Day 4: Driving Sarlat

Thus begans the next part of our saga.  Chips had given us directions to her house, but we couldn't find it.  We stopped in the middle of Sarlat, to tell here where we were, which is when she realized we had come in from the opposite direction than she had thought.  So she gave us new directions.  We tried to follow those, but they didn't work either.  So we're looping around the middle of town, several times.  This time we ask a man in one of those flourescent vests, and he says our road is ahead on the right.  But we can't find it. 

We keep looping and I'm turning random directions, hoping to find a landmark we can use.  We pass a hospital and a cemetery.  I finally pulled over and turned on my phone to try and google her house, but I couldn't get any telephone service! 

We had passed a sign for an Ibis, the hotel we stayed at in Paris, so we go there.  Mom went inside to pee and ask directions, while I tried to connect to wifi.  But the wifi was different and needed a password.  But we lucked out!  There was a local woman working at the hotel who knew exactly what we were looking for, and gave us a town map and directions. 

So we follow the map and end up getting really close to our destination.  It turns out the man we asked was correct.  Our road was up ahead on the right.  But you had to turn onto another road which became the road we needed.  The one Chips had given us the name of.  So we finally get around the corner from her place and she comes out and we've arrived!  Huzzah!  Then it's time for drinks and later, supper.

Day 4: Driving France

So we finally made it out of Paris.  I cannot tell you the joy we felt at that moment.  Paris did not seem to want to let us leave.  Now we're on the A10, heading to Orleans.  We figure we'll stop there for lunch, because it's getting on to that time.  Then we pass through a toll booth.  This is the first one, where you get a ticket, which is when we realize this is a toll road.  Luckily, Orleans is one of the first towns on the road. 

We're driving along, all happy, and get to Orleans.  We exit.  There's the toll booth, and I insert our ticket.  And I'm not sure about the price.  I put on my hazard lights so nobody pulls up behind us, and then I finally find a speaker phone.  I call the people and ask if they speak English.  She said yes, but didn't understand me when I asked the price, so I ask again in French.  Ten euros and 70 cents!  Mom and I are freaking out.  We insert some bills and coins and pay the toll, then bitch about it all the way into town. 

Orleans is pretty.  It's on a river, and we headed into the center of town to find some food.  We found a cafe and tabac shop, but the parking lot was full because it was next to a flea market.  So I turned around and decided to drive up the one-way side street by the cafe.  There's a parking spot!  So I got to parallel park, on the left.  Thank goodness for automatics!

We had the plate lunch, which was a stewed/roasted chicken, with English peas, and yummy bread. It was really good.  And I had the creme caramel for dessert.  The bathroom was interesting.  You walk in, and on the left, against the front wall, is a sink, and hand dryer.  Facing it were 2 doors: a hamam (Arab toilet) and a toilet with no seat.  Straight ahead, there were urinals against the wall of the toilets, with a small tile half-wall covering the urinal area.  So you could stand and pee, and if you leaned in close, the person coming in the door wouldn't see your junk.  There was a guy washing his hands when I went in, and one washing his hands when I went out.  I guess I should be happy about that!

Then it was off again.  This time we took a small road to the next big town, so we could see more.  And it was worth it!  We went through picturesque town after picturesque town, until we got to Vierzon.  I had fallen asleep by then, and we got on the interstate again to make up some time.

There was no toll at this point, but another ticket booth showed up later, and mom and I both grimaced.  We kept going, and hit Limoges.  We had to exit the toll area here but luckily it was only 2 euoros.  Then we took the road south to Souilac, and headed west to Sarlat.  This road was beautiful!  Small and windy through hills and small mountains.  And foie gras stores everywhere!

Day 4: Driving Paris

Day 4 was pretty neat. We checked out and walked down to the taxi stand, only to find no taxi in sight.  So we stood there, trying to figure out what to do, and a taxi turns the corner and starts towards us.  Yay!  He took us to the car rental place, in the Air France building. He also wished us luck with driving.

The car rental went well.  We ended up getting an automatic, for free.  He also said it had a GPS, for free, but it turned out not to have a GPS.  It had a GPS booklet and the car had German markings, and the manuals were in German.  It's an Astra Opel wagon, Frank - and it rocks!

So we get the car paid for.  Then I have to walk 2 long blocks down the road, to get to the car park, which is underground.  I had an elevator code to take me down to the 5th floor underground.  Then, I had to unlock the car to find it, because the guy couldn't figure out where it was parked.

I finally get the car, get the seat adjusted, and head back to the main office to pick up mom.  The wagon held both our large suitcases, side by side.  So we've got our Paris map, and a route out of town, and off we go!

We couldn't figure out how to lock the car doors.  In the US, some doors lock automatically after you start, but these didn't.  And there was no lock button.  Eventually, we realized the lock and unlock buttons were above the radio.  And when we stopped for a break, I accidentally hit the little pull-up locky thing on the door with my elbow, and all the doors locked.  I think the car is smarter than us.

So we're driving out of Paris.  At first, it's okay.  I'm trying to follow the car in front of me, because sometimes lanes are just a suggestion and sometimes there are no lines for lanes.  We're trying to read street names, so we stay on the correct boulevard.  Then we get to a turn, and I go straight instead of right.  Which takes us over the river, heading back towards our hotel.  I'm thinking, that's okay, it's on the edge of Paris.  We'll hit the periphery road and head back towards our route.

So we get towards the periphery road, and I'm trying to follow the signs.  But the signs are so close to where you exit that I miss the periphery and head out east towards Port Bercy.  Then I have to exit the "interstate," turn around, head back towards our periphery interstate, and catch it.  Which is packed with cars and not moving very fast.

So now we're on the periphery interstate, heading southwest towards our exit.  We see signs saying A10, which is our interstate.  But it says A6 (A10) so we think we have to get on A6 to get to our A10.  Then mom tells me that A10 is the wrong road and goes to Bordeaux, not Limoges where we're going.  And I try to explain it is the right road, that Bordeaux is the end of the line, and we do need that road.  And while we're arguing we drive right past our exit.  Crap!

So now we're heading west.  I decide to take the next big exit, which turns out to be the Orly Airport.  So we end up looping around the airport, and then heading back east, hoping to catch our exit.  We see a big sign