The Land of Butter

What are the three secrets to French cooking, you ask? Butter, butter and...you guessed it: Butter!! That is right! The French overall are known for their delicious pastries and desserts. This past weekend, however, I got to visit the butter capitol of France as I traveled to the province of Brittany, located on the western coast. This was such a fun diversion from what I have been experiencing in the busy city of Paris. Life in Brittany is quieter, more peaceful and relaxed. Brittany is known for their gourmet butter cookies and rich crepes of every variety. I was excited to try out some of the region's specialties and see a part of France that I had never been to before!

My friends, Emily and Allen, are living near Lannion this summer. Allen is doing an internship with a university here and they invited me to come out and stay with them for the weekend. To make this trip, I bought a ticket on the TGV: France's most powerful and high speed train. I had never been on one of these before and I was a bit nervous and excited for the experience at the same time. I packed my backpack and arrived at the train station 45 minutes early. When I got to the train station in Paris, I joined a crowd of hundreds of people, also carrying luggage. You sit in front of the huge Departure board and wait for it to show you which section of track that your particular train will be departing from. About 15 minutes before my train was set to leave, it came up: Voie #8. Everyone grabbed their bags and started running towards the train. Once we got there, we only had a few minutes to punch our train ticket and then jump aboard. It was a bit stressful, but I made it! I have a short-term memory in France and forget that the weather is always changing: super rainy one day and then hot hot the next day. I didn't bring a jacket on this mini-excursion because it had been so hot at Euro Disney the day before. When I got on the train, it started pouring rain. It was fun to watch the water droplets slide across the glass from inside the warm train. The only problem with this was that due to the inclement weather, the train had to stop several times on the track. They kept coming on the speaker and announcing floods ahead. I got so worried because this train was headed to St. Brieuc and I had two more trains to catch to make it to Lannion. As it turned out, I missed the connecting trains. We arrived in St. Brieuc an hour late. I wasn't the only one, thank goodness. We were left in the cold at St. Brieuc's train station for over an hour until another TGV could pick us all up and take us to Lannion. I was wishing I had remembered my jacket. I arrived in Lannion at 11:00pm--just two hours late. Emily was there to pick me up. It was so fun to see her!

I was exhausted from traveling and crashed in the bed they had set up for me. Saturday morning was filled with so many fun adventures. I surprised Emily by bringing her bagels from a specialty bagel shop in Paris. She was so excited to see them because they don't have bagels in Brittany and she had been missing them. We had bagels and cream cheese for breakfast and then we took off to see four different beaches, all very close to their home. They were all so beautiful! We tasted some of their buttery pastries that were being sold along the beaches. They were rich and tasty.

Emily and Allen were the best hosts. They said I could choose anywhere I would like to eat for lunch. They gave me some options. One of those included a Patatarie--gourmet baked potato restaurant. Potatoes are my favorite food! I chose that one. It was so fun! They had every option to choose from on the menu. Some interesting-sounding ones were a Boeuf Bourgignon with Bacon Potato and a Mussles with Roquefort Sauce Potato.

I ordered a Four-Cheese baked potato with salad on the side. It was so delicious.

At night, they had something special planned for me, knowing how much I loved folk dancing. I was a folk dancer at BYU and teach my French classes several dances throughout the year. They planned a visit to a Festival Breton. There, we got to do all sorts of fun folk dances in circles and with different partners. It was such a memorable night! Afterward, they made me some homemade wheat crepes with ham, egg and cheese. The time few by so quickly. I really had an amazing time! Thanks to you both!

If you want something, ask for it!

