Yee Gads It's the Flu

I felt decent on Saturday and Sunday - jet lagged and a little 'achy' but chalked it up to just post-travel tiredness.

Monday, I made it to work by 7:30ish - distributed gifts I'd purchased for my team and macarons for every building.  Got to work on my reading folder and my signing folder and caught up on things that had happened while I was away.  My boss came by very briefly and said 'we will catch up but not today'.  Parent stuff.  He was intrigued when I shared that my hubby had started my morning with 'hey, there are $800 round trip tickets from SFO to Istanbul'.  He and his family love to travel and his helpful hint is:  find the cheapest airfare you can to the continent and then it's not all that expensive to get from place to place.  Though he said he and his family have wanted to go to Istanbul.  I was totally game - we could fly from there to Paris for a couple hundred dollars, probably - but not ready to commit.  Though it's always fun to start planning our next Paris trip!  Paris is our new Cancun, I think.  J. even said maybe next trip, we could head down to the French Riviera (beach!) for a couple days!  That would really be lovely -

We had a meeting in Oakland with our financial guy so I was planning to leave work around 2:30 to get there by 4:30 - but as the morning turned to afternoon, I realized with some trepidation 'hey, I really don't feel at all well'.  I called J. to say my instinct was to cancel going to Oakland - so I called and rescheduled.

Arrived home just after 2:30 and went to bed - and quickly realized that I had chills and a fever. Stayed huddled under blankets and slept fitfully off and on all night - skipped dinner entirely.

Realized there was no way I was going to be able to go in today - which is bad 'cuz we had a negotiations meeting scheduled.  I texted my boss to tell him 'chills and fever and tomorrow isn't likely for me to be there' - they went ahead and had the meeting and just talked language items.

I hid from the cleaning crew by staying ensconced in my room.  I'll have to change the sheets on my bed - but I'll wait until the fever part is done.

I already called in a sick for tomorrow - still some fever today.  I did finally come downstairs for a bit 'cuz my back was miserable from being in bed for so long.

So forgive the lack of pics - they are all on my computer now (well, most of them, anyway) and I do hope to get some updates done this weekend.

Though it's Easter, I have no idea what we are doing for dinner, we haven't done our taxes yet and we'll have to see -

We Skyped with B. on Sunday - he has a tear in his medial pattelar retinaculum.  His ACL & PTL are OK.  The MRI report indicated a referral to an orthopedic doctor and surgery seems likely.  He is concerned but trying hard to just stay calm until he really knows.  He said if this injury eliminates him from elite forces, then he's done - he'd rather leave the Army and go back to school and then apply at the CIA.  (!!).  That was news.

Hopefully, it's repairable and not that big of a deal.  He did also find out that he has a birth defect - his knee cap isn't completely fused - so that may be contributing to the repeated dislocations he's had.

If he has surgery, he may be able to come home for 'convalescent' leave for a bit -

More soon - the loveliness of the trip is still a bright spot in my psyche so I will try hard to get some of it posted soon.

Joy of Home

Our last day in Paris passed way too quickly.  We had agreed to spend the day each doing what we wanted - I headed to the Boutique Hotel Deville (BHV for short) - the eight story department store not too far from our hotel.  I wandered quite awhile and then decided to head back to the hotel - only on the way to the subway, (I took the subway for the first time!  So proud of myself for trying something new vs. the bus - it saved a lot of time!) I saw that on the fifth floor of the department store, there was a Starbucks so I headed back in again and trekked up the escalators for a green tea. (No black iced tea at any Starbucks in Paris - no idea why? but not available - green tea is also really good and J. tried a passion tea and enjoyed it, too).  There was also a sushi restaurant and a host of other restaurants.

The restrooms were also a highlight - pink toilet paper!  And like all bathrooms in Paris, they were immaculate.  

J. went to Notre Dame and the Louvre.  We met up for dinner and enjoyed a really great dinner at the restaurant literally steps away from our hotel - I had beef bourginon, we shared a salad, creme brulee for dessert and a nice bottle of wine.  

I think I will miss the wine most of all.  Somehow, it just doesn't feel right to have wine nightly when we're not on vacation.  

