Paris

My hosts for my first 3 days in Paris were Pierre and Helene, a lovely couple who lived in a large apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower. They put me up in their office on a trundle bed that was very comfortable. This was my very first couchsurfing experience, and I didn't know what to expect. Being hosted by Pierre and Helene was like visiting friends. They were busy during the day so I went out to explore Paris on my own, and then we ate together at night. I would find a good bottle of wine which Pierre and I shared with dinner. Helene didn't drink wine. (Very rare, in France.) Pierre brought in take-out from one of the nearby restaurants. We ate and discussed politics, philosophy, health care, etc. I could not have asked for a better experience.

Paris is a magical city. There is no other place like it in the world. There are so many things to do and see. I had brought with me a box of cards that had 50 Paris walks, with route and suggested things to see. During my Paris stay, I would pick a walk or two, and take the metro to the starting point. I would always see more than what was on the card, and would wander off the map by mistake or design, some of my favorite places were found this way. The card made a great starting and ending point and was easier to carry and follow than a large map. My first walk was through the Ile de la Cite. This is the place where Paris began in the 3rd century BC. My first full day in Paris was a beautiful sunny day. I didn't know then how few and far between pretty days would be on this trip. I mostly just walked and enjoyed the ambiance.
I had lunch at a cafe on Rue de Rivoli . It was mainly for tourists, but I sat outside and had a salade nicoise, which was very good. I love the French composed salads. They are always good and filling enough to make a meal. The Salade Nicoise was no exception. The tuna was rare and fresh, the olives were true nicoise, and the dressing was flavorful, tasting of good olive oil. I am already falling in love with the French baguette. It is chewy and the unique flavor makes you want another bite. It needs no butter.

Traveling alone has many advantages. You do exactly what you want to do, stopping when you see an interesting shop or just a place to sit and people watch. It is almost a zen experience because you only have yourself for company. You stay in your own head a lot. You also take in a lot more of what is going on around you. You are an observer. When I travel abroad with another American, I find that I mostly take in the sights, but not the fabric of life that goes on around me.
In the first Arrondissement there are many famous sights, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, etc, and you should see it all, but one thing that I would advise you not to miss, is walking along the Seine, people watching and enjoying a pretty day. You see a cross section of Paris, tourists and residents alike.
Take a lunch or snack and just sit and enjoy. Frantic sight seeing is not the way to travel. You may be able to check off a lot of famous places from your list of places to see, but you will not really "get" the place you are visiting. I feel that leaving home is about getting the feel of another place and taking part of it home with you.

My trip begins!

The big day arrived. I was flying out of Dulles airport in DC at 10:45pm on March 20th. I would arrive at Charles DE Gaulle about 11 am on the 21st. My husband and I left Blacksburg about 9am because we planned to stop in Richmond and visit his mother who is in a nursing home. I chose to fly out of DC because that was the nearest airport offering a non-stop flight to Paris. I planned to sleep on the plane and hopefully be able to get on Paris time quickly.

We arrived at the airport at 8pm with plenty of time to spare. I told Kamal to go on home because he had a long drive. I made it through security without incident and found my gate. There was a bar close by so I decided a drink would help me sleep. I ordered a bourbon and called my friend Gloria to pass the time. After that, I found a seat at the gate and began reading one of the 5 novels I brought with me. I bought used paperbacks to take with me so I could discard them as I read them, thus not having to carry many books all over France or search for English language novels. Eventually, the flight began to board and I found that I had not been assigned a window seat as requested, but a middle seat. I was determined to sleep, so I just took the window seat as if I were clueless. I very large man sat in the aisle seat, taking up more than his share, but a young male college student from Germany was our other seatmate. He seemed not to notice that I had his seat and took the middle seat without complaint. We conversed as the plane was preparing to take off, as it took off, and until reaching cruising altitude. I, then put my pillow against the window, covered myself with the blanket and tried to sleep. I have restless legs syndrome and the space for my legs was very cramped. My legs just couldn't get comfortable, so I kept moving them, trying not to be too annoying to my seatmate. An hour into the flight, I was still awake and the flight attendants began serving a meal. I decided to eat, and then try sleeping again. To make a long boring and uncomfortable night shorter, I will just say that I may have slept an hour but no more. By the time breakfast was being served, I had given up. So, I arrived at CDG sleep deprived but excited.

CDG is a large sprawling airport. It took me an hour of following signs, going up and down escalators, riding trains, and walking on moving sidewalks to get to the baggage area. I knew in a few minutes that I had brought too much luggage. My shoulders hurt, and I hadn't even picked up my checked bag. I stand in a very long line to show my passport. Finally, I reach the baggage area in a very tired haze. I wait for my bag but forget that I am looking for my husband's (Kamal) bag instead of mine so, I let it go by twice before grabbing it.