I have recently realized that we can have such great experiences in life if we are just not afraid to ask for them. If we don't ask, the answer is always no. If we do ask, often times the answer is yes! Let me give you an example: on Monday, the other teachers and I were doing another walk entitled Time Travel, Tricks and Treats around Saint-Sulpice. We began at one of France's ritziest hotels, l'Hotel Lutetia. Our book informed us that this hotel has housed several famous guests including Picasso and Matisse. Charles de Gaulle also spent his honeymoon there. If you are interested in the nicest suite, it can be yours for a mere 2,500 Euros per night! Janine, from our group, decided that she was going to ask if we could take a tour of this hotel. In our grubby tennis shoes and backpacks, we walked past the finely-dressed guards and up to the reception desk. She asked if we would be able to see any of the rooms. The Armenian guy who worked there was so friendly. He said that not only would we be able to take a tour, but he would show us the famous suite where Charles de Gaulle spent his honeymoon. We rode up a high-class elevator and he let us into this enormous room. There were stairs leading everywhere inside the suite, beautiful paintings and mirrors on the walls and a breathtaking balcony that framed the Eiffel Tower. Now wasn't that worth asking for?

We walked down a few streets and we were at one of the most famous ice cream sandwich shops in the world: Pierre Hermé. He is always inventing new things from triple chocolate crunch to rose petal dream. I ordered a marbled pistachio and cherry macaron treat. It cost nearly 7 Euros ($9) which could have bought me a box of Fat Boys at home, but each bite was definitely something to be remembered.

On Tuesday, we took a mini trip to the medieval city of Provins. This is a place I had never been before. It was so fun and interesting. We took a tour of the castle tower and museum. We also watched a show where actors, dressed in all sorts of Renaissance-looking dresses and gear, galloped around, doing tricks and singing old tunes.

Wednesday, I spent the whole day with a French friend Laetitia. I have been in touch with her sporadically for the past three years. We found each other through epals, looking for a penpal exchange for our students, but had never met in person. She teaches English here and we are planning on doing a big penpal exchange next year with our students. Here we are in front of her new, gated private school that she will be teaching at in the Fall. She was the best hostess I could ever have stayed with. She showed up at the train station to pick up Elizabeth and me. I didn't know exactly what she looked like, so I just smiled at a really cute lady and it was her! She had a whole day of excursions planned for us. She took us to see some castles, churches and a fun city called Meaux in the countryside. We visited a library there and they were giving out free books! She had never seen that before and neither had I. Elizabeth and I filled our arms with all sorts of previously-used books, written in French. I got one called L'Aventure de la Pomme de Terre (The Adventure of the Potato)! I love potatoes! I was so excited!

At night, she invited us to have dinner at her friends' home. It was a typical French dinner with a really dynamic French family. It began at 9pm, just like the French usually do, and lasted until nearly midnight. These people were so friendly! Their house was filled with animals, which was a little different for me and not typical of the French. Many of the French I have met have one or two dogs or cats, so this was a unique experience. I am not a huge animal person, but I reminded myself to have a fun time and not worry too much. The lady of the house picks up strays off of the streets and gives them shelter. There were 13 cats and several dogs that came in and out of the house at will. One sickly-looking cat sat the whole evening on a pillow right next to me. I tried not to look at it too much. Everything on the bookshelves and mantle was glued down with super glue. This is so that when the animals roam around the house, nothing gets knocked down. Great idea. The husband said, when his wife was out of the room, that he wished they weren't glued down. He wanted them to break so he could get rid of all those trinkets. They were very fun people and they loved to laugh.

They made us a several-course meal with drinks, appetizers, fried steak, baguettes, and vegetables. Dessert consisted first of salad, then a gourmet cheese platter, and finally a berry-cookie crumble. We had fun as we all laughed, told stories and stuffed ourselves, not knowing how many courses remained. For example, the man of the house was wearing a t-shirt, advertizing some marathon somewhere. I asked him if he had run a marathon in the past. He and his wife laughed and said that somebody else ran the marathon and he got the shirt. Haha. We even got to play some board games afterward. This is what I do with my family at home. I believe it is really true what they say: it is hard to get into French social circles, but once you do, they are your friends for life. Laetitia really knew how to show us a good time and share with us an authentic, day-to-day snapshot into the life of a French family. Thanks, lady!