I didn't actually feel all that great on our last day - really bad sore throat, headache.  Our departure on Friday morning came too soon - and the 10 hour flight from Paris to Atlanta felt like slow torture.  It's just such a long flight in the daylight....time dragged.  We landed in Atlanta on time and made it through customs, picking up our luggage and then trucking it through to drop it off to put it back on the plane to SFO.  Thankfully, the flight to SFO was blessedly shorter and passed more quickly - thanks to watching House of Cards on the video monitor.  

H. picked us up and we trekked home.  The house was in good shape and H. did a good job keeping up with watering, etc. - our garden is going crazy and I think we have enough kale for a salad this week and may actually produce squash this year!  Fingers crossed.  Sadly, our backyard is not doing well - the grass is dying - and we're not sure if it's a sprinkler issue or disease in the grass.  J. will hopefully straighten it out this week.  

I slept fitfully with a scratchy throat that kept me watery-eyed and coughing off and on most of the night.  I'm doing OK at making it through today without a nap - barely.  It's approaching 5PM and I think I will get dinner going (Tortellini Primavera - thanks to Pioneer Woman for the idea) and likely head upstairs early tonight.  My feet are very swollen (a side effect of 15 hours on planes) and I need to put them up a bit.  Can't get any shoes on...even my sandals won't go on.  

Pictures Post Script

PS - I have pictures...really, I do.  It think 'tonight, I will post some pics'...but the night sneaks up on me and sleep beckons.

OK, it's likely the wine we consume every night with dinner.  (It's been 1/2 to 1/3 a night - they sell 1/2 or 1/3 bottles depending on the restaurant).  Tonight, we went 'all in' and shared two halves - we could have saved $4 Euros if we'd just bought a bottle up front but we like to be conservative.  The allure of being steps from our 'home' made ordering a 2nd 1/2 bottle something to consider and we finished every drop of that bottle, too!

I promise pics soon - maybe I will have more time to that tomorrow in some of our 'separate but equal' time.  Of course, my tech guru will be MIA - so we'll see.  But I will try.  The pics are on three separate devices (don't ask why - it's complicated) so we'll have to see what I can manage on my own.

Littered Bed

If a bed littered with shopping bags and remnants of macarons sprinkled around is an indication of a wonderful day, then today has been great!

J. (being perhaps the smartest man alive in addition to being the world's best husband) let me climb back into bed and curl up under the covers upon our 6:38AM awakening and go right back to sleep! The extra hour and 20 minutes of rest helped immensely!  

We headed to Disneyland Paris and arrived around noon.  We would have arrived about an hour earlier but there was some kind of security action and the train we rode was delayed a bit while they walked the tracks carefully.  Once we realized it was a possible threat, we relaxed and let them do their thing.

Of course multiple incoming trains having nowhere to go led to huge crowds and it got a bit scary at times.  The tracks were packed with people and it felt like a mob scene.  Some people resorted to using empty strollers as 'weapons' and pushed their way through to get on the trains (once they started arriving and departing normally).

The park was....well, some parts were spectacular.  The theme was 'Swing into Spring' and the park had some of the most beautiful floral decor I've ever seen.  It was also completely fitting that it was the first sunny, blue-sky day we've had here - it felt beautiful all around.  In the perfect weather, I added another lifetime Disneyland memory when I exited the restroom to hear "Surry with the Fringe On Top" and felt just so, so happy to be there.  

But...overall, I have to pronounce the experience as disappointing.  I thought Disney would create a Paris Disneyland - but they didn't.  It is an exact (mostly completely close) replica to Disneyland in Southern California.  After walking through Main Street and heading to Adventureland and being stunned at how 'same' it felt, I felt all choked up that we'd wasted a day to do this.  We are in PARIS and we're spending a day in a place that looks just like where we've spent time every five years (at least) since we were married.  J. (ever the optimist and the most perfect balance to me - he always has been and always will be) pointed out 'but this is likely the closest most of these people will ever get to America - and we have the other Disney Studios park to look at and that does look different from what we've seen before).  

