Tom Gastall

3/20/07 Tuesday
The first day of our trip to Paris was spent mostly on the plane: a flight over 12 hours with a stop in Houston. We flew on Continental and spent most of our time watching various permutations of CSI. Our flight landed in Charles de Gualle, where I noted a few interesting structures here and there for design. After grabbing our bags and going through customs (during which Ursula made it a point to get my passport stamped…I should also tangent here in regards to the acquisition of said passport: When my wife and I drove to get the passports, she had me drop her off and go find parking. I parked in the structure beneath the building where I dropped Ursula off and asked the parking attendants where to go for the passports. They directed me to the 8th floor. Unfortunately, the building I was in was the French consulate – where they issue FRENCH passports – and the ensuing conversation with the people at the consulate to get my act straight was pretty fucking horrendous. I eventually found the federal building and my wife across the street. Three hours later the passports were ordered.), we indulged in some high-anxiety navigation and took the train into the city. The neighborhoods outside of Paris are full of commercial buildings and dilapidated suburban housing. Graffiti covers the concrete walls that separate the trains from the towns. The most popular tagger name seems to be “Praline.”

From the train stop in Paris we take the Metro (more about the Metro later) to the Madeleine district, then walk over to the Hotel Madeleine. Our room is small with a lot of brass with a view of the shops and the street. The toilet and shower are in separate rooms – no bidet. Although the room smelled like the previous occupants spent all night smoking, we crashed almost immediately for a four-hour nap.

We awoke at 9pm from the nap and decided to go for a walk. The jet lag and general disorientation resulted in a tinge of Twilight Zone as we visited Le Champs Elysees, L’Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower… Luckily I happen to love the Twilight Zone.

*****

It seems a bit odd to write up my travel journal months later, but writing this up helps to remind me of two things: One, going to Paris not only showed me that America is NOT the center of the universe, and a lot of the America mindset choices aren’t really necessary. Two, I was actually happy in Paris because I was inspired, thinking creatively and NOT working the day job. Basically the trip triggered my brainstorming for the exit strategy, and although the idea of quitting periodically scares me shitless, this is why I’m doing it.