My Castle is Better than Your Castle

Over the last two days I have visited some of France's most famous castles. For the most part, I like hanging out in the gardens, by the fountains and flowers, more than being in the dark and stuffy interiors. However, I do find their histories to be quite interesting and love listening to the specific stories that accompany the castles. Friday morning, we took a mini road trip to Vaux-le-Vicomte. This is a fascinating chateau. Fouquet, the superintendent of finances for Louis XIV, built it back in 1661. He spared no expense: he purchased and demolished three villages to get enough land to build the grand castle and expansive gardens.

Once finished, he invited King Louis XIV to dinner so he could show it off. How exciting! The plan backfired, though. The king was not too pleased to see the golden eating utensils, lavish furniture, gardens and trees for as far as the eye could see and a residence that was bigger and better than his smaller living area at the Louvre (The Louvre is the largest museum in the world, by the way. Still not grand enough for the Sun King). Louis arrested Fouquet on the spot. There was a trial that lasted for a few years and then he was eventually sentenced to life in prison. Served him right for trying to outdo his king! Louis XIV then hired those same architects and landscape architects to build him the Chateau of Versailles. Poor Fouquet. I actually feel bad for the guy. Why is it human nature to be so envious of another person's good fortune? Anyway, it was so peaceful to arrive at this castle early in the morning and have a few hours to walk around and mediate on the quiet grounds as the sun was rising. There wasn't much traffic when we were there at all. I wanted to stay longer.

Friday afternoon, after a three-cheese panini and lemon sorbet, we took off to the ancient castle of Fontainebleau. This castle has existed since the 12th century. It served mainly as a summer home for the kings of France. Louis XIV was actually staying there when he got invited to Vaux-le-Vicomte. It also had beautiful gardens and fun forests that you could go exploring in for hours. We took a walk up some rocks and hills into a forest that the kings used to use to go hunting and watched the sun set.

We spent all day Saturday at Versailles and I felt that I still didn't get to see everything. Again, inside the gold-plated castle were all the impatient tourists, speaking many different languages and pushing us from place-to-place. I swear that we must have been several thousand people over fire code. I just wanted to get out. I didn't even stay a minute in the hot and stuffy chamber rooms to hear the descriptions of all of the king's tapestries and statues. I can read about those on wikipedia on my own time. I loved being outside in the fresh air. Our professor rented a mini car for us to drive around the gardens in and hear the audio tour. I volunteered to be the navigator. For some reason, I was looking at the map backwards, though, and started leading us the wrong way. We went around a little lake, when, all of the sudden, the car immediately stopped working. It started buzzing loudly and shouting that we were out of area. Everyone stared at us with annoyed eyes as we tried to push the car back into the zone where we could make it go again. It took a bit of effort and we couldn't get the buzzing to stop. The keys were locked and the peddles wouldn't move. Finally some workers came up and helped us out, as we were annoying the public. So embarrassing! I didn't give up being the navigator, though, and we eventually had a great tour of the gardens and musical fountains.

My all-time favorite experience from France in 2009 was renting bikes and riding all over the gardens of Versailles. I wanted to do it again this year and I was not disappointed. You feel so free, riding a bike in the peaceful summer air. We visited Marie Antoinette's little village, where she would come to escape the stress of ruling France. I can see why she liked it there. There were dozens of cute houses, vegetable gardens of lettuce, rhubarb and onions as well as a small petting zoo. I would rather be in those little cottages than in that big castle, if I were the queen.

