THE TRAIN FROM PARIS TO ZURICH, 12 DAYS AGO

Chaos on the train.  No space for luggage at the end
of the corridor that I can see, so I have to wheel my
two very heavy cases down the aisle, one in front and
one behind, and then they have to go up on to the rack 
above our heads, which doesn't look nearly wide 
enough.  Thankfully, I am sitting with an enormous 
Indian family, and the gracious father helps put the 
cases up on the rack - they are so heavy, I apologize 
and feel foolish and want to explain that it's only 
because I'm away for 6 months, and I had to pack for 
2 seasons and 4 different climates….I am happy to 
be with this family, cozy in the corner with my 2 
chocolate bars and my huge bottle of water -
WAIT!! WHERE'S THE LOO??  Oh, it's just behind
me. 
The taxi ride to the station, Gare de Lyons, is totally 
hairy, with a mad driver who clips a cyclist on the 
hand, or maybe it was just the handlebar - I hope it
was just the handlebar - and then she is racing to
catch up to scream at him, and he is trying to get 
away from her, but having to stop at red lights, and
I'm sitting in the back seat just praying that no matter 
what I would not miss my train.  Cars and motorbikes 
are cutting in and honking, and the driver is asking 
me things that I don't understand; a true test of 
bilingualism: talking to a taxi driver who is clearly 
not from Paris himself.   
In the station, thank God Marie told me about the
two stations, the old Lyons and the new one - 
because the notice board doesn't even announce 
the track until 20 minutes before departure, and if
I hadn't known to be in the new Lyons, I would have 
been running.  Everyone is rushing to get on the 
train, and there is a massive group of students who 
are blocking the way with their luggage and their 
iPhones and their excitement.  When I get on the 
train, I know that I'm looking for seat number 17.
But the seat numbers begin at 65, and I'm thinking 
that maybe I will have to get all the way down to
the other end of the train with my two heavy cases 
and two shoulder bags.  The numbers jump quickly, 
though, and now here I am watching other people 
rush for their seats, feeling smug.  When the 
conductor comes to ask for tickets, the father of
the big family shows him all the separate tickets,
and indicates where everyone is sitting, spread 
out over several seats, and the conductor doesn't
even see me - and the mother says to me, You're
part of the family.
Oh!  The train has started!  Goodbye Paris…

MORE IMAGES OF PARIS

I have been in Kusnacht for over a week, and still
haven't posted photos of Paris that I really love, so
will do that now.  Here goes….

I couldn't wait to get out and walk along the Seine.  They have created "beaches", you can see them
on the right bank, La Rive Droite, where people lie on lounge chairs in bathing suits as though they are actually on a beach.  It's a bit bizarre, but in a chic Parisien way.

The Conciergerie, a former prison, now the Palais de Justice - the Paris law courts.  It has a violent history; after being the seat of kings in medieval times, it then became a prison, with prisoners treated according to their wealth.  The poorest were confined in dark "oubliettes", where they would literally be forgotten and left to die. In the late 1700's, during the Reign of Terror, this was the last stop for nearly 2,600 prisoners before the guillotine, including famously, Marie Antoinette.

The famous Louvre Pyramid - the large one surrounded by three smaller ones.  The architect designed, among other building, Place Ville Marie in Montreal, and was engineered by a Montrealer along with a Parisien.  On either side you can see the wings of the Louvre, which I didn't enter.  There were just too many tourists, and I didn't feel I had the time I needed to really sink into all that famous and glorious art.

I didn't realize until after I had taken this photo that I had also got that sweet couple walking hand in hand as a part of it!  It seems like a perfect Paris picture with them as the centrepoint.

I didn't even try to get into Notre Dame - the line up was far too long,
and I knew I would be distracted by all the people, and the frenzied
whispering, and the guided tours, and the people taking photos with
flashes even though they're told not to.  I was sorry not to see those
glorious rose windows from the inside, though.

Boulevard St. Germain, on the Rive Gauche, the famous
Left Bank of Paris, and home to so many artists and writers
in the early 1900's: Matisse, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and
Jean Paul Sartre.  It holds a mystique, still, of bohemianism
and artists starving away in garrets, of subversion and counterculture.

Loved this sign…. 

And this golden angel on top of the Paris Opera House...

Notre Dame from the bridge - love the spires reaching
up toward heaven.

My last morning, just an ordinary day on any old street
in Paris, but meaningful to me as my last one in this
gorgeous, crowded, busy city.

And now, on to Switzerland…..Here I Am!!

EN ROUTE, AND ARRIVING IN PARIS

To get from where I was in England to 
Paris, I had to navigate two train rides, 
a taxi ride from one London station to 
another, and two much-too-heavy 
suitcases.  I had a great cabby, a typical 
Londoner - he told me he'd lived there
all his life, in a great Cockney accent.  He 
kept saying, "It's a tough old town."  He 
told me that it has changed a lot, and that 
it really is quite rough now.  He lives alone 
in an apartment, and would really like to 
get himself a small bungalow out of town, 
but can't see how to manage it.  He heaved 
my cases in and out of the taxi without 
even a grunt, and was very pleased when 
I gave him a decent tip.  I like to think he
will be able to get that little bungalow
one of these days.

