Travel Tales

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I'm back in France after my fantastic Christmas break chez moi. The trip went pretty smoothly, considering an airport change in London. That's right, I had 5 hours to clear British customs, pick up my bags, high tail it across London to Heathrow, clear security again, and take my seat. All went well except that British Airlines lost my luggage. Paris is stinky enough without me adding to the mix.

Ah Paris. Though I've been back to the city of lights several times since the awful week at the Absolute Paris Hostel, I've stayed with friends in their small but clean flats. Unfortunately, they were all either out of the country, or were playing host to other friends. So Lu and I, after careful internet research, selected a hotel. A hotel, not a hostel.

But beg bugs are apparently a problem at the Grand Hotel Magenta as well. Jet-lagged and wearing make-shift pajamas, I awoke at 3 a.m. with another ugly bug on my shirt. Outraged, I killed the bug, carried him downstairs in toilet paper, and presented him to the groggy reception man. (Luisa was too tired to worry over the bugs and kept sleeping, a choice I understood but did not share.) The man agreed to give us another room, but said we would have to wait until the morning as all the rooms were currently occupied. He offered to let me sleep in his bed, an offer I promptly declined, and then made us both a cup of very strong tea. With nothing else to do and nowhere comfortable to go at 3:15 a.m., I talked to the reception man for over two hours. He shared some very interesting opinions of the current political climate and gave me a run-down of the general disposition of every western European, country by country. Around 5:00, I decided to go back up to my room and sit on the floor to watch old Grey's Anatomy episodes on my iPod. At 10:00, we were finally allowed to switch rooms. We slept until 2:00 p.m.

The rest of the weekend in Paris was amazing. I quickly shrugged off my homesickness and sleep deprivation with a loooonnnng walk around the city centre with Luisa. The sights are amazing, even in grey weather. I even forgot about the bed bugs. We met up with Christophe and some of his Australian friends at Hotel de Ville for some outdoor ice skating, and then met Onur for dinner at a restaurant near Oberkampf. Monday morning we packed up and took the train to Angouleme, then the bus to Confolens.

And, just as I hoped, everything here is exactly how I left it. It's been great to see everyone again and to fall back into the routine. I'm getting new students soon, but my old ones have requested that they still have my class, so the administration is going to let them come on a voluntary basis. One of my students even bought me a Christmas present, a pair of iPod in-ear earphones because I told him that I hated the ones I had. Cool, huh? Luisa leaves for Angouleme next week, and I know I will miss her, but am excited to have a place to stay in a bigger city. This weekend we are staying in Confolens to save money before my London trip with Shelly and Katie next weekend. I'm on my way now to buy chocolate and wine, the necessary provisions for a weekend of reflection.

Alors, I miss you all and hope to hear from you soon! A plus!

Bisous,
Kelly

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Photos

Faites Attention!!!
Here is the ice-skating rink in Paris with Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) just off to the left.

If one goes, we all go
Standing cautiously with my new Aussie friends.