Excursion in a Mini Car

We rented a car for the last couple of days and took off to the city of Le Havre on the western coast of France, which touches the English Channel. It was a pretty fun road trip: we played lots of games and told stories along the way, but the extra-large sized car was still very tight for the five of us. Believe it or not, most of the French people I have seen are not like us big-boned Americans. The daily white bread, cheese and chocolate does not seem to have an effect on their body size. It must be the small portions that they consume. Also, we stayed in a tiny hotel on the coast of France last night. I had a room all to myself--we got five separate rooms--but when I walked up to the door of my room, I saw that it was propped open with a towel and the lovely smell of smoke odor was coming out the door. I guess that smoking is another way they keep their nice figures because I swear that almost everybody here smokes. When I got in the room, I noticed the sign that said "No Smoking on Bed." Good to know there are some regulations here. Anyway, look at this cool arch behind me in the small village of Etretat. We climbed to the top. It wasn't bad at all, compared to all my hikes of Timp Cave each week back in June, and the view from the top is spectacular!

For dinner, we ate at a small restaurant near the coast. Our server, Laurence, was a lot of fun. I ordered a Cassis Berry Sorbet for dessert. I said that I liked trying out some of the foods in France that we don't have in the states like Cassis, for example. He asked what other foods I had noticed here that I hadn't seen back at home. I told him that I noticed that they have transparent, yellow raspberries in the grocery stores here. He looked at me like I was crazy. "Mon oeil!" (My eye!--means "whatever!) I did not back down. He said I must have had too much to drink. I told him that No!--I don't drink, and he will go and see some of those yellow raspberries at the grocery store sometime in the future and think of me. He then went around the restaurant, shouting loudly at all the cooks, asking if any of them had ever seen yellow raspberries because he was sure that they didn't exist. He came back after a few minutes, looking a bit sheepish and admitted that yes, they did exist. It was definitely a fun time with such an animated server.

Joan of Arc's hometown of Rouen was on our list of stops during the excursion. It was pretty interesting and touching to hear her story and see the exact spot where she was burned at the stake as a martyr. She is really an example to me of standing up for what she believed in and what is right, even when she was criticized for it. The guide said that whatever her executioners did, they could not get her heart to burn to ashes. They ended up having to put it in a sack and throw it into the Seine so that other people couldn't pick it up and worship it as a relic.

This morning, we visited the small city of Honfleur. I think it is so funny how accustomed I have become to seeing dogs just walking in and out of stores and restaurants. Pets are often treated as one of the family here. This cute little dog wanted to take a tour of the gift shop. It looked like he didn't find any postcards or t-shirts to his liking, so he is contemplating crossing the street.

Musical Toilets

Okay. You are probably wondering why this post is called "Musical Toilets." You are just going to have to read on to find out. Today, I looked in my book of 20 Different Walks Through Paris and decided that it would be fun to try the walk entitled, "Nez au Vent" or "Nose to the Wind." It was a walk all about smelling, tasting and really savoring Paris. What could beat that? After all, one of the big reasons I am here is for the food. Back to the walk. The book says, "The French appreciate a wider range of odors than their air-freshener-consuming American counterparts. For example, a typical American may enjoy steak but not brain or intestines. We Americans generally have a narrow palate when it comes to food and smell. In other words, one person's body odor might be another person's alluring scent. Napoleon wrote a famous letter to his wife that said: 'Home in three days. Don't wash'." The French love all sorts of smells and tastes! Maybe that explains why there are over 400 different types of cheese here. I have never tasted better cheese than in France--I honestly can't get enough--but there are also some really smelly varieties.

So, to begin this olfactory experience, we got off on the Madeleine Metro stop. There was a very strong stench from the sewer below as we got onto the escalators and exited the metro. It almost smelled to me like old cheese. We walked right into a beautiful flower market and the church of the Madeleine. The front of the church was covered in beautiful flowers. It smelled so fresh! What a contrast!

We then turned the corner to see a Gourmet Macaron pastry shop. I honestly felt like I had entered a high class jewelry store. Wow. It was perfectly air-conditioned. The workers were all dressed in classy uniforms. These creations were invented in the early 1900s and are the favorite pastry of France. I have gotten them in the states and they do not even compare. Each one cost 1,75 Euros (over 2 dollars), but it was so worth it! My favorite flavors were Lime and Basil as well as Chocolate from Ghana. I cannot even put into words the divine flavor in each bite. I wish you could all come to France just to taste these!

