I should, of course, be writing grants, but why do constructive work when I can take a few minutes and write here? Someone said that in my circumstances, I should be working about 30% of the time--I promise my employers that I am working far far more than that, but I also know the following is true. Today it is sunny and it is supposed to reach 70+ degrees, so it will be by far the nicest day so far this year. My assistant is out sick today, and of course everyone believes her. I also know that I am going to be writing most if not all the weekend to get the grants done before I leave. So, to end my (endless) rationalization, I think I can take 20 minutes to do this.
One week from today I will be on a plane to Paris, which may be my adventure of the year, if you don't count every single day of my exciting life an adventure. I am having no problem separating the two. Of course, everyone has been to Paris, and I am swamped with things I should do, see, eat, etc. Some of which I will (and have) do/done. For example, where I am staying was suggested to me by a Facebook high school classmate, and it worked out great. It is in the 10th district, and in a great spot. Of course those French people call it something else, a French word for district, but trust me, it is the 10th district. Besides, I can't say much less spell the French word. Geez, the Ugly American goes to Paris. I will try not to set back Franco-American relations too much while I am there!
The apartment is pretty cool--here is the link: http://www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_184.htm
The key to European hotels and apparently apartments is that you have to accept and embrace their smallness--it's almost a Zen type thing. If you read the site, you will see that it has about 140 sq feet of living space and splendor. I just measured my office and it is 110 square feet. But it (my office) is poorly laid out--I never know where to put the shower and the second bed. This is laid out with the precision of a ship's cabin, so it seems pretty roomy. Well, roomy might not be the word, but perhaps efficient might be a better word. It is more like a dorm room, but it is perfect for me. It says it sleeps three, but that might be a stretch. I suspect that it will only have to sleep one, and I will be fine. If someone follows me home, they can have the loft bed. It is in a neighborhood that I would not have been in had I not rented there, it is pretty convenient, and more secure than some of the less expensive places that I looked. Hey, and free WiFi--I might even post a note and a picture or two...
Ultimately, I don't plan to be there all that much. I hope to be out and about with cameras in hand taking lots of pictures and seeing parts of Paris that most tourists would not see. Yes, I will go to a museum or six, but only on really rainy days! One person told me, and I quote as best as I can, that I needed to go to the "Looov-ray" but the only really good things to see were the Mona Lisa and the statue of that guy...Which guy, I wondered? Steve? Brian? That Dave guy? He never said. He mentioned that they spent the whole afternoon, almost three hours but they could have done it (the Looov-ray) in less time had they known that all there was to see were those two things. Sigh.
I am looking forward to the trip. I want good bread, and if it results in what one of my friends once called "the dreaded bread butt" so be it. I want a real "cro-sant" (see above if you wonder where that came from) and I am guessing that I might sample French wine, but not the kind in a fancy place. I want to find a local market that sells it by the jug, and I want to go sit by the "Sane" (see above--it was a great conversation) and eat a hunk of bread, drink a bit of wine, and, of course, at least think of thee.
"Orv-wore" (see above...sigh)
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