It was an early wake up call this morning, I had to get dressed and packed in enough time to catch my train to the airport. I said goodbye to Ada and Maria first as they headed off to school and work. Ada gave me a goodbye kiss and it was sad to see her go, I wonder if she will remember me? After a very quick breakfast Roger and I headed to the Metro station and caught a train to a major station a few stops later.
Roger walked me to the train station section, which was a very long walk I might add...all with my large backpack on my shoulders. I bought my ticket and Roger and I parted ways. He assured me to catch the 8:50 train to the Aeroport at platform 1. I waited at platform 1 for about a half hour watching as trains came and went, praying I didn't miss my train. At 8:50, sure enough a train saying Aeroport pulled up and I got on. About a half an hour later we arrived at the Airport...I was so happy to get there because it took all my energy fighting off sleep on the train.
Right off the train I had a hard time finding a Departures board with my flight on it, it was a little too early to be listed, but I found it and it said Terminal C. I will have to admit I had a very hard time finding Terminal C. There were signs pointing to Terminal C and then there we no signs. I had to wait in a long line to finally ask where I needed to go because I couldn't figure it out. Turns out I needed to go outside the airport and walk a while to get to Terminal C. No where did a sign explain that! But finally after my long walk I found my check-in counter and was able to check-in. Only when I booked my flight I didn't sign up for baggage but I wanted to check my bag. I could have probablly carried it, but its so much nicer to not have to worry about it until I get to the airport. So she informed me that I had to pay a fee, which I gladly paid so I didn't have to carry it around anymore. I made my way to my gate and sat down before we were loaded on a bus and driven to our plane. Again I sat right across from a women breast-feeding, I don't know why that always happens to me, but its like a train wreck...you don't want to watch, but you can't help but look. Just cover up lady! We took the bus to our plane and rushed inside to find our seats.
The flight went very quickly for me. I slept through almost the whole thing except the last 10 minutes before we landed. It was cloudy the whole flight so there was nothing to look at. When we landed in Paris the clouds were so think I could barely see the terminal. It was also snowing!! I was so excited to see snow on the ground and snow lightly falling from the sky. This is the first time this year I have seen snow and it was just so beautiful landing in Paris with snow falling. I went to baggage claim to collect my bag and I realized maybe the snow wasn't so great...my bag was soaking wet on the front, so I had to take a few things out to make sure they weren't ruined. Then I had to find my way into Paris. It was a bit difficult finding the shuttle bus to the metro station, but a very nice woman at the information desk helped me and gave me a nice map of the metro station along with circles stops on where I need to change trains and where my final destination was. I found the shuttle bus and once I arrived at Terminal 3, I gave Jim a call to tell him I was in Paris! He was to wait for me at his bookstore, so I purchased a train ticket and made my way down to the platform.
I was on the first train for a long time, but most of it was outside and I was able to watch the snow fall. It was great and it really put me in the mood for Christmas! As we got further into the city the snow turned to rain and it wasn't so pretty anymore. I changed trains at Guad de Nord and had to make one hell of a walk to Line 4. Once I was comfortablly on Line 4, I only had about 6 stops before Odeon. At Odeon I got off the train and walked up from the Metro station to the street. This is where I had to use my memory, Jim said his store was right around the corner, I just had to remember what corner. I could of called him of course, but I wanted to find it on my own. It took me two guesses and once I made the right turn I instantly recognized a corner of large cement posts sticking out of the ground. Four years ago, I ran into one of these as Lucas, Kate and I were walking because I wasn't paying attention. I laughed at the memory and it was great to have a sense of familiarality. I walked up the street and straight into The San Francisco Book Company, Uncle Jim's bookstore. i was immediately greeted by his employee Jim, and on my right Uncle Jim stood up behind the counter and said hello. I was able to put my heavy pack down and give Jim a hug.
I put all my things down and Jim and I headed to lunch right around the corner at a place Jim frequents for dinner after closing the store. Jim ordered a salad and a coke, I ordered a club sandwhich and of course a Coca-light. Once our food arrived Jim reminded me that I needed to eat my sandwhich with a knife and fork, none of this using your hands business. I laughed and told him I was used to it and expected to use a knife and fork. I've already eaten french fries with a knife and fork, so I'm prepared to convert. I enjoyed catching up with Jim and talking about our weekend excursion coming up and our week together next week. We talked about a few errands we needed to run today and tomorrow to prepare for our trip and I was glad to hear I have a relaxed couple of days ahead. After we finsihed Jim ordered a coffee and intended to order me hot chocolate, but I ended up getting a chocolate dessert instead. It was still delicous and I ate every last bite!