The next stop was at the famous Fragonard perfume shop. We got to take a tour of the factory and see all that goes into making the perfect fragrance. They are known here for their aluminum bottles. This is to protect the perfume against sun and heat exhaustion. I was talked into these expensive perfumes when I visited Southern France a few years ago and haven't worn them once. They are very strong and concentrated. I basically just let my students pass them around and smell them once a year. I did not get pressured into buying any this time, but it was fun to look around.

We ended our Savory Walk at a little café that we just happened upon. I ordered a panini and freshly-squeezed orange juice. This cafe was very modern-looking with huge computer screens all around, geometric-type chairs and tons of futuristic demos. I later found out they are trying to attract home buyers with this atmosphere. They show prospective clients pictures of all types of available apartments/homes and offer them a relaxing environment to enjoy while working on their plan. Afterward, we asked to use the bathroom, as always, since we never know when we will get another chance in this city. We walked in and what do you know? They call it a Musical Closet. Look at my first picture on this blog: Cabine Musicale is on the bathroom door. Right next to the sink is a touch-screen where you can pick your type of music: rock, classical, hip hop, easy listening, etc. Then you get a list of several artists to choose from. So, as you are in the private toilet stall, it plays your favorite song. Maybe this will be the bathroom of the future. What do you think?

I will be meeting some friends in Brittany in a couple of weekends. I stopped by the Train Station to pick up my tickets. I swear that everybody from France loves to travel. The line lasted over an hour. They said that I came on a good day! I am impressed by how well Europe is connected with public transportation. You really don't need a car over here. I will get to take the high speed TGV in 10 days and I am looking forward to it!

The last message that I want to say today is how nice the Parisians have been. I have noticed that if you try to speak to them in French at least and are very kind yourself, they are some of the friendliest people I have ever met! Here is a picture of a guy that works in a creperie here. I started taking pictures of him (I will need those for my students come Fall) and he looked at me kind of funny. I then asked him permission, as I felt a bit awkward. "Why do you need my permission? You already took a bunch!" he said with a smile. I smiled back and said that I wanted some good pictures of him and his amazing crepe making skills for all these people to see in the states. He put his hand up to block my pictures, all in good fun. He then said he was going to charge me 20 Euros for the pleasure of having his face in the states. I told him I would email him the pictures of him instead at no charge and he looked pretty excited about the idea. He gave me his email address. I was with Henry, from the group, and as we sat on the wall, enjoying our cheese crepe, this crepe man (David) asked us what we were going to have for dessert. We shook our heads and said no thanks. He picked up a banana, cut it in half and gave it to Henry for free. He told him to give me the bigger piece. Little things like that really make a big difference. I told him that he was the best crepe maker and that I would come back and visit him again soon.

Gourmet Lunch at McDonalds

Who likes eating at McDonald's? Usually I'm the one to say, "No thanks. I'll pass!" I can't remember the last time I ate anything at McDonald's in the states. Well, it's a different story here in France. I actually crave their cheeseburgers and potato wedges once in a while when I am here. My friends and I were walking down the famous Champs Elysees street in Paris on Friday afternoon when, what do you know, there was a beautiful, two-story McDonald's restaurant calling my name! They even had a 1 Euro menu. That can't be beat. Going back to the potato wedges that I mentioned earlier, these really are so crispy and flavorful! Why order fries when you can get these?! They also had a bag of crispy apples and grapes for a Euro.

The place was packed. Something I have noticed here is how people rarely and I mean rarely touch their food with their hands. We were at a fancy restaurant on Thursday night and I watched a lady cut up her cheeseburger and fries with a knife and fork and delicately put them in her mouth without once touching them. Pretty impressive. McDonald's must conjure up all sorts of American feelings because I actually saw people eating à l'aimericain by touching their food with...gasp--their fingers!

