Well, here I am back in the good old USA (in Paris) and eating a hamburger and french fries thanks to those great Marriott boys. I have an early flight out tomorrow morning….7:30 am to be exact, so I booked myself in at the Marriott Charles de Gualle. No surprises, no language barriers, no winding staircases to negotiate with my luggage….HA!! I will need to be up at about 4:00 am to begin my long journey back to the “real” USA. As I mentioned in another post, I signed up for Business Class, thanks to years of traveling for work and accumulating a mass of frequent flyer miles. I will go home in luxury….or at least with wine, some decent food, and most important…leg room! I see a full day of sleeping in my immediate airplane future!
Again, today was another exciting travel day. I told you about my train ticket purchasing encounter with the ticket agent…real communication issues. Despite that, he did a pretty good job. One thing I wasn’t expecting was that I would be taking my fist 45 minute leg on a bus, not a train. As I reviewed my ticket with the hotel staff, we realized that I was on a bus headed to Nimes and then to Charles de Gualle airport from there. This is OK. Hey, after all of my transportation adventures, I KNOW I can figure this out. The only downside is that If the bus is late, I will definitely miss the train. But, there will be a solution….there always is. Turns out, things worked like clockwork again. YIPPEE!! Made the bus, made the train and found the Marriott shuttle at the airport, thanks to the helpful woman at the airport information station. I love these people!….and, they speak English!
I am now a pro at deciphering the train tickets…found the right compartment, found the right seat and found peace. The first leg of my train ride was so peaceful. Again, it wasn’t crowded and I thought I was in heaven with my own row of seats and leg room. At about the 3rd stop, people started to pour into my compartment….you notice how I am now very possessive of the compartment. It’s mine. Anyway, about 20 very tall young women began to file in, all wearing work out sweats. Most of them spoke English and, of course chatter that I am, I had to ask them what was happening. Turns out they were part of 2 French women’s basketball teams heading for a game in L’Ille. The husband of one of the ladies was from Memphis…small world. I have never…and I mean never…seen such tall women. Some of their heads almost hit the ceiling. WOW! Big girls. It was Interesting, but they filled “my” compartment and I was no longer at peace. So, I buried myself in my book…Anna Karenina.
I started reading this book in Paris. Almost every time I do a solo trip, I pick a classic book to read. Somehow, I escaped this type of reading in my high school and college education. I really can’t believe it. But, we were never required to read the classics. So, I started at a late age. It’s actually better reading them as an older person. I think you have a much better appreciation of the plot and characters. For the most part, what I have found is that they are just really great stories. I have enjoyed my journey through the classics over the last 15 years or so. Anna Karenina, if you don’t know the story, is about happiness, adultery and deception, at least so far. It’s intriguing. It’s also been made into a movie lately, which is one of the reasons I chose it. I’m deciding on whether to see the movie….I’m thinking yes….so far..
I had some time on the train to think about my extensive trip and the things I did. What a diverse group of activities. I had fancy meals. I had cheese and baguettes. I visited museums and historical spots. I saw some beautiful vistas. I walked, and walked and walked, and walked and walked…I saw people selling their wares at markets all across the trip. I saw poverty and wealth…sometimes in the same place. I used every possible means of transportation available to get where I wanted to go. I made friends of all types and of all ages. I became part of a neighborhood. I learned to find the best strengths of the people I encountered in order to make my way and find the best opportunities to connect with the towns and the wonderful things they had to offer.
I have to say that a trip like this makes you stop and think about a lot of things. First, it’s a real confidence booster to be able to figure the whole thing out and come out unscathed. Pretty cool! But, more than that, it’s a way to connect with yourself. I don’t always want to travel alone. But, I do like it. It gives you time to think about what is important to you…what you really want. You are not moving along someone else’s agenda. You are moving along your own…doing things that are important to YOU. I think everyone should have an opportunity to do this now and then. We get so caught up in the day to day, taking care of business and taking care of others, that we lose sight of ourselves sometimes. As Cezanne points out, finding your own perspective is an important part of success.
Tomorrow, I will be back home…I say tomorrow, but it might be Sunday if there’s a glitch of any type. But, I hope that I can keep this perspective I have found on this trip as I move into the next phase of my life…..retirement…semi…. What does that mean exactly? As I get older, I find that it’s important to make the most of my time and feel good about the things I choose to do and consider them important, relevant and meaningful. I think that’s what I’ll shoot for now….one could do worse.
Travel With Betsy 
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