Last Minute Preparations

Less than three days to go and I am STILL frantically trying to get ready. My sister suggests that I "breathe deeply and go to your quiet place." These are just some of the tasks I did today:

• ironed a blouse (no, it's not going to Paris but I want it ironed the next time I pull it out of the closet--God, I'm obsessive...)


• checked the movie listings (so many I want to see before I leave and the matinees before noon are only $5)


• typed up destination information (Paris apartment address and phone number) to place in the inside of my luggage (printed the Houston destination for March 8th on the backside so I can flip the piece of paper on the return trip--definitely obsessive...but clever..)


• bolted down a quick breakfast


• did a test run of packing the carry-on bag


• decided what to wear on the plane (heaviest shoes, sweater, etc.)


• registered my trip with the US Embassy (https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/)


• sorted through the clothes I had selected to take--eliminated many items (a good thing)--and packed 90% of the two suitcases


• went to see the 10:15 matinee, "We are Marshall" (have puffy eyes now)


• stopped at Wal-Mart (contact solution, crossword puzzle books for the plane ride, power bars)


• dropped off dry cleaning


• asked Cincular to suspend my cell phone coverage for ten weeks--no dice


• called the bank and credit card companies to mark my records for the trip to France (fraud purposes) (CitiBank charges a 3% fee on European transactions so it won't get used...)


• gave Lightening (our on-site attendent) instructions for while I'm gone plus my house, car and mailbox keys


• ate a sandwich


• confirmed my flights and changed my seats


• created business cards (for use as luggage tags)


• wrote a letter to my condo association complaining about the increased maintenance fees for 2007


• determined the amount of money to transfer to my checking account for all the automatic bill-paying while I'm gone and cash withdrawals from the Paris ATMs (called D.A.B.--day-ah-bay in France).

There is still plenty to do. Clean (I want to return to a vacummed home in March); more packing; phone calls; check multiple lists; hair appointment; another movie, I hope; arrange transportation to the airport; write in Karlee's journal (about my visit to LA for Christmas); more paperwork; make a bank deposit; etc., etc., etc. Ready or not, New Year's Eve will be here before I know it. I noticed that I bought my plane ticket in April so why do I still have so many things to wrap up??

Next time I write--it will be from Paris!! Happy New Year! (I can't remember how to say that en francais...) PS - the princess got a scooter for Christmas!

Why Paris?

Place de la Concorde (compliments of Sam Pflughoeft September 2006)

Some places just “grab” you and Paris grabbed me when I first visited her in 1993. (Paris is a lady, you know…) She has welcomed me many times (this will be my seventh visit) and my fascination with her hasn’t changed. Paris reveals her seemingly infinite magnitude—her wide boulevards, her considerable lawns, her massive monuments—as well as her quiet intimacy—unique neighborhoods and side streets, quaint cafes, and the petit markets. I can’t get enough of her beautiful buildings, her cathedrals, her cute little shops, and the mystery of her language. (BTW, I have not misspelled petit in the above sentence. The word for “market” en francais is masculine; thus, the final ‘e’ is absent. FYI, I will italicize all French words that slip into this blog.)

Speaking of the language—several years ago I resumed the study of this beautiful (to me) tongue and chose this as my tool to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s—we hope…. I attended a series of adult education classes and was pleasantly surprised at how much of the vocabulary I remembered from three years of high school French, which we all know was eons ago! Currently, I can “get by” when traveling in France but am anxious to immerse myself in the culture and learn how to understand the response to, “Ou sont les toilettes?” Myrtille, my Parisian tutor, is going to make sure that I do!

I am almost ready… Obviously, I am anxious—both “eager” and “apprehensive”, opposing definitions of the word per Webster! (My mom said, “I hope you don’t get mugged” to which I replied, “My chances of THAT are more likely in Houston than in Paris!”)

Soon I begin another interesting chapter in my biography; who knew it would all come to pass? What place “grabs” you?

Looking Forward To...

Ahhh, you can never see it too many times!

Nor this, the Louvre.

These photos were taken by my sister, Sam Pflughoeft, when we visited Paris in September 2006.

Getting Ready for Paris

I leave in six weeks and there is much to do to get ready to go. Setting up this blog and my laptop has been a major head-scratcher (but then I’m not the most technical person to ever set fingers on a computer keyboard.)
Packing is another major task and one for which I have much experience. For example, I keep a special five-drawer container holding a collection of travel accessories—currency converter, journals, travel alarm, first aid kit, toiletries, etc.—to remind me of what to pack; containers with clothes I consider when packing for Europe; plus many, many lists and journals reminding me of past packing experiences.
Yet, for this trip, my mind must adjust to living in Paris, not vacationing. In other words, when traveling from place to place, I never pack jeans—too heavy, plus they don’t have time to dry after laundering. This time I will be staying in one apartment for the entire time and I have a combination washer-dryer. I also want to look a little more dressed up and less like a tourist so I am going through my (former) business clothes to see what’s appropriate (and what fits!). This will be the first time in 15+ years that I will be experiencing cold and rainy weather—much like Seattle—so this requires decisions about which coat(s), scarves, hats, gloves to take. Do I have any comfortable, warm shoes that might be a little dressier? Which suitcase(s) will I take? How do I carry the laptop? Do I need to take any toiletries or shall I just wait until I arrive and go shopping? See what I mean??I have also been studying the French language (more about this later) and reading books to prepare for living among the French: Au Contraire; Figuring Out the French; Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong; C’est la Vie; The Arrogance of the French; Culture Shock; Paris Was a Woman; etc. (And people wonder what I do all day…)

I'm going to Paris!

I leave for 10 weeks in Paris on New Year's Eve.
And obviously, I'm tres exited! The apartment is rented; I'm pondering what to pack; should I take a French class or hire a tutor? Sooo, there are many things to do and I must get busy... More later!

Photo taken by mon amie, Mary Collins, when we visited Paris in September 2005.