Sister pays me a visit

So Last weekend I had the opportunity of showing Kristina and Jon France…er…or part of it. It was a very long couple of days and I think this post will be a long one, just to get it all in there. So disclaimer ahead of time; if you don’t like my writing….first, why are you on here? Second, quit before you start.

Okay So Saturday my alarm went off at a very early 4:30 a.m. I got ready for the day, did some packing, and headed out to the train to catch my 8 a.m. train. Or so I thought. I got there and other than being a little tired, was filled with excitement, until I saw the board of departures saying “Paris Montparnasse-retard indetermine” le sigh. So I sat…and sat…and about 20 minutes went by and the screen changes to “Supprimer” le grande sigh. A very irritated crowd of travelers trying to head to Paris headed instead to the SNCF desk where the manager gave us all little vouchers of connecting trains we could take to get there. Ugh. I followed a French woman and got on a train to Tours. About 20 of us stood in the baggage cabin for the hour train ride to Tours, from there we went to St. Pierre des corps, which again was standing in the baggage area. Finally we got on the train that would take us to Montparnasse, and this time I got to sit first class, so that was nice…but not worth the other stress. A few minutes into the first voyage I heard a woman speak weird English with a French man…they were discussing Paris, and more importantly, the Pere Lachaise cemetery. I couldn’t help but speak to her at this point because a-I had been there, and b-she was speaking English..even if broken and strange. They both seemed shocked I wasn’t French which was quite funny for me, and both took my advice on buying the map of the cemetery before heading in and getting very lost. The woman was actually from Sweden, and didn’t speak a word of French, she was very nice and stayed close to me the rest of the way to paris, cuz’ ‘I looked like I knew what I was doing’ haha. Looking like it, and actually knowing are two different things sweetheart.

Okay, soooo after that whole mess was cleared up, I got to the station, and it was just about 11a.m. I texted Jon only to find out him and Krissy were still at CDG trying to figure out the RER system. Le sigh. Instead of venturing out and screwing up our meeting place plans, I grabbed a starbucks, and settled on a bench outside with my book. We have been having amazing weather lately and so it was nice to just relax with a book and some coffee while soaking up the sun.

They eventually found the right train, and met me at the station, where I greeted them with a very large “HIIIII” and some hugs. From here we went to our hotel and were too early to check in, so we wandered the Montparnasse area for a few hours, got some sandwhiches and eventually checked in. The day was spent on different metros, walking around the outsides of different buildings, and for me, repeating all of the things I had seen before in Paris. Oh well. 

We had dinner at a cute Italian restaurant very close to the Eiffel tower, and the waitstaff was NICE. How?! The food was great, and Jon and I split some tiramisu which was divine. =) When we were leaving our waiter told me “vous avez des beaux yeux” and I laughed, but said thank you. He then proceeded to tell me, that it wasn’t him who originally thought it but that his shy waiter friend thinks I have beautiful eyes and a nice mouth…okay gettin’ slightly creepy now Pierre. Check please.

We ended our night at the Eiffel Tower, watching it sparkle in all its grandeur, eating French candies, and me being slightly slaphappy. It had been a long day, cut a girl a break.

Sunday we woke up fairly early and got on our train to Angers. The weather started getting gloomy the closer we got and I was a little sad that our hot, blue skies would only be in Paris, but c’est la vie, n’est-ce pas? Okay. So once in Angers, we went to my house and did some introductions, of which Chantal doesn’t speak English and they don’t know French…so not much was said. I took them to Carrefour to get some random things for the day (groceries) and to a patisserie for a baguette. (open on Sunday! For once!)

When we returned, Nikki was over, and my group of three quickly became 5 when Liana decided to join us for the day as well. We had lunch at Mcdoner(of course) toured the Chateau, saw the Cathedral, the Jardin des plantes, the jardin du mail, and finally school. After this we went home to relax and talk on the balcony. We ended our evening in that same spot, but not before eating take out pasta for dinner; which I have so say Jon and Krissy were skeptical about at first, but Jon at least was impressed with how delicious it really is.

Monday morning I woke up feeling like hell to put it nicely, but I walked Jon and Kristina to the train station, and waited with them until their train arrived. I sent them off with some Pain au chocolat, some French cidre, and the promise of seeing them in just a few weeks. 

Highlights of the trip:

-navigating different train stations all by my lonesome. (ugh)

-I have NO sense of direction, cannot read maps to save my life, and Kristina and Jon still put me in charge of locating everything. It’s a good thing my French is up to par, and paris is filled with shops and hotels that I could ask directions from. Thank you kind French strangers. Ugh.

-the arc de triomphe does NOT get easier to climb the second time around.

-wearing dark jeans when it’s 80* + outside, in Paris, has to be one of my dumbest ideas yet.

-When slaphappy I talk like a Swedish yooper. <<according to Jon

-Jon thinks I know too much about French history, but they were both thankful that I could tell them interesting/random facts about different places that we visited.

-Finally got to see the outside of le Centre Pompidou…and it is just as weird as everyone told me.

-When you’ve been to a big city once, and seen things…coming back to those things feels weird, but a good weird. Difficult to explain.

-Kristina telling me I’m going to get stung cuz I’m too close to a bee was worth the great picture I got out of it.

-While I love Angers, I’m not sure my sister n Jon felt the same

-I am thoroughly glad to have places where people know me, friends that will miss me, and a city that is big enough to keep my restlessness at a minimum…too bad it is all ending soon, but as with all wonderful things, it must end for something else to start.

-Angers at 5 am on a Monday morning is calm, quiet, and slightly chilly. It’s also beautiful, and if you haven’t seen the sun rise while walking home, I suggest you do it.now.