We left McDonald's and walked further along Les Champs Elysees. It was all set up with French flags for Bastille Day, which would take place the following day, on July 14th. I had to take a picture by the famous Arc de Triomphe that Napoleon had built for his triumphal march (which never happened, by the way, but don't bring his loss up to the French). We are going to be hiking the stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe tomorrow morning. This area is simply mindboggling to me! 12 roads converge to the Arc de Triomphe. Around the arch are 8 lanes of traffic. Cars honk like crazy (which they actually do all over Paris--as if that helps!) and try to weave in an out of traffic to get where they want to go. I'm surprised there aren't more car accidents here.

One fun thing to do is to walk up and down the bridges that cross the Seine. A new fad from Italy has started where lovers come here, put a lock on the railing and then throw the key into the river. There are thousands of locks on this bridge that were not here when I was here back in 2009. It is pretty cute, but I feel bad for all the fish who now have their river filled with metal keys!

Yesterday morning, we met again in central Paris to celebrate France's National Holiday. They had a parade that lasted over an hour. These parades are not at all like the parades I know from home. There are no high school marching bands, beauty queens or cooly-decorated floats. Instead, you see every type of soldier, marine and army-related group possible marching in perfect lines. It is a very official occurrence. Several airplanes in all sorts of formations flew overhead and blew out bleu, blanc, and rouge smoke. Instead of bringing out lawn chairs, people carried ladders to help them see over the crowds. At night, I debated whether or not to go out and see the Fireworks show, put on right behind the Eiffel Tower. I finally gave in, thinking I might not have another chance. At 11:00pm sharp, "It's Rainin' Men" came on the loud speakers as the sky was filled with fireworks of every color. I couldn't believe that I didn't once hear La Marseillaise and most of the music was actually American. It was a fun half-hour show. What I didn't realize was that I was one of over a million people at the "spectacle" last night. The metros became jam-packed with the masses immediately following the event. Police surrounded us and had to stop several people from pushing the others down the stairs into the metro entrances. Eeeek! We were pushed from place-to-place and finally made it home at 2:15am!! It was definitely an unforgettable experience.

Hot Chocolate in July

Who ever guessed I would be sipping hot chocolate in July? Not me. I packed about six pairs of shorts as well as several t-shirts and sandals for this trip. I only brought one jacket and thank goodness I did. Today has been chilly and rainy. I was happy for the small jacket and will probably end up buying another one if we don't get any sunshine soon. It is summer! I left fiery forest fires for cold wind gusts. Crazy. Public restrooms are scarce in Paris. You have to buy something at a restaurant to have the right to their restroom or pay for the public toilet in the middle of the sidewalk (it is covered in a dome-like thing). It is not a fun feeling to be lost in the city of Paris and unable to find a bathroom. Today, one teacher Elizabeth, in our group, had to use the bathroom. Since it was an emergency and we couldn't find a public restroom close by, we all stopped at a little café to let her use the bathroom while we ordered some hot chocolate to warm us up.

It was so fun to see how the hot chocolate actually arrived: it came as pure chocolate in the bottom of a glass. There was a packet of sugar as well as a cookie on the side. The server then brought us a pitcher of boiling milk. We were able to mix up our own hot cocoa and add the quantities of sugar and milk to our liking. It was such a fun experience to be in charge of my chocolat chaud. The French really are focused on the presentation of things. The little details matter.

Before taking off for our journey today, the four of us French teachers arrived at the grocery store at 8:55am. It doesn't open until 9:00am. So much for 24 hour service that we see in the states. People were all lined up by the store front. Many of them brought their own rolling grocery basket. This is a good idea because regular plastic grocery bags cost three cents each--plus, many of them had to walk or take the metro to get to the grocery store. My favorite thing was walking down all the aisles of yogurt and cheese. Mmmmm!!!