There were other disappointments:  no corn dogs on Main Street.  Few other 'matching' Epicurean delights.  No New Orleans so no beignets.  And the pins....here's the thing:  I collect Disneyland pins and have for decades and I was so excited about going to Disneyland Paris thinking I would find some really unique, cool pins from the park.  Hardly any.  One rack in each store and the only thing Disneyland Paris about them was the words stamped on the card the pins were pinned into.  So, so disappointed.  Even though the back of EVERY receipt shows 'Pin Trading' as a fun activity, there were no pins to be found.  I did finally find one pin that spelled the word Paris and it has Mickey in it. That's it.  I was just so sad to realize there's nothing special about the place.  

I did mange to do a little shopping and in the end, we decided to skip the Studio park too.  Sore feet; sore hips; general disappointment and a strong desire to get 'home' before commute traffic made the train ride a(nother) crowded mob scene.

High points of the day:  discovered French macaron.  OMG - where have these delectable bits of goodness been all my life?  My sister gave me a kit to make them and I can't WAIT to get home and try it!!  They are like magic for your taste buds.  Shopping was fun and successful and I got a couple really special things to remember the Disneyland Paris visit - so that's nice.  Spring was the theme and there were a lot of really cute/pretty items that I couldn't resist.

And finally, dinner - we went to Le Souffle which is just a few steps from our hotel and it was fantastic.  Maybe it's the wine talking - but it was a wonderful meal.  And a great bottle of wine.  

Now it's time for sleep.  Tomorrow, we are going our separate ways for most of the day - we just both have things we want to do and the other doesn't and to me, that's a testament to one of the many reasons why we are together 25 years:  we let each other be and don't feel compelled to blend/merge every facet of our existence.  I'm looking forward to a day of bus riding and museum going - but not necessarily the same places J. wants to go.  We'll reconvene for dinner - 

Though disappointed in Disney, we're still madly in love with Paris.  Seriously.  To the point of thinking about living here for a few months each year.  Doesn't that sound magical?  

Fr

The web address for my blog now shows .fr instead of .com at the end - I'm pretty sure it's just 'cuz my computer is in France so it's adapting the web address to where I currently am?  I hope so.

Today, we went to L'Orangerie and D'Orsay museums and took a river cruise on the Seine.  The D'Orsay was too much for me - I vividly recalled being in all those rooms with all those paintings last year - and it was incredibly crowded.  It's Saturday - I just wasn't feeling it.

Our museum pass gets us into the reserved line which is 1/20th the length of the general admission line.  We may never 'use' the full $69 Euros we paid for each pass in terms of number of admissions, but it's worth it's weight in gold for getting us to much faster lines than those that pay to enter that day.

I walked back alone to the hotel - and J. followed not too long after.  I'm resisting the urge to nap with every ounce of my being.  He is 'resting'....and doing what he did all night that wrecked my sleep.  Snoring.

My only hope is continuing to resist the urge to nap and ending up so exhausted, I will sleep through anything.  Otherwise, it will be a repeat of last night - me awake more than not and finding myself a teeny bit grumpy upon realizing it's time to get up and I feel like I've just gotten to sleep.

We met a nice US person at breakfast this morning - he lives in Seattle and is here for part business, part vacation.  We suggested the Musee Marmottan we visited yesterday and the L'Orangerie we visited today as 'don't miss'.  And the Eiffel Tower, of course!

Tomorrow, I hope to ride some buses.  We didn't do that today (too late now - they don't run into the evenings much).

Monday is supposed to be the nicest weather we've had so far and we're heading to Disneyland Paris that day.  I'm looking forward to it but we'll see if we really stay from opening to closing - that's a long, long day even for a Disney addict like me.

We will return to D'Orsay hopefully on Tuesday when it will be less crowded.  And I want to go back to Marmottan if possible - maybe while J. heads to the Louvre.  If the D'Orsay overwhelms me, the Louvre is....well....it's just massive.  We realized we should have added 2-5 more days here in order for J. to spend as much time in the Louvre as he'd like.  Maybe next year.