Next we went back to the bookstore to grab my bag and Jim wanted to check to see if a customer had stopped in. I grabbed my bag and we made our way to Jim's apartment. We had to switch trains once, otherwise it was an easy commute. Altough one of the trains was a bit packed and I was standing next to the doors. Each time we stopped I had to make sure my bag made it inside the doors...it was a bit tricky, but it worked out just fine. Out of the Metro station, it was a short walk to Jim's apartment right around the corner. Jim's other employee Jack was working at the apartment taking inventory of books. Jack greeted us and it was nice to meet him, he is originally from Chicago, but married a French girl and they just had a baby. Jack was going to the post office for the bookstore and offered to take my postcards with him to mail. It was a very kind offer! Jim gave me the tour of his apartment which is very nice! A lot bigger than his previous apartment and its decorated making it feel very homely. The apartment is filled with book shelves and books making it a bit of a library. Its decorated with the most unique things and a lot of antiques. The walls are filled with old posters and framed prints. My favorite is a very large antique map of the world framed above Jim's bed, its huge and so cool to look at. Jim said he had it has his bookstore in San Francisco and was able to get it all the way here. That is very impressive considering its size...it takes up the whole wall! I really like the apartment and I find myself looking around at all the interesting things.
After my tour we left to go buy a bed for me to sleep on! Jim need to buy a bed for a guest to sleep on and we made our way to a Department store right across from City Hall. On our walk to the Metro station, Jim pointed out a few things along the way. The shop where I should buy my breakfast if I like croissants (indeed I do), the canal near his home which runs from Belgium, and the Square called Plac Republic with a large statue in the middle.
We took the Metro to the department store which was very nicely decorated with Christmas decorations. Jim pointed out City Hall where we went to "White Night" 4 years ago when Annie and I visited. He also pointed to Notre Dame in the distance. The department store was filled with people and lots of things I would have loved to look at, but it was probablly best that we walked straight to the escaltor to go up. We went up and up and up, turning the corner at every floor to go up farther, it felt like forever. Finally on the top floor we walked out to the furniture and bedding. Jim walked directly over to the blow up matress he wanted and it was gigantic. Much larger than any matress I have ever slept on! Jim picked up the box and we made our way to the cash register. Then we walked over to the elevators and watched the 2 go up and down like racing horses until finally one stopped on our floor. We took it down to the basement, which happens to be the hardware section. Jim said he spends a lot of time here picking up things for the bookstore. We walked directly to the Metro station, which was attached to the Department store.
We got back to the apartment and I was able to sit and relax for a little bit while Jim went to the store. Upon his return he ran next door to put in some laundry and then we worked on getting the blow-up matress up and ready for me to sleep on. I am kind of excited, it fits perfectly between his desks and bookselves and it is up really high. We will see how it feels to sleep on. While I was on the computer Jim handed me a glass of wine, apples and cheese to snack on before dinner. Yum! We talked a bit about different things while Jim waited for the laundry to be done.
After laundry Jim made a delicious dinner of a bean salad and sausage, potatoes and carrots. It was delicious and warm! After dinner I sat for a while to relax and studied Jim's guidebook for our trip. Then I asked about a couple of books on his shelf and Jim handed me two books to look at...Paris in a basket and Paris Underground. Paris in a basket was all about the Paris Markets and Jim mentioned that we will miss his neighborhood market this week, but we thought about trying to find one on Monday to go to. Paris Underground is a rather unique book about the caves under Paris where they mined for limestone. People have gone down into the caves and painted all the walls, and the author went to take pictures of all the artwork down there. Its very unique, mostly spray painting from the '60s. It was fun to look at.
It was time for bed and I made sure my inflatable mattress had plenty of blankets to keep me warm, and it sure did!
*I want to give a very special thank you to Roger, Maria and Ada for being such amazing hosts during my stay in Barcelona! Thank you for everything you did and for making sure I was as comfortable as possible. Your hospitality is more than I could have ever asked for!
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