The heat has not abated.
We did stay up to midnight last night and woke up with the rhythm of the building that we are staying in.
I love listening to our neighbors. Actually, I can't help it. The windows all face each other and there is barely any privacy. Due to the heat, all windows are open - there are no bugs, so there isn't even a screen between you and your neighbor's curtains. Anyway, people come home and discuss their day in very animated French. They start setting the dinner table around 8pm and are finishing the dishes around 10pm. Maybe it's the arrondissement we are in, but there are babies and toddlers EVERYWHERE. All fabulously dressed, I might add. I haven't seen as many school-age kids, because the schools are still in session for another week or so.
So after several morning naps to complement our night's sleep, we decide to brave the Metro system and head into the heart of Paris. Our plan is to take the C line down to the Notre Dame stop and just work our way back. Maybe take the Seine boat tour as well. It is a short walk to the RER line and as we leave the flat, literally, the moment we leave the building, this huge wind storm descends. People are scurrying to secure windows and everyone steps outside to look up at the sky. Trees release their own clouds of pollen billowing and filling the air with golden fuzzies, ans suddenly everyone is wiping tears from their eyes as we try to dislodge the bits of tree duff.
Do we still want to go downtown? Heck yeah! We need to walk several blocks to the station. As we cross the Seine, the first fat drops fall at us horizontally. We take cover in the station and try to understand - everything - the signs - the maps. We thought we had it understood before we got there, but now it is confusing. Lightning begins, closely followed by thunder, bringing balance back to the atmosphere. And now we notice that people are coming into the station milling about and then leaving. We find a monitor that has something posted. When someone asks ME a question, I reply with my "jensepa francais" and he immediately switches into English. Sweet. It turns out that the line has had an electrical malfunction and won't be fixed until 9pm that night. It is absolutely pouring in great undulating sheets of rain. Cute French guy who speaks English tries to convince us that we should take a combination of two other kinds of trains to get downtown, but that seems a bit dicey for our limited skills. He darts out into the rain and we wait awhile for it to slacken. When it does, we take a wet stroll back through our neighborhood to our flat. A little disappointed, but still happy.
The kids release us from parental duty if we promise to bring them back some food. So Ken and I stopped at a brasserie for a while then went to the market to obtain food for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. When we get home, I find that I absolutely have to sleep now. I don't know if it's jet lag finally leaving my body, or simply that my body needs rest to get rid of my cold. I tumble into bed at 10pm and sleep for 12 hours straight.
We did stay up to midnight last night and woke up with the rhythm of the building that we are staying in.
I love listening to our neighbors. Actually, I can't help it. The windows all face each other and there is barely any privacy. Due to the heat, all windows are open - there are no bugs, so there isn't even a screen between you and your neighbor's curtains. Anyway, people come home and discuss their day in very animated French. They start setting the dinner table around 8pm and are finishing the dishes around 10pm. Maybe it's the arrondissement we are in, but there are babies and toddlers EVERYWHERE. All fabulously dressed, I might add. I haven't seen as many school-age kids, because the schools are still in session for another week or so.
So after several morning naps to complement our night's sleep, we decide to brave the Metro system and head into the heart of Paris. Our plan is to take the C line down to the Notre Dame stop and just work our way back. Maybe take the Seine boat tour as well. It is a short walk to the RER line and as we leave the flat, literally, the moment we leave the building, this huge wind storm descends. People are scurrying to secure windows and everyone steps outside to look up at the sky. Trees release their own clouds of pollen billowing and filling the air with golden fuzzies, ans suddenly everyone is wiping tears from their eyes as we try to dislodge the bits of tree duff.
Do we still want to go downtown? Heck yeah! We need to walk several blocks to the station. As we cross the Seine, the first fat drops fall at us horizontally. We take cover in the station and try to understand - everything - the signs - the maps. We thought we had it understood before we got there, but now it is confusing. Lightning begins, closely followed by thunder, bringing balance back to the atmosphere. And now we notice that people are coming into the station milling about and then leaving. We find a monitor that has something posted. When someone asks ME a question, I reply with my "jensepa francais" and he immediately switches into English. Sweet. It turns out that the line has had an electrical malfunction and won't be fixed until 9pm that night. It is absolutely pouring in great undulating sheets of rain. Cute French guy who speaks English tries to convince us that we should take a combination of two other kinds of trains to get downtown, but that seems a bit dicey for our limited skills. He darts out into the rain and we wait awhile for it to slacken. When it does, we take a wet stroll back through our neighborhood to our flat. A little disappointed, but still happy.
Waiting out the rain.
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