…into the future. Not only is time slipping away without my having posted about even the first day of my trip, I started a post yesterday and the draft was eaten by the cyber-monsters that lurk in the bowels of the Internet. Now I have to start over.
So, I arrived in Paris at about 2:35PM local time. This is the way to do international travel! Getting there in the afternoon is MUCH easier on the body than arriving in the early hours. I missed the first bus from de Gaulle, owing to the fact that I needed to purchase a ticket. Thank goodness I kept 20€ from my previous trip–didn’t have to search for an ATM upon arrival. I caught the next bus and probably got into Paris proper around 3:30-3:45PM. The bus dropped me off at Place de l’Opéra, and it took me a bit to find the street I needed to be on. Once found, it was a very short distance to the Passage Jouffroy, even though the entrance is unobtrusive enough that I passed it by the first go. I entered the passage and walked to the end to find my destination, the Hotel Chopin. I’d read about it in EuroCheapo, a website devoted to helping people enjoy Europe inexpensively. It turned out to be a lovely family-run hotel, no-frills, but clean and friendly. I dropped off my baggage and set out to explore the quarter. This was the area in which I was to live for the month of July while I took my class at l’Alliance Française.
I headed out of the hotel and out the other end of the passage onto rue de la Grange Batalière. The afternoon sunlight poured gently down–warm enough to go without a sweater, but cool enough not to sweat. I turned left onto the rue du Faubourg Montmartre, and discovered A La Mère de Famille just a block away. This venerable sweet shop has been in business in Paris since 1761. Nothing really turned my head as I passed by, so I didn’t go in. I had dinner at some bistrot or other; didn’t keep the name. I was drinking in the atmosphere of the city and not paying close attention to details.
I knew I had to be at the Gare du Nord early the following morning to catch the Eurostar to Bath, England, where my friend Louise was throwing a party to celebrate her 50th birthday, so I didn’t stay out late. Even though the train station is within a reasonable walking distance from the hotel, I didn’t yet know my way around enough to guarantee I wouldn’t get lost along the way, so I arranged for a taxi pick up. I spent a restful night in my small chamber, equipped with a tiny shower and washbasin and a single bed. The window looked out over the passage, and there was virtually no noise. No air-conditioning, but the weather was mild enough to leave the window open for comfort. I slept well, got up the next morning, ate breakfast at the hotel (8€) as it was too early for the cafés to open, then made my way to the Gare du Nord. Next up — Bath and beyond.
Summer In Paris 