I had decided that I would skip London, just
because it seemed like such a lot of work, 
finding a place to stay and hauling my cases
around, and really not a lot of time - and on
one hand I was glad I made that choice.  I
was excited to get on to Paris.  But on the
other hand, once I was in that taxi I realized
I would love to spend some time in London,
and explore the different neighbourhoods
and perhaps see some shows, ride the 
Underground, and visit the British Museum.
I will just have to go back!!

The only photo I took in London, from the back
seat of the taxi, arriving at St. Pancras station.

The train from London to Paris was really 
fast - I think it only took 2 1/2 hours.
I was dreading the tunnel under the Channel,
(also known as The Chunnel) but on the 
approach, we had been in and out of several 
tunnels, so when we got to the
long one, I didn't realize that's where we
were - which is just as well.  There's something
a little creepy about being 150 feet under the
sea bed, with I don't know how many tons of 
water on top of you.  It only took 20 minutes!
The only way I knew we had been through it
was the shrieking teenage French girls who
cheered and said, "Nous sommes a la France!"
I don't know if they hated England, and had
been forced to go on a school trip, or if they
were just glad to be home.  Or both.

My Parisienne friend Marie met me at the
Gare du Nord, where her granddaughter 
was also arriving to stay.  We took a 
taxi to her home in Montmartre, and she
welcomed me with such excitement and
pleasure - I have been so moved by how
people have opened their homes to me,
and the really great visits I have had.
The first night, we went out for dinner
(mais oui!! what else to do in Paris??)
and then we went for a walk along the
Champs Elysees - which was really
packed with tourists.  But it was such 
fun to walk the long street, ending up
at l'Arc de Triomphe…

Here we are, Marie and I, on the Champs Elysees!!
Photo courtesy of Iris, Marie's granddaughter.

Grand-mere and Iris!

I took this in the middle of the street, while crossing - not
a really smart thing to do in Paris - mad drivers!!!!
And I mean crazy, not angry!!

I have so many photos from Paris - which is
a city I really loved!  It's funny how there
are certain places where you feel immediately
at home, relaxed.  Even though it is such a
noisy, busy city, I loved the feel of it.  It 
is somewhere else that I would love to live
for some time.  I mean, look at these….

This is the Sacree Couer, in Montmartre.  We took a funicular
up a very steep hillside to get to it, and it was, as you can see,
packed with tourists.  We lined up to get in and walk around - but
my favourite part was sitting in silence and meditating on … the Mystery.
There were too many people for the place to have that deep silent sacred
feel to it, and I was disappointed.

These were just some of the stairs going down!!

OK, I think that's it for Day 1 in Paris….more to 
come!

P.S.

This is NOT where I stayed, but I did visit it.  This belongs to a family of 6 - parents and 4 kids.  Oh, and a new puppy.

LAST FEW DAYS IN ENGLAND

I promised not to reveal the location of these photos, but this is the North Sea.  I put my feet in it, and it
wasn't as cold as I thought it would be!  I almost could have gone swimming.

I took this photo as I was leaving, because I thought it was a perfect image of a typical English village.

Curious, but very shy….

Not so shy - and check out those eyelashes!

TINTERN ABBEY

On our way home from Bath, we stopped at
Tintern Abbey which is in Wales, a medieval
Cistercian church by the River Wye.  The
river forms one of the borders between Wales
and England.  The Abbey was surrendered to
King Henry VIII, with his Dissolution of the
Monasteries act, all the goodies were taken
from it, and it was left to decay.  Two hundred
years passed before its beauty and value began
to be appreciated again, and in early 1900 it
was recognized as a monument of importance,
and repair work began.  I was actually stunned
by its beauty, especially in the early evening
light, and moved by its endurance and strong
presence.
Oh yes, and apparently in 1967 Allan Ginsburg
dropped acid at the site, and wrote his poem
Wales Visitation.  And of course there is the
famous poem by Wordsworth, very long, 
called Lines Written A Few Miles Above
Tintern Abbey.  Not acid-inspired.

(When I published this post, for some reason 
one of the photos appeared 3 or 4 times - and
I can't get rid of them!!  Julia!!???  Help!!??)

--That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures….
- Wordsworth

And I have felt
a presence that disturbs me with the joy
of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
of something far more deeply interfused…
- Wordsworth

Therefore let the moon
Shine on thee in thy solitary walk;
And let the misty mountain winds be free
To blow against thee…
- Wordsworth

No imperfection in the budded mountain
Valleys breathe, heaven and earth move together…
Grass shimmers green…
Fall on the ground, O great Wetness, O Mother, No harm on your body!…
- Ginsburg