Homeward Bound - Day 18

What a dream trip! Wish I could go home for a few days and come back and do more. After one last photo from a hotel window, we were off.

I think one smart move on my part was insisting that we take a van to the airport (here's a photo of me waiting for the van!) I just couldn't see starting an exhausting day being exhausted by maneuvering through the Paris subway, with luggage, on a Monday morning. We were pretty certain our plane would be taking off because the it was being reported that the strikes were calming down but we had no idea what we would face at the airport.

The Air France terminal was a zoo! Check in for each flight was assigned to a particular row of counters but there was only one line. As we got to each counter those assigned to it would break off into their own line. It was such a ridiculous system that at first we didn't understand it so Rick left me where we thought the end of the counter 3 line was. After he left to see if there was a better way to check in, some American women about 15 ft. behind me started yelling at me that I had "ditched" in line. They were so loud and angry I was afraid that they would start a fight with me so, "rule follower" that I am, I said I was sorry and started hiking way back to the end of the line. It took quite a while for Rick to find me and, the rule follower that he isn't, I think was pissed that I got bullied into moving.

Anyhow, it took more than an hour to get to our check-in counter during which we were able to observe the line standing attitudes of many cultures!

Other than being late, our flight to Detroit was uneventful. I sat next to a young man who was returning from spending 3 months taking care of his ailing mom in Morocco. He holds dual US/Moroccan citizenship, works in IT and was going back to his employer to see if they would let him telecommute from Morocco so he could continue to care for his mom.

When we arrived in Detroit, I had a text from Val (Rick's daughter) on my phone asking us to call because she had great news. It was great! She had gotten engaged the evening before to Boris (whom we got to meet at Katie and Robert's wedding). It was great fun spending our two hour layover talking with them about their plans.

Finally, we arrived back in Kansas City around 11:30pm. Daniel and Steve picked us up. We were exhausted but so happy to be home.

While I'm writing this almost 2 weeks after the fact, I can still remember the trip so clearly. I'm glad I hung in there with this blog so that I don't forget details and feelings. I still think the most important feeling I came away with from this trip is that I am a very, very fortunate woman and I am so glad that I appreciate every minute of being as fortunate as I am!

Paris - Day 17

This was our one day to "do" Paris so we got a relatively early start with a quick stop for croissants and a baguette to eat on a bench in a sweet little park right near our hotel. We decided to limit ourselves to the Marais neighborhood and to take the Rick Steves' walking tour. Rick hasn't failed us once on this trip!

We started with a visit to the Shoah (Holocaust) Remembrance Memorial. We thought it would be a walk through but ended up spending about two of our precious hours there. Besides having the names of those from Paris killed in the Holocaust chiseled into the walls outside, it had a tomb where ashes of those who died were buried after the war. Like we did when we visited a similar memorial in Amsterdam last year, we found some Gumpertz names on the wall. We haven't found out if they were related to Rick.

The memorial also featured a museum that documented the history of Jews in France. It was incredibly enlightening and moving to read how Jews were persecuted in France for hundreds of years before the Vichy government collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. It seemed like that in each century the persecution would last for a time and then Jews were gradually accepted into society until another movement started to eradicate them. This cycle repeated itself over and over again. I'm still trying to figure out how people have the tenacity to keep coming back.

We continued on our walk to the Place de la Bastille and then on to the Place des Vosges. We spent some time exploring an apartment Victor Hugo lived in for a period of his life. We made a special trip there because of Daniel's, Alissa's, and my love of the Broadway production of Les Miserables. I am frequently teased by my kids because every time they put on the soundtrack and the song, Come to Me, I cry. I couldn't help humming it as I toured the apartment.

The Place des Vosges was the perfect place to be during a short rain shower. We were able to take advantage of the covered passageways as we explored numerous art galleries. Couldn't help taking this photo for Alissa who seems to have "fond" memories of glass candy she saw when she was in Europe.

We continued through the Marais neighborhood to find several streets filled with people and falafel stands. While the Marais has been somewhat gentrified, there are now pockets where Jews and Muslims live together and there is even a gay district in it.

We walked for about six hours so we headed back to our hotel for a short nap before having our last dinner in Paris. Even though it was pretty chilly we decided we wanted to eat at a sidewalk cafe. They had some nice heaters to keep us warm.

It was time to make our way back to our hotel when we realized we hadn't seen the Eiffel Tower and how can you go to Paris without even a glimpse of it? We decided to walk to it. I had my doubts but Rick said we could take a train back to the hotel. After walking about an hour we finally got a good view of it at Place de la Concorde. The walk wasn't too shabby either as we walked past the endless Louvre and gardens.

It was such a lovely evening that we crossed the Seine to the Left Bank and walked toward Notre Dame. The evening was gorgeous and so was the scenery. We reminisced about the last time we were in Paris and totally didn't notice that we were on our eighth hour of being on our feet!

Arrivederci Italy, Bonjour Paris - Day 16

Today we bid farewell to Italy. We left Todi early to make our way to the Rome airport, about a two hour drive. From there Susan and Werner took a cab to Rome Termini station to catch their train to Thun, Switzerland.

Rick and I were a little nervous about flying to Paris because of the strikes that were causing many flights to be canceled. We ended up flying into Charles de Gaulle airport and taking a train to our hotel. The only problem we had was that the strikes had limited the trains and we had to switch to another one to get where we were going.

Our hotel is located in the Marais district in Paris, on the Right Bank, around the corner from the Pompedou Center, and traditionally the Jewish neighborhood. I can't remember how I found this hotel but is it lovely and in a great area. After a little rest we went out to find dinner. Because we were in a neighborhood, we walked past butcher shops, fish shops, fruit and vegetable stands, patisseries, boulangeries, and numerous cafes. Everything was beautiful. We settled into a little cafe. No more pasta, pizza, and red sauce!

I had a delightful omelet with jambon and fromage with a delicious green salad. Rick had steak frites!