Another day, another country

And it wasn't that easy getting here, either.  But here we are and loving it. 

The car we arranged to pick us up in London at 9am still wasn't there at 9:15.  Even though I had built in extra time to get to the train station, we still decided to walk a couple blocks over from our apartment and hail a regular cab.  Meanwhile, our hostess was on the phone yelling at the company:  WHEN WE SAY 9:00AM, WE MEAN 9:00AM.  IT'S 9:15.  THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.....NO, IN 5 MORE MINUTES IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.  THESE PEOPLE HAVE A TRAIN TO CATCH!!  I NOT GOING TO USE YOUR SERVICE ANYMORE.

But hailing a cab was so easy, we would have done that first if we'd have known.  And of course, we made it to the train station in plenty of time, got plenty of help to show up where to go and were able to sit for about a half hour until our train boarded. 

Boarding is interesting.  There are no weight restrictions, but anything you bring on board, you have to lift and put up on a rack.  We managed, but perhaps now the art of "less is more" when it comes to packing will sink in for Gene.  I swear, we have about 100 pounds of luggage (mostly tech stuff, I bet) spread out over 4 suitcases.  But where there's a tech will, there's a way and we got those suckers lifted and in place.  So there.

Our Chunnel ride clocked out at 182 mph and we were in Paris in just under 2 1/2 hours.  Why anyone would take a plane from London to Paris is beyond me.  The train starts in the center of London -- no long drive or Tube ride to the airport -- and it drops you off at a pretty decent location in Paris.  You have great leg room and a nice comfy chair.  The bathroom wall is painted to resemble subway tile and is also roomy. 

But we arrived in Paris, lugged all the suitcases to the taxi queue and got dropped off at our apartment.  Then the fun began.  Here's the entrance to our flat:

This building was built in the 1860's, so it's a little beat up, but notice how the stairs curve around.  And around.  and around.  and around.  Until we get to the 3rd floor.  And so Gene made 3 trips, each time bringing up one of our suitcases.  On the 4th trip, I joined him and lifted up the back of the suitcase as he carried up the front end.  And we made it up the stairs with all our luggage and our hearts intact. 

Our apartment is about 500 sq ft all told, on 3 levels.  Here's Gene coming up from the bottom level, where there is a comfy bed, a sofa and the bathroom:

The ladder on the left leads up to a loft where there is a big king-sized mattress on the floor.  And I'm taking this photo from the middle level, where there is a well-stocked kitchen with everything you need if you want to cook your own meal. 

Here's the view looking left out of the big window in the kitchen:

And looking right

And we do intend to cook at least one meal here.  First up after we got the bags inside was to visit the local grocery store at the end of the street and my rudimentary French got us everything we needed for a good breakfast.  And we even bought couscous with chicken to eat in tonight.  The grocer was mighty impressed with the fact that I gave him a 20 centime piece when the bill came to 23 euros, 20.  Told Gene I was very smart.  Yeah, duh.  But he doesn't know that.  Exploring a neighborhood grocery store is great fun and a great way to get the flavor of the city. 

But we chose this area to stay in for a reason and so we went off to Sacre Coeur.  Yup, it's still very touristy and perhaps a little seedier, but still full of the flavor of Montmartre.  It's all best told by photos (besides, I'm starting to fall asleep at my laptop.  It's after 10pm and it's only just dusk outside.  Very weird for us Phoenicians, where it gets dark by 8:30.

 

 So, yeah, I climbed these stairs.  We were looking for the funicular that takes you to the top, but by the time we found it, we were at the top of these stairs and only about 30 steps from where the damn thing stops anyway.  But, I'm bad, I'm bad!  I got up these steps without dying and with only 1 rest stop.  So there.

And I walked a bunch of these steps, too.  Twice.  So I could walk around and go into the Cathedral itself.  It's quite beautiful and they ask you to be silent, dress appropriately and don't take any photos because it's a house of worship.  Fair enough, but I thought it strange that they themselves had machines that would flatten a euro and put an imprint of the Basilica on it.  A little dissonance there. 

And of course outside is just a circus.  No singers today, as I told there often are.  But this guy kept a soccer ball spinning as he did tricks including climbing up and swinging from this pole.

We also saw a woman hold up a sign that read "Sonoran Desert Chorale", so we went up and spoke to her.  Last time we check "Sonoran" could mean Arizona.  And sure enough, they were from Mesa.  They had pull somewhere because tomorrow, they will be singing at Chartres at 5pm.  Not too shabby a tour, there.  So I told them about the McConnell Singers singing in front of the altar at the Old North Church.  So there.  nyah nyah.

Tomorrow, we take in more atmosphere.  We've both been here before, so rather than try to do all the touristy things again, we're just gonna walk around and breathe in Paris life.  We are aiming for Pere Lachaise cemetery again, because we enjoyed it so much the last time we were here.  And perhaps a visit to Galleries Lafayette (oh boy, shopping!!  don't tell Gene).

And I forgot to where my FitBit -- damnation!  But with all those steps and walking uphill and what have you, I am awarding myself.....4650 steps.

Total for the trip = 126,650