I have directions from my first host on the best way to get to their apartment. I find a place to buy an RER ticket with a credit card. I find my way to the proper gate. I ask a couple from Canada if this is the right place to get the train to Paris. They have done this before and assure me it is. In a few minutes, the train arrives, and I muscle my bags and myself on board and to a seat. I get to the Saint Michel stop and try to change trains as per Helene's directions. Somehow, in my very tired state, I end up leaving the station instead of getting to the right platform. I call Helene hoping that she will offer to come and get me or tell me it is not too far to walk, but she tells me that the only thing to do is to go back in and buy another ticket. I would take a taxi, but I have not yet exchanged my money to Euros and see no place open to do that. So,I go back down into the station, use my credit card and buy another train ticket. I try to discern which train to take, and think that I have. I jump on and begin to ride. A few minutes later I figure out that I am on the wrong train, heading out of town to Versailles. I will say in my defense that I am so tired that I can't think straight, and have forgotten all the French I learned. I get off at the next station, and find that it is not one where you can board another train but a dead end. I call Helene, and her husband Pierre answers. When he finds out where I am, he tells me to stay there and they will come and get me. I have never been so happy to hear those words in my life. Carrying all this luggage all over town, up and down stairs and escalators is hard. Add the stress of trying to navigate public transportation in a city where you don't speak the language, and it is almost worth crying over.

After getting me settled in the nice guest room at Pierre and Helene's apartment, we ride across town to a polling place that is in a district where my hosts use to live. I am surprised to see that the voting is much the same here as in the US. There are the same older ladies checking id's and the same curtains to go behind to vote.

I was delighted to go with them to their old neighborhood. We walked to the top of a hill where we could see Montemarc and Sacre Coure, a beautiful view. Helene had been instumental in starting a community garden on this hill and on this pretty spring day, there where many people tending it. Each family had a small plot and made excellent use of it. I sat down and watched the activity and was glad to be in Paris at this place and at this time.

First Post

It is May 31st and I still haven't written about my 5 week trip to France that ended April 22cd, so I had better get started.

I began planning for the trip in January. I decided to use couchsurfing.org to find people to host me during my stay. I am planning on starting a travel organizing business based on food and wine. So, I felt that staying with people who lived in the areas I was interested in traveling to would allow me to make better contacts in those areas. So, I searched couchsurfing for women over 50, since I am a woman who just turned 60. I discovered that there are 500 French women over 50 registered on the site who had a couch available for surfing. Of course, most of these had more than a couch to offer. Being a middle aged woman with a slightly impaired back, I needed a bed, at least most of the time.



I began emailing the people that I felt had something in common with me. After, a few emails back and forth with lots of very interesting French women, I found 7 hosts for 4 weeks. I would have three days in Paris, on my own, but other than that, I had a place to stay every night. I decided on staying in Paris for 6 days, 3 with a host, and three at a hotel. Then I was traveling to the Perigord area in Aquitaine. After that, I was staying in a small town near Angers in the Loire Valley. From there, I was going to another small town near Le Mans. Then, I planned to go to Marseilles, then Brignoles , then a small town in High Provence. I had arranged to stay three days with each host, except for the lady in the Perigord, where I had arranged to stay 5 nights. I was a little worried about that, because I was well aware that guests can get old in that amount of time, but I couldn't find another host in that area with whom I felt comfortable enough to stay. I was a lone woman in a foreign country staying with complete strangers, so I had to feel completely comfortable about the situation to stay with them. I do want to say that couchsurfing is not the only sight to match hosts with guests for travel, but I feel that it is the best when it comes to being able to learn enough about potential hosts to be comfortable. There is a system where travelers and hosts relate their experience with each other, and a system for members to vouch for other members. So I felt as safe as one could feel in these circumstances. I was both nervous and excited about my trip. I bought a French rail pass, and decided on March 20th as my departure date.


The first order of business was to decide what clothes to take. I knew that I had to carry everything I was taking on and off trains. buses, and subways. So I had to have what I needed but no more. I also had the added problem of not knowing what the weather would be. I looked at the average temperatures for the places I planned to visit and decided that I had to lean toward warm weather clothing with sweaters and jackets to layer. Then I had to have my net book, my phone, my adapter, my toiletries and cosmetics. and my travel guides. I settled on three pairs of shoes, a good walking shoe, a pair of heels, and nice flats. I was able to fit it all in one Samsonite carry on rolling bag and one small duffel bag. I bought a large tote bag with many pockets made by The Sharper Image to double as my purse, and my computer bag. I tried carrying all these things down stairs and down the sidewalk and felt that I could do it.


Now, all there was to do is get everything squared away at home, so I could leave without worrying about my responsibilities. I take care of my elderly parents finances, and am newly married. I knew that I had made the right choice of husbands when he was supportive of my planned trip. I didn't want him to have to eat packaged dinners and fast food, so I cooked and froze enough dinners for most of the time I would be gone. My wonderful husband was also willing to take care of my spoiled 3 pound chihuahua, so I didn't have to worry about her. I paid all my parents bills for the time I would be gone, and left my parents a checkbook for anything unexpected. I made sure I had all the addresses and phone numbers for my hosts, and felt I was ready to travel. I had also been learning French through the Rosetta Stone, and had advanced to halfway through the second level.