Bon Voyage Paris

Today is my last day in Paris.  I leave on a train for the south tomorrow early and arrive in Aix-en-Provence late so will not post till Monday.

Paris has beautiful Art, Architecture, Espresso and neat Plain Trees.  I think to truly understand this
city you probably need to live here for a long time, but the cigarette smoke and dirt are very bad.  The people are very friendly and if they don't like you they ignore you like any where else in the world.

My favourite place of all was the Musee de Orsay, just the building is breathtaking much nicer interior than the Louvre, best view Mountmarte of course.  Beautiful but not Vancouver.

If you want a pretty view without the dirt look up.  This was room. I was right above the
breakfast room so everyday I awoke to the smell of espresso, not bad.

Talk in a few days  Happy July 1,st Canada

Le chat, le tzrgeane, le Louve, et La Victoire de Samothrace

The Cat, the Gypsy, the Louvre, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace (ie: Niki)

Hi from Paris day 4, Louvre day.  A funny thing happened on the way to the Louvre, I stopped for a cafe a la at a resturant La Roundtra as I sat at the bar I heard a meow.  At the end of the bar, on the bar was a Chat(cat) eating it's milk and cat food looking at me as if to say "You are not French, go home, so I did well kinda I jumped on the Metro and headed for the Louvre.

There are a hundred bridges in Paris and as I crossed one a Gypsy with a little boy looks at me bends over and grabs something of the ground (this is pretend, I knew this scam before I came here). " Pardon Pardon" she says "You lost this gold ring".  "Piss Off" says I at least 3 times before she tried her trick on someone else.

 Finally the Louvre, no line up because it has just opened, I think but inside it is packed.  I wander aimlessly for a while and then there she is my personal angle Nike, in all her glory, luckily there is cement platforms to sit on so I could draw my lady on the left and then on the right, I snapped a photo see attached.  I wander by the Botticillie's to see what the fuss is about Mona Lisa, I love Cezanne and Manet better.

When I left the Louvre it was pouring and so I am now back at the hotel for a quick nap and more reading/research. Bon Jour Vancouver

Wed., I Think

Hi to all today was another adventure on the Metro.  It has taken 2 days but I finally figured it out.  I made it back to the de Orsay, 3 trains before the epiphany.  I revisited my favourite Cezanne and Manet paintings and made notes for my research.  I have been diligent and read 20 pages of TJ Clark's The Painting of Modern Life.

After I left the de Orsay I wondered over to the Louvre and will go inside tomorrow.  I kept heading east and came to Notre Dame, I posted 57 or so pictures to Facebook.  My foot is still acting up and I
am still ignoring it. Tonight I hunt for a Salad, somewhere in this city someone must make a North American style salad.

I didn't make it to the department store to get a dress for Ashley I will see how tired I am after the Louvre tomorrow.

This is a picture of me missing my Jimmy.  Ta Ta for know

If it's Tuesday it must be the Musee de Orsay

Hi it's 6:00pm in Paris and I had a great time at the de Orsay.  I am in love all over again with Manet and Cezanne.  There use of colour is extraordinary so shape and clean, I think that is why I like them so.

Last night I had a nightcap in the hotel lounge and met a women from Florida. She is here with her two daughters.  We drank some wine and talked and we decided we must debrief again tonight over a Chardonnay.

I had a heck of a time getting to the museum this morning 3 trains, yes I forgot my Metro map and so decided to walk the three miles back, I did remember my Paris soft map.  Needless to say a nap was required.

I went to the lobby to read after the nap, research T.J. Clark to be exact and met a young Belgian girl about 20 who told me where to shop for a dress for a certain Miss.  So I will go back to the Museum tomorrow morning then to the shopping district where apparently and quite luckily tomorrow there are half off sales.

Oh and yes Paris girls are all skinny but they stink of cigarette smoke. Say la vie. I am know going to attempt to down load two pictures.  It is the view from my bedroom window.

Bonjour from Paris

Hi everybody, I made it to Paris.  It only took about 19 hours from standing in a line at YVR to
registering at my room and getting the Wifi up.  The flight was crowded but very good.  At our airport I struck up a conversation with a lady and then saw her once in the 2nd or maybe 3rd or 4th line up we had to go thought.  Basically was Hi how was your flight, great, yeah so was mine.  Never to be seen again as there are approximately 4 million people here, right.

Well after I registered and had a short nap I went out to find a fruit store to get supper.  I found a pastries ta and bought the best chicken beget ever, a banana, an apple and an orange.  I turned a corner and there was RuthAnn and her buddy she met here.  Our hotels are 200 yards apart and so I have a dinner date with Renne and RuthAnn tomorrow.  Cool eh.  Oh yeah and Paris is pretty cool to.

Time for dinner and to make my plan of attach for tomorrow.  First stop Musee de Orsay, just can't wait.

The Case of the missing passport

I leave tomorrow and thought it was time to start putting my stuff in a suitcase.  Hmm maybe I should but my passport with the tickets and file folder on Paris (yes I have a file folder,in pink, with the Eiffel tower on it.  So I go to the man jewelry box for my passport - not there. Yikes (spelt sh__!)

Okay so retrace your steps, Jill, 6 weeks ago when I dashed around trying to balance school, home life and plan a trip to France, and oh yes learn some French.  No problem I can multitask I'm a MOM. Making a long story short I found the passport in a plastic bag that I almost through out last week thinking the info in it (from  the  travel agency) was all duplicate.

Still going to Paris yes, panicking yes.  But know for the weird stuff.  When I woke up this morning I was thinking about what I could do to make my trip easier and decide to type out the addresses of places I am going so I can pass them out to taxi drivers etc, and then I thought I should take a Manulife card with me just in case.  So I reach out and graped Jim's hand and he says's (think spooky music) "You should write down all the address of the places you are going to hand out to taxi drivers and oh don't forget a Manulife card."  This is just to weird, I don't know whether we are total physic or I talk in my sleep.  He says I didn't but god that's weird.

Bach to the packing.

2 More Sleeps

Well I just got an e-mail from my on line teacher.  She say's she has never had anyone post over 3,200 times on an on-line course before.  Yeah OCD.  I am assuming my mark will be B+ or A, but you know what they say about assuming.

I had lunch with Susanne yesterday, well me lunch her coffee and I got my essay back, an A yeah, and some really nice remarks,  I have been thinking about writing a short story about this trip while I am gone and maybe try and shift it to a ladies journal,  why not.

I am finally going to do something with this mop of hair, pay one bill, clean house pack and then I am ready to go.  It's a good thing I am old and have hypothyrode or I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

I wonder if Shep hated my final essay, I think I misunderstood about quotes, shit, oh well.

Just at Jessica's getting a fancy camera and setting up my blog on face book. 10 sleeps to go

2 weeks and 1 day to go.  School is enormously busy.  I feel like I am going to
have a melt down, but I shall push on.  Have my tickets and confirmed my residency. Ohh lalal
Paris 15 sleeps