|
July 10, 1996
There are ducks in the Seine - I don't remember this. The trees in the Tuileries (Orangerie) are cropped at the top. I also don't remember how noisy everything is. I was up at 4:30AM and went for a walk at 6:30. May have ruined my left foot in the process, I'll know soon. I saw the men in green (sweepers and trash collectors). Stepped on a dead bird this morning, good or bad luck? It's been overcast and threatening since yesterday. Really humid. My hair is full, wavy and doing things it generally only does in NY. The Hotel Solferino, where I stayed last night, had a great little elevator. A demonstration of how you can shoehorn an elevator into an old building. the staircase was a small spiral and the elevator went right through the center. The cage was about 4' X 2'. I think there's a secret "courtyard life" going on in Paris. It's hard to tell how deep the buildings are or how many have large courtyards. But it looks like there's more space between the streets than you'd expect. After I got on the train to Avignon and sat down a woman came over and claimed to have my seat assignment. So I apologized and bolted. Anyhow it turns out that she's in the wrong car but I only figured that out after I'd moved out of the way, hauled my bag out of the car and hauled it back on again. The landscape from the train is like any rural landscape except that in the US there is no train through it. The fields are interrupted by large stands of trees. Along the way we pass fields of what looks like mustard. A closer look reveals that they are really huge fields of sunflowers, all pointing in the same direction - toward the sun. The fields are dotted with white cows that are all lying down. The hay is stacked and propped up into small piles; they look like triscuits. Finally, the sun breaks through.
Remember "Mille Bornes?" (the Milton Bradley game) The conductor tells me something in French that I can't understand - it sounds like 100 Francs. He points to the only part of my rail pass that is printed entirely in French with no translation. I'm afraid I've made some mistake and will be charged but he goes away. Got off the train in Avignon and looked for the group inside the station and out. Waited outside for a while until I saw someone wearing a Europeds (the cycling group) T-shirt. Turned out to be someone in the group - somehow I had missed the whole group standing right at the top of the escalator. Many people from California, 3 women from the Boston area who are traveling together leaving children and husbands behind. An older couple in their 70s and their daughter (40s). A couple celebrating their 25th anniversary ad their 17 year old daughter who will be my roommate. A couple of sisters, one lives in SF the other in DC. One woman unmistakably from NYC. A quick look around the room reveals a missing bathroom door. Oops. The hotel is in St. Remy de Provence, a small, sweet town where Van Gogh spent some time. Being crazy. Was introduced to my bike. Took a quick ride - with the seat at half-mast. It took a while to get used to the bike before I raised the seat. ...... Copyright © 1996 by Lisa H. Weinberg |