Jessica, Sept 9 / 10 2010: JK and I awoke suddenly. It is about 5:00 am and we've been wide awake for maybe 45 minutes. Like, awake. He is reading The Golden Spruce and I am taking a break from The Lacuna to write these words.
We flew from Calgary to Montreal to Paris, arriving at 8:30 am Paris time, September 9. Took the train from airport to city centre - Gare de Lyon - had moule et frites and wine for me and beer for him on the patio of a bistro.
Paris, at first and limited glance, was underwhelming. It could have been Montreal, or a district in New York or London. Was jet-lagged and confined to a small area, of course, waiting for our train in the centre of town. But a lot is the same. The grass is the same mottled green and brown as back home; there are construction cranes and freeways and grafitti ... there are more motorcyles and mopeds, which I think is nice.
Anyway, 11:43 am train to Marseille - here is my exotic, stunning landscape.
Hidden behind a McDonald's (yuck - same, same - we are globally same-d), next to the train station, there was a steep valley of densely knit and wildly colourful row-homes. Thin, faded, elegant; they lean and melt together, and into shops, street signs, the pedestrians below. In the distance, a mountain with a castle or a church or something atop. Lovely. We stopped and stared down on it all.
Then, Nice. On the train from 2:15 pm to 8:30 pm. Sleep is uncomfortable.
Wake to see palm trees, yachts, the lights of Cannes in the dark.
In Nice we immediately find a small grocery store and buy 2 bottles of wine, 3 bottles of beer, cheese (a big brick, creamy and amazing, for only 2 Euros!), spicy salami, olive tapenade, fresh crusty bread and salade.
Ordered French Onion soup from room service - it was so good! Sweet, buttery .... mmm, soup. We ate and drank in our room, exhausted and elated. Very satisfying first night, fall dead asleep.
Awoke abruptly at 4:30 am. Jet-lag like never before. We are 8 hours ahead of Calgary time. So we picked up our books, snuggled together in this enormous bed and cracked open a drink.
"Wine and beer in bed at five o'clock in the morning," says JK, "If that doesn't say 'honeymoon' I don't know what does."
We have banned all talk of climate change and/or armeggedon. I don't even care if I spell it right.
We have one month of peace.
We are staying at the Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice, right on the Promenade Des Anglais, overlooking the sea. It is the first night of our honeymoon!
We flew from Calgary to Montreal to Paris, arriving at 8:30 am Paris time, September 9. Took the train from airport to city centre - Gare de Lyon - had moule et frites and wine for me and beer for him on the patio of a bistro.
Paris, at first and limited glance, was underwhelming. It could have been Montreal, or a district in New York or London. Was jet-lagged and confined to a small area, of course, waiting for our train in the centre of town. But a lot is the same. The grass is the same mottled green and brown as back home; there are construction cranes and freeways and grafitti ... there are more motorcyles and mopeds, which I think is nice.
Anyway, 11:43 am train to Marseille - here is my exotic, stunning landscape.
Hidden behind a McDonald's (yuck - same, same - we are globally same-d), next to the train station, there was a steep valley of densely knit and wildly colourful row-homes. Thin, faded, elegant; they lean and melt together, and into shops, street signs, the pedestrians below. In the distance, a mountain with a castle or a church or something atop. Lovely. We stopped and stared down on it all.Then, Nice. On the train from 2:15 pm to 8:30 pm. Sleep is uncomfortable.
Wake to see palm trees, yachts, the lights of Cannes in the dark.
In Nice we immediately find a small grocery store and buy 2 bottles of wine, 3 bottles of beer, cheese (a big brick, creamy and amazing, for only 2 Euros!), spicy salami, olive tapenade, fresh crusty bread and salade.
Ordered French Onion soup from room service - it was so good! Sweet, buttery .... mmm, soup. We ate and drank in our room, exhausted and elated. Very satisfying first night, fall dead asleep.
Awoke abruptly at 4:30 am. Jet-lag like never before. We are 8 hours ahead of Calgary time. So we picked up our books, snuggled together in this enormous bed and cracked open a drink.
"Wine and beer in bed at five o'clock in the morning," says JK, "If that doesn't say 'honeymoon' I don't know what does."
We have banned all talk of climate change and/or armeggedon. I don't even care if I spell it right.
We have one month of peace.
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