Hoping my US readers are seeing this - if you are, message me so I'll know -

PS - I am taking some pics and will try to upload those later today.  Had to delete a bunch of pics which I did by emailing them to myself - so I'm being pretty selective about what pics I take in an effort to conserve space on my phone.

World Clock

Bon soir!  Greetings from The City of Lights.  We are doing well although our electronic devices have made time something to ponder.  The iPad synced to Georgia time during our brief stop in Atlanta.  The computer is still on California time.  Phones also synced to Georgia.  It's a constant head-game to figure out what time it really is. I'm relying on the World Clock app on my iPad to help me know what time it is - vs. trying to recall which device is on what time and then adding 5 or 8 hours to it.  I'm too sleepy and/or busy for math right now!

The flights were all good and we even managed to sleep a bit on the overnight leg to Paris.  Credit the sleep to champagne, wine and some kind of pear aperitif with dinner - I slept like a rock for a few hours and then dozed for a couple more.  Arrived in Paris fairly awake.  Then soon wished I was asleep.

The driver who picked us up was professional, nice and an excellent driver.  He'd have to be in Paris. I could not look out the window AT ALL lest I start to panic.  He drove crazy - cccrrraaazzzyyy.... scared me to death.  I'm not used to seeing triple digits on a speedometer and even adjusting for KPH vs. MPH, he was still going very, very fast on a freeway with periodic stop and go traffic.  All the while ALSO looking at his cell phone repeatedly to get road updates and directions to our hotel. Scariest 50 minutes of my life - but we got to the hotel safely.  He did apologize 'if my driving scared you'.  IF?  I hope we have a different driver next Friday.

No room ready.  Guess that's the norm when you get to your destination in mid-morning.  I told J. I'm ready to pay for the prior night and just tell them 'we will be super late arrival as in the next morning' to ensure we have a room upon arrival.  We meandered the neighborhood, found a nice cafe for lunch and killed as much time as we could.  Our room was ready shortly after we returned so not too bad of a wait.  Power nap revived us and we headed out for a nice dinner.

Today, we visited the Musee Marmottan - off the beaten path but so worth the effort.  Huge, huge basement with Monet painting including many of his lilies.  It was stunning - loved it!

When we left, I noticed a bus stop with a number that I'd also seen near our hotel so we decided to try it vs. the meandering multi-bus route we'd taken to get there.  A very well-dressed older lady was near the stop and she heard us pondering our location.  She offered to help - saying 'I am French so I might be able to assist'.  Perfect English with a beautiful French accent.  She was dressed stunningly - her coat was fur (real fur) - not sure it was mink?  but something - and the coat had small feathers (real bird feathers, I'm sure) sewn into the bottom.  Louis Vitton hand bag, beautiful flats. Perfect makeup and hair.  She made conversation and volunteered that she was running an errand because 'there are some things the maid cannot do'.  She said her son was 'very famous' and shared that she'd lived in the States for many years and at one time, worked in fashion on the East coast. Every ounce of my being wanted to ask politely 'may I know your name, Madame?', but I didn't. Decorum over curiosity.  (But I can't say I'm not heading back there around lunch time one day this week in the hopes of possibly seeing her again.  What an amazing lady).

Tomorrow, we are going to Musee de l'Orangerie and Musee D'Orsay.  Then a river cruise on the Seine.  Along with riding the hop on/hop off bus routes.  This year, we went with the company that has 4 routes so we will see a lot more of the city than we did last year.

Our hotel is very nice - much nicer than last year's Hotel Eugenie.  Our only complaints are the climate control in the room is not working.  When we arrived, the heat in the room was stifling. The bellman said 'the cooler doesn't work but we thought it would be OK because it's so cold'.  Yes, it's very cold - but not inside.  We've been managing by periodically opening the window to let some fresh air in.  We both slept on top of our beds most of the night since the covers are thick duvets. Maybe the French are just cooler in general than we are?  It's fine - and the location and staff more than make up for the inconvenience of not having AC.  The staff are warm, friendly, helpful and kind - also a huge departure from last year's experience.

