown.
Day 10-14–Nantes
Days 10-14 in France…..Just a short walk from Michele’s apartment is a tram stop and from there we went to the train station to get a refund for the train I was supposed to take to get here. By the way, this is the fourth day of the strike, so I am so glad I decided to take the flight to Nantes and will take a flight to Geneva on Monday. Even the taxi drivers in Paris are demonstrating and are on strike. Anyway, we visited the Chateau de Nantes where Anne of Brittany lived in the 15th century. She later became Queen of France, married to first Charles IV and later Louis XII. Walking along the ramparts on this team and sunny day was glorious! There was a man in the park surrounding the castle playing a small bagpipe like instrument common in this region. We continued to the beautiful cathedral for a look around and then returned home to 5, rue Marechale de Gassion for a nice light supper and afterwards watched the opening game of the World Cup soccer tourney. We watched as Brazil beat Croatia, 3-1. Bedtime and pleasant dreams await after my first full day in France.
Heart to Heart 