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Published: September 4th 2007
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Paris 1
Enjoying crepes on the Champs Elycee The Sornberger’s in France
September 4, 2007
We are finally in France!! I wish I could say it was exciting, fanfare, that we set the town on fire…but we arrive and went into a huge slump! After ten weeks of travel, we were exhausted. Traveling through Europe this summer was so exciting and I think all of us will cherish it for the rest of our lives…but it is also very exhausting to pack up every 3-4 day, load the car, figure out where to stay, where and what to eat, and traipse all over the places sightseeing.
After leaving Switzerland we drove over the border to Colmar, France. It is a charming town in the eastern region of Alsace. We planned to tour the region, known for wine making…only to crash in our apartment for 2 days with only a slow stroll through town. The vacation was definitely over. The highlight of Colmar was finally getting my hair done. I had gone all summer with hair that grew more ghastly with each passing day. I went to the Quick Coiff for a “couleur, shampooing, coupe, & coiffage.” Please note that the stylist who did my hair did
Paris 2
A quiet day not speak one word of English and my salon French is slightly lacking. Colmar does not get many American tourists and is not the international hub that is Paris, so I felt quite brave leaving my hair to a person I couldn’t communicate with. The only thing I understood was while the “couleur” was setting she asked me “Voulez-vous un café?” I said “Oui!” I am happy to report, my hair turned out great and I felt ready to take on Paris, without being made for an unkempt American the first 5 minutes.
While in Colmar, it really started to hit me that we were in France and were going to attempt to live here for a while. It was exciting and scary despite my fatigue. Our first night there we went to the grocery store. It was a huge Super Marche and it was sort of comforting at first until I started to walk around…and realized that while familiar everything was really different. I couldn’t read any of the labels, I was going to have to figure out what products we would like and not like. I started to feel faint! What have we done I asked myself….this
Paris 3
We live three blocks from here! was not the first time I had asked myself this question in the last few weeks.
While in Italy, our next door neighbors were a French family. They were very nice and I was excited to have a chance to practice some French while chatting with them. The first day while by the pool, the mom sat next to me and we started chatting….I was ready to start speaking French, when in English she launched into a long conversation about the state of France’s economy, the new president, politics, unemployment, France’s welfare system and god forbid…looking to the US as a model. (I thought this lady has missed the last 7 years…) Mostly what I thought is what have we done….I have no hope of having an intelligent conversation with anyone in France past the age of 6, as I was able to do just fine with her kids ages 2, 4, 6. So while in Colmar at the grocery store this uneasy feeling crept back. Would we make it??
After leaving Colmar we headed for Paris. I have been so excited about our month in Paris for the last 9 months. As we drove into the city,
Paris 4
touring the Marias I again felt strangely at easy…not sure why but figured that city life always seems to appeal to me and that I had been to Paris and know what to expect. We arrived on Saturday and moved into our apartment. It is lovely. Must more spacious than Scott and I figured it would be. The apartment was totally redone to maintain the architecture of the 1891 building but with a modern bathroom and kitchen. The first day we just unpacked, grocery shopped and got settled. On Sunday we walked around the city, went past Invalides, the Eiffel Tower, and up the Champs Elysee to see about a movie. Paris was strangely quiet…hardly any cars (even on the Champs Elysee), very few pedestrians. Our apartment is on a commercial street in the residential 15th arrondissement, very close to the Eiffel Tower. After the stores close, the street is dead. Well, the next day, the first business day of September all that changed. Everyone was back from vacation and we were in the Paris I remember…the cars were back and so were the people.
The last few days we have been getting to know our new home by foot, walking around, watching people, shopping like the Parisians, and taking the metro. It has not been without a few frustrations, like my first day in the grocery store when the clerk said she took credit cards only to tell me with a full basket of groceries and no cash not my credit card or that we do not have internet access like the apartment owner had promised me…but I still love it. The kids seem to like it too. They have been excited about the newness and getting settled. We have now entered phase 2 of our adventure and we are finally in France!
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