I bought some licorice and mint flavored yogurt that I am going to try out tomorrow. I can't wait. My colleagues thought I was pretty weird to want to try this flavor. I love black licorice and I remembered liking this brand of yogurt from my last trip to France in 2009 so pourquoi pas? Gourmet yogurt here is just such a treat and there are many kinds that I would not be able to find back home! Might as well try them out.

Paris is a pretty cool city. It is not designed in a grid-system like Salt Lake City, but rather like a snail. All of the sectioned off areas have their interesting things to offer and you can visit them by walking in a swirly shape, kind of like taking the yellow-brick road. Today we visited the 16th arrondissement (neighborhood or district of Paris). Tourists do not usually come in this area because it is filled with residences and not many typical tourist sites. It was calm and relaxing to stroll past old lampposts and well-kept gardens.

Here is an example of a really cool lamppost that we saw on our excursion.

And just look at the amazing architecture for this door that we found, also on this behind-the-scenes walk.

Here is a picture of my French teacher friends that are having this experience with me. There are so many great places to take a picture of the Eiffel Tower in this city and this is one.

More than Turbulence

I finally made to la belle ville de Paris! I am now collapsed in my comfy twin bed that will be mine for the next three and a half weeks. Awe--the view of the Eiffel Tower from the balcony cannot be beat--but it was not easy getting here, I tell you! I feel like I have been traveling for days. Yesterday morning, I boarded an early flight from SLC to Boston. I found my seat and looked over to see the guy next to me. He had just cut his hand underneath the seat and it was dripping blood. The flight attendant rushed over, "Do you need me to call the paramedics?" He looked up with a funny expression. "No, I just need some band-aids, please." I guess in society today, you always have to offer to the paramedics, even just for a cut. He just finished bandaging his hand, when the lady behind me put her toddler right on top of my seat. He grabbed my hair. She laughed, "Isn't he a cutie? He loves your hair too!" I didn't think he was a cutie. I was tired and just wanted to sleep. Nice for me, I got to hear him cry and have him kick my seat for that 4-hour trip. Needless to say, I was very happy to get off that flight and onto the flight to Paris.

The flight to Paris was pretty smooth. There was a French teenage girl next to me who wouldn't stop crying. I wondered what her story was. Why would she be sobbing like that? Is she missing her friends from the USA? Is she scared of flying? Did she just get dumped by her boyfriend? I thought of asking her what was wrong, but that could have made her even more upset. As we arrived at the gate, I thought to myself how happy I was that I had pre-reserved the Paris Shuttle to take me to the hotel. (When I came in 2009, I jumped on the metro with all my bags and it was crazy.) I got off the plane this morning and followed all the signs directing me to Paris Shuttle. As it turns out, I followed the wrong signs. I took off into Terminal 3, the Railway Station, which was far away from the arriving planes. I picked up the pay phone and called the number that I had used to reserve the Paris Shuttle. It was a free 0800 number, thank goodness. The lady who answered got frustrated by the fact that I was not in the usual pick-up place in Terminal 2. I told her that I would take the airport subway back to Terminal 2, but she insisted that I stay in Terminal 3. She asked where exactly in the terminal I was. I tried to explain but she insisted I ask somebody around me for directions. I saw a guy walking out of the bathroom. I shouted at him, "Where are we?" He looked at me funny, "Terminal 3." I told her that. She finally just said to wait outside by the taxis. I waited for 15 minutes. No shuttle. I called again. Frustrated lady. Frustrated me. Waiting outside in the rain. Still no shuttle. This happened over the course of TWO HOURS! Every time I called she said that the shuttle would be arriving to pick me up in five minutes and then hang up. Once or twice, the lady said that the driver couldn't find me, but to stay put anyway. I felt so alone. I looked at all the people coming and going. They all knew exactly how to get where they were going. I was stranded with a French lady getting more and more upset each time I called to tell her that I was still waiting. I always suggested that I go back to where the shuttle usually picks up guests but she refused. She kept saying that she didn't want me running from place-to-place. Finally, I just decided that I was done waiting. I got back on the Airport express train and went back to Terminal 2. I called the lady from Terminal 2 to tell her I was waiting there now. She was so upset that I disobeyed her orders to stay. Hello! I waited there for two hours! "Madame, we will send one more shuttle to try and find you, but this will be your last chance!!"

