Sunday, July 15, 2007

back online, old post 7-9-07

No imagination necessaray . . . Thanks to Tyler for "capturing the moment (photo edited for your pleasure!)

July 9, 2007
7:05am
Paris, France

Just to paint a picture (not to gross anyone out or anything), but I am sitting in our little living room, with French “Lazytown” playing in the background, while Tyler’s getting out of the shower telling me the benefit of dry weave fabric. He’s telling me this as I am sitting on our couch wearing my zip up sweater and black wool socks that I brought to keep me warm on the plane. That’s it. My other clothes are still drying so I can wear them, for day #3. That’s right, fans, we have yet to receive our luggage. I at trying to get over the bad mood that I’ve been in since waking up at 5:30am this morning, but I am not having much luck. I can’t decide if I am more upset about our lack of control in the situation, my hairy legs and pits, my cute clothes going unworn, our electrical adaptors that are keeping us from charging the our cell phone we have since they’re ALSO in our suitcases, along with the umbrella we brought in case it rains . . . which it did all day yesterday. Sigh.

Really, all things considered, we had a pretty good day yesterday. We awoke early, ate some baguette, and took a nap. We did shower with our ghetto fab French soap and shampoo that we bought the day before and then put on the same clothes we had flown in back on. Totally grossed me out, but whatcha gonna do? We opted for the cheap versions of our toiletries because we were so confident our baggage would arrive yesterday. We walked to this market place called Rue Cler, which is supposed to be bustling, but they were closing pretty much everything down by the time we got there. It was quaint, nonetheless, with a bunch of sidewalk cafes that were packed for lunch. Tyler and I bought sandwiches, tartes, and sodas and walked to the Eiffel Tower for lunch on the lawn. It was surreal. There were families and couples spread all over the grassy lawns and tourists taking pictures. It was a little overcast, but really nice weather. Just as we were finishing (we took some pics), the wind picked up and it really cooled off. We were going to ride up the tower right then, but the lines were insane, so we decided to walk past the American church and across the Seine to the Grand Palais and Petite Palais (two buildings built for the World’s Fair). The Petite Palais had free exhibits, so we hit those where we wandered for a bit before heading up to the Champs Elysees so Tyler could look for him a sweatshirt. By this point it’s pretty chilly and obvious we’re going to get rain, so we start looking at the shops for long sleeves for Tyler . . . we ended up (after a couple hours and sitting out some of the heavier rains) finding him a baseball cap to keep his head dry and a t-shirt for me (just in case). We called on our luggage a couple times, and basically were told it was confirmed to be on the plane that arrived yesterday morning (by Continental) and that it wasn’t on the flight it was confirmed on (by Air France). After the shopping, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower, where the crowds were long gone, and we headed up the elevators. Despite the weather and fog, it was amazing to see the breadth of Paris. We went all the way to the top (because, as Tyler explained, it would be lame to report we only went half-way up.) It was cold, but amazing at the same time. I thought it was interesting there were all these signs warning against pickpockets and security guards with machine guns. I am sure those who build and engineered the Eiffel Tower didn’t envision that scene with the monument.

By 8pm we headed home, stopped by a little market for laundry soap, and came home to make pasta with bolognaise sauce with fresh grated swiss cheese on top. It was a fine French meal, if I do say so myself. We called about internet and cable; it’s supposed to be available tonight when the owner of the apartment comes by. And started laundry. Oh man, do I appreciate our washers and dryers back home. In the apartment it’s an all-n-one contraption which takes FOREVER, thus the naked me except the sweater and socks. How sexy am I in France? I think we have finally figured out the dryer, so I am going to shower and we’re headed to the Louvre. We figured a museum day would be better considering the weather will be (at best) about 70 degrees with a good chance of rain. Oh, man, I wish we had our bags! Pray for the best (and quickest) return of our stuff. Tyler’s had a great attitude, but I am feeling a little more despondent about the whole situation.
In a happy moment at the Eiffel Tower! FOR REALS!


3 comments:

Beth said...

SO Stinkin' good to hear from you, via blog. The photos are great. I kind of can't belive you're really in FRANCE, my paternal homeland. I wish you could run into some Rambins or Prud'homme's. Have FUN. Nate and Stac and Erin & Kids are over for a visit and, I'm sure, Big Brother. LOVE YOU!!!

Erin said...

Sa-weeeet! Kevin, by the way, thinks Tyler planned the whole not-being-able-to-get-your-luggage-thing just so you'd be naked a lot more on your trip. That sneaky guy! I'm so glad you're posting, and I'm SOOOO glad you've got your bags now. Hope you're having a wonderful time, even if Tyler won't let you dazzle the people much with your French! Love ya. Be safe!

Erin said...

just checking again at 1:01am before I hop in bed to see if you've posted again...no dice. I'm guessing you're still sleeping. Maybe later!