Saturday, May 12, 2007

The Lag of the Jet, it is Strong

We've completed our first full day in Paris, and there was much rejoicing.



It was a close call, let me tell you. Stupid New Jersey and its stupid construction projects and the stupid only opening one lane out of four and the stupid taking 5 hours for what should have been a 3-hour drive.. ugh. It's nice that my paranoia and anxiety paid off, because we left insanely early and arrived only a little late.

Right now, my poor minivan is parked in a very sketchy, scary parking lot somewhere near Newark airport. Think good thoughts for it, okay? There just wasn't time for me to turn around and find someplace better to leave it, so I'm trying to convince myself that nobody's going to want to mess with a vehicle that has that many carseats and old Cheerios.

It's about 10:20 p.m. on our first night here; we left yesterday evening a little after 9:00 p.m. New Jersey time, arrived here about 10:00 this morning, Paris time, and made up our minds to stay busy and active as best we could so as to power through the jet lag, get a good sleep tonight, and start fresh tomorrow.

I'm happy to say, we were successful. Of course, there were moments when the jet lag overpowered us all...



But we still managed to take a guided tour of the Opera House and visit the Eiffel Tower - though we didn't try to climb it just yet. Apparently I speak more French than I realized, because I've had a number of embarrassing conversations, where I try to be polite and start in French, and then very quickly become overwhelmed and pathetic when I can't keep up. Ah, well... so far they all seem to appreciate the effort.

One unexpected little adventure... my mother is a bit of an oenophile, and we are, after all, in France. So you can imagine her delight at not only being able to get some French wine that's not imported, BUT being able to cork and purchase her own bottle right in Paris.


Just a few photos from today - there's lots more in my flickr account - I'm not taking the time to name and adjust any photos for now, so if things are sideways or confusing, well, so am I, sometimes. Plus there's a lot of doubles at the moment. Maybe I'll care later.
Paris Opera House




The Eiffel Tower through the French Holocaust Memorial.
The French just do good monuments.





Earlier today, while stuck in a traffic jam in which I moved 8 miles in 75 minutes, I hated everyone. But now, sitting in an apartment in Paris, belly pleasantly full, face just slightly sun-warm, muscles tired, surrounded by the women in my family... I just love the whole world.

5 comments:

gadzooks64 said...

Wow! Those pics are awesome! Keep them coming!

Di said...

I'm glad you made it safely (found you on Knitty just in case you were wondering!) - I am alway paranoid about being late and can just imagine how you were feeling slowly inching towards the airport!! Sounds like you are enjoying Paris! It is a beautiful city - remember to make sure you see the Eiffel Tower in shimmer-mode - 10 minuntes on the hour every hour after dark!!

Wendy said...

My canker sore and I are so glad you're having the trip you hoped you'd have. :)

Unknown said...

I am so glad that you made all of your connections. The pictures are all so wonderful! I am madly jealous and miss hearing from you!!

LeeAnne said...

Sounds like heaven! I'd love to hear about your tour of the opera house sometime. We stopped there briefly on our last day in Paris, but it wasn't the right day to get a guided tour in English. I've been fascinated by the house and its lore since reading the Phantom novel.

Have fun!
LeeAnne