I cannot tell you the sigh of relief I felt when I finally saw the minivan with Paris-Shuttle on the side as it pulled up. I ran to the guy with my confirmation paper. Finally! Get me out of here! He looked at it and said, "No, you reserved with parishuttle.com. We are a different company--we have a hyphen in our name." He then drove off. What the heck? Who was the crazy person that decided to have two Paris shuttle companies competing with a hyphen of a difference?! Could it get any worse? Well, to make a long story short, my plane arrived at 7:00am and by 11:00, I was finally on the correct shuttle. I I did get a nice tour of the city on my drive to this hotel. If a trip starts like this, I can't wait to see what other adventures are in store now.

Coup de Soleil

In French, the term Coup de Soleil means sunburn, but literally translated it reads: Cut of the Sun. The sun definitely did cut into my skin yesterday and now I have an itchy rash on my arms and legs, despite the sunblock I put on. I spent the day at Lagoon, an amusement park in Farmington. I am not a Lagoon fan. I actually got out of a free Lagoon chaperoning trip back in May. Well, the opportunity presented itself again. My sister-in-law had free tickets to Lagoon through her work. All right. I decided that if the tickets were free, I might was well give it a shot. Lagoon is no magical Disneyland, but when something is free and nothing else is going on, might as well.

I slathered on the sunblock, drank a huge bottle of water, put $40 in my shorts' pocket and headed out for a great time. Lagoon often puts in a new ride each year. This year's new ride is called Air Race. Everybody really wanted to try it out first. Everybody except me, that is. I told my brother repeatedly that I planned to avoid all the corkscrew and spinning rides, but we had no idea what Air Race was about. We got into the park and what do you know--no lines! Where was everybody? This was a Saturday! We walked right into the ride and got strapped into the contraption. Oh no! It was a ride that spun you in circles and held you suspended in an upside-down position for what seemed like minutes! I do not see how people think going on something like that over and over again is fun. I held my breath each time we went upside-down, so I was running low on oxygen. I got off and kind of hobbled to the next ride: Re-entry on The Rocket. Can we say scream for your life?!! I thought it must have been broken when we approached and saw not one single soul in line. Nope. They strapped us in and ran it for just the four of us. Each ride that we went to after that had no line or very little wait. It was crazy. Despite my protests, I got talked into The Samari--this was a similar ride to the Air Race! I didn't know how many of these thrill rides I would be able to handle without a break. I never thought I would ask for lines at an amusement park, but I was starting to feel like a lump of jell-o. I needed a line to wait in! Please! We took turns choosing each ride. The other three had all the corkscrews and whiplash rides covered. I chose the train around the animal park. Nice white tigers you get to see on that one. Too bad they are confined in tiny cages. I also picked out the Sky Ride (which actually turned out to be quite scary as it stopped abruptly several times. At each stop, I felt like I could slip right out of the chair from several feet in the sky. Ahhhh!)

My favorite ride of the day was OdySea. This is like Dumbo at Disneyland, only the whales and dolphins spit out water at you. You can control how high and low your chair goes and try to avoid the water sprays. It wasn't too bad and a little spray on a smoldering-hot day is nice.

After a while, I was really craving a frozen lemonade. It's all I could think about. We found a little lemonade stand, but they were out! She offered us a frozen pina-colada for $4. I guess when you're thirsty, you pay whatever it takes. She put in some frozen slushy ice and then dumped in pina colada snowcone flavoring. I thought it was pretty dang sweet and couldn't actually drink it all. What a disappointment! What is the best thing about no lines at Lagoon? Taking off for home at 6:00pm!! Driving away, I was very happy. I think I will save up my money for a Disney Park next time.