This evening, we dined at l'Absinthe - it was stellar.  The French know how to eat - we had three courses and while they seemed very small by American standards, they were spectacularly prepared with all kinds of nuances that are so missing in American food.  There were always surprises in each course - from the lollipop like candy squares and chocolate 'crust' that accompanied my caramel ice cream and cream puffs (all from scratch!) to the delicious butter nut squash with the seeds as a garnish.  Seeds so perfectly crisped!  Amazing!  It was wonderful.  My only gripe was the waiter kept us waiting a long time after we'd finished to bring us the check - and he offered 'free' water to the French couple next to us (mother and son, I think - she took our picture with J.'s phone) and brought us Evian at 9 Euros a bottle.

The perfection in the portions is we ate three courses but don't feel miserable.  We feel satisfied but not stuffed.  It's wonderful to experience food this way - perfectly prepared and gorgeously presented.

Time for sleep.  We want to get an early start and hopefully ride one of the bus lines before hitting the museums.  We've decided to skip Versailles - planned for Tuesday - because we saw it last year and J. really wants more time at The Louvre.

Sweet Son #2

The drive from Tracy to SFO is long.  Through Tracy to 205 then to 580 West.  Merging into 238 then 880 south.  92 West over the San Mateo bridge - white knuckling with the 'high wind' warnings flashing on the bridge entry and the small white caps in the bay.  Then 101 North and finally, to the hotel where we're spending the night.

Son #2's sweet, handsome face in my rear view mirror - with his cool dark glasses (that he got before he went to Rome) and his Sharks hat with my headphones on his ears.  I threatened his life if he was to forget to give them back to me  - they are Bose noise cancelling headphones and they will make the 11 hour flight from Atlanta to Paris pass without me ending up feeling like my head has been jack hammered for that length of time.  He didn't forget.  He bagged them in the bag and made sure they were near my purse - then he helped his dad unload the suitcases and get us checked in while I parked the car.

The traffic on the other side of all the freeways was horribly backed up - every single road appearing to be bumper to bumper.  We tried to get him to stay here and have dinner with us to give the traffic time to unwind a bit - but he's anxious to head home for time alone.  Or not.  Reasonably sure he's having some action (say it ax-she-own) this week - as is expected.  The 'she' in the pronunciation is pun intended.  And other friends, too.  I reminded him there are a lot of red Solo cups already in the garage so no need to procure more.

He drove my car home and I reminded him repeatedly to be careful.  No texting.  No calls.

We walked back down to the lobby where J. and I headed into the restaurant to grab some dinner.  It was after 6PM and very late for me to eat -

Hugged that boy within an inch of his life as he set off towards home - sure he's ecstatic for some non-parental time while also knowing he will be lonely a bit.  It's good for him to work through being alone - it's important to learn to just be 'still' within yourself now and then.  We think (fingers and toes crossed) that he has a job starting sometime this week - so we'll see how that goes.  It's restocking merchandise of all kinds in various stores - so the hours vary and there's time to get to/from the location that is in his own personal car.  Don't think they reimburse for mileage though they do get some kind of 'pay' for longer drives to/from.  It's a job so we're not going to over-analyze at this point.

My blueberry martini and J.'s margarita were excellent but the food was so-so.  Not horrible.  Just not great.  We ate it anyway 'cuz we have no car and nowhere else to go.

When we got back to the room after dinner, I found this on the desk:

That is H. speak for 'Love you, Momma'.  It's the way he and his brother always spell Momma.  It's our thing.

We Skyped with Son #1 also which was a perfect ending to the day - 

We're getting ready to call it a night - up early tomorrow to get to the airport by 7AM - luckily, it's only 10 minutes away so it should be a fairly easy morning.  Then long, long flights - first to Atlanta and then a 3PM (Atlanta time) departure for Paris.  

Next time I update, we will be at the Mayfair Hotel in Paris.  Unless I splurge for an hour of Wi-fi on the plane which could happen....

B. is envious that our flights give us unlimited beverages of any kind.  He said if he had that, he'd be out like a light (sleeping) in short order.  Maybe I should consider it 'cuz I dread the whole not sleeping a wink for 11 hours and being awake for close to 24 by the time we get there - but I'm averse to hangovers.  :-)