A Different Life II

[BassCan]

Good afternoon Maggie,
I have enjoyed reading about your travels.
Thank you for sharing.
Julie

[Lily&Me]

Thanks, folks.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Had a lovely train ride to and from Provins yesterday, a nice lunch and good walkabout, and that was about it.

Lots of red tiled roofs outside the city of Paris, farmland and some growing crops tho I know not what.

Provins looks like a town that is hundreds of years old, cobbled and quaint and charming.

Off to the flea markets today.

[DaveP]

These lunch plates pictured make my mouth water!

[Lily&Me]

Everything has been fresh and delicious, heavy on raw salads.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

We did the massive Saint Ouen flea market yesterday, walking our legs off once again.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...de_France.html

Antiques and oddities galore...

[Lily&Me]

Then made our way back to the Galerie Vivienne, to visit this bookstore there since 1826 that had been closed when we were by a couple of days ago.

My friend wanted postcards and one of those bags shown in the window...I got one, too.

Doug would have spent a long time in here.

[79nTOW]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us...a wealth of information and the pictures are great. Predeta

[Lily&Me]

Thank you, and Hi, Predeta!

We met this morning for a croissant at a bakery we have found near our respective dwellings, then took the Metro to a walking tour of Montmartre.

Where the Moulin Rouge is, and all the s-x shops...the red light district of Paris.

The tour ended at the Sacre Coeur, which is on a hill and offers expansive views of the city.

Windy and a little rain, but several more miles walked and thoroughly enjoyed.

An excellent lunch of French Onion soup, a glass of Kir and baguette. Yum.

My last day in Paris.

My friend will be here three more weeks.

I took a lot of pictures today, but they don’t want to load up from my phone so are not available just now.

We’ve had a nice dinner, my bags are packed and I will be at the airport before she is even up in the morning.

Been a wonderful trip.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Not wanting to be late, I was at CDG airport 4 1/2 hours before my flight yesterday ...tho in all fairness to myself, what I was told could be a 1hr 30min trip took about 30 minutes at 5am.

Plane to Dublin was packed, and they required I check my wheeled bag in and all the way to Chicago , which I reluctantly did.

It was snowing in Dublin when we left there, requiring de-icing of the plane and contributing to an almost 2 hour delay in leaving.

Dublin airport now has US Customs and Border Control there, so that direct flight passengers can skip the often crowded and lengthy process once you land on US soil.

I had a nice seatmate to the US, a young woman born and raised in Poland who had spent 5 years living and working in Dublin before moving a year or so ago to Berlin...where wages are higher and cost of living lower.

On her way to Chicago for some sort of work related meeting, she does IT and was very enjoyable. Her grandparents died before they shared any WWII stories with her, but our conversations got her interested in doing some research.

My suitcase was promptly disgorged upon arrival, and I was settled into a hotel not far from the airport by early evening.

I tried to sleep, and you’d think after being up almost 24 hours I would have slept like the dead, but that was not the case...tho I did get scrubbed up, and probably 5-6 hours.

An excellent included breakfast, and I am now in wait at the Amtrak station in Chicago for the last leg of my trip home.

It was a great trip.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Lunch in Montmartre on Sunday...

Scenic photos are sending a loading error message, so can’t post those but maybe once home and on WiFi they will be more cooperative.

[Lily&Me]

This is the hotel I stayed at in Paris, which was beautiful and nicely situated...chosen because of its proximity to my friends rental, and the nice discount they gave me for a 10 night stay.

https://lesjardinsdumarais.com/en/?g...SAAEgJiY_D_BwE

A cobblestoned, indoor courtyard connects the eight different buildings that make up this hotel.

There was a huge, deep bathtub, and they upgraded me to a kitchenette at no extra charge, after I asked for a room with a small refrigerator.

I would highly recommend them.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

I have just finished this book, which is excellent...

https://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Hour-S.../dp/0425283348

[Lily&Me]

More TSA at Union Station than I have ever seen before, with several dogs, randomly checking luggage for...explosives...and requiring passengers to keep all their luggage close to them on the train.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Montmartre...

[Lily&Me]

Lily is happy to be home.

[Lily&Me]

I spied this quote on another thread...

Excellent.

If it seems I am up early this morning, that would be the case, tho I have actually been out of bed 1 1/2 hours as I type....after 10 hours of mostly sleep.

[OTRA15]

Great quote . . . glad the trip worked out . . . thanks for the posts and great photos.

Welcome home!

Peter

[Lily&Me]

Thank you, Peter.

I had an appointment for the Interstate scheduled for this morning, and with rain turning to snow predicted for yesterday afternoon I picked it up late morning and got it in there so I didn’t have to drive on whatever accumulated.

Good thinking on my part, as we have this morning 4 or 5 inches of snow on the ground and temps fixin’ to steadily drop into the negative digits over the next 24 hours.

I am so pleased to have found an independent shop with an apparently skilled mechanic holding the necessary certification to work on my rig. I can speak face to face with him, relay whatever I need to and know that he is the only one who will touch it.

I am cautiously optimistic that I have found someone I can trust. A good thing.

We can hunker down inside with the wood stove the next few days while the Interstate is checked over, then hopefully make a break for it and out of here early next week when temps become more mild.

Edisto is calling...

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

The view out my front door, and Miss Lily in her favorite spot.

Yes, my wood box is empty, but I’m getting ready to fill it from the rack in the garage, then fill that rack from outside so I will be set for when it gets really cold here very soon.