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Paris Take Two

I’m not a very good blogger. I keep trying to be, I tell myself I’m going to write a blog post every other day. Weekly. Weekly, is good. Gives me more time to think about it, plan it out a bit, get my thoughts in order. Well, okay monthly. PLENTY of time to come up with ideas and figure out what to say each month. Yes, well. How about yearly then?

My problem is figuring out what to write about. But sometimes, life hands you that answer. If you’ve ever read my blog before you know that my most prolific period was when we lived in Paris in 2011. Here we are, 8 years later, and I think that’s the case again.

We got word in early 2019 that my husband, Ron, is the chief engineer selected to support a new contract in Paris. We should plan on being relocated there by May 1.

Wow. Okay. Here we go again. Been there, done that, we know how to do this. Let the planning begin. And it did; cancel vacation plans, do some things around the house, make lists, check things off and make more lists, etc, etc, etc. This time, we’ll be more prepared.

May 1 comes and goes and we’re still in the U.S. Plan on May 15, they said. May 15 comes and goes and we’re still in the U.S. Plan on the end of May, they said. End of May comes and goes and we’re still in the U.S. Problem with actually signing the contract they said. Wait, what? You said it was a go already, now it’s not. Hmmmm. That changes things. Ron comes and goes to Paris multiple times for this meeting and that meeting. Plan on June 10th they say. Ron must go for training. Take your wife they said. Plan on staying for 6 months, no wait, maybe it’s 9 months or perhaps it’s a year. We don’t know yet, just pack and get over there. But maybe you’re only staying for a couple of weeks, they say. To say there’s a level of uncertainty about this whole thing is an understatement. A big understatement. A super colossal extra big super understatement.

But we’re here. Ron got here on June 10th. I got here on June 14th. Reminiscent of our first long-term adventure in Paris, but also decidedly quite different because we STILL DON’T KNOW IF WE’RE STAYING OR NOT.

No matter, we’re here. We’re somewhat ready.

Four suitcases, two carry ons (one’s inside a suitcase) and two backpacks worth of stuff for an indeterminate stay

My flight was pretty uneventful and somewhat interesting. I dug my camera out and took photos. Partly to document, partly to use up some of the 11 hours of flying time. At the last minute, I upgraded my seat to an exit row. I had a lot of leg room and the freedom to move about the cabin. I also had a sneaky view of the Premiere cabin and the inner workings of the galley. The flight attendant for my section was awesome – very attentive and fun to talk to!

My arrival at Charles de Gaulle airport was … interesting. I was excited, yes. I was a little bit emotional, yes. I was surprised at how it felt it a little like coming home. Aside from where I lived, I’ve spent more time in Paris than any other city. I know this city. I love this city. Coming back after 8 years really did feel like coming home.

Ron met me at the airport and no lie, my bag was 2nd to last to arrive on the conveyor. After a long flight and my cell phone not working, waiting for an hour for my bag to appear was painful. See how few people are left from an Airbus A380?!?

Second to last bag to arrive on the carousel – painful wait!

We took the train from CDG to our hotel in La Defense. No apartment yet, because we don’t know how long we’re to stay, they say. But plan on staying, they say. So we dropped off my bags and headed in to Paris to meet with Anne from a Paris rental agency and look at a couple of apartments. One of the apartments was one street over from Rue Cler, and I wasn’t ridiculously tired yet, so we shopped at a Fromagerie, visited my favorite monument, and then I crashed!

By this time no amount of walking was going to keep me awake, so back to the hotel for what ended up being a quick nap. When I awoke, we decided maybe dinner was in order, so we went to a restaurant in La Defense. I had the Magret du Canard – a favorite dish unavailable in the U.S. Yum! But…halfway through dinner, staying awake was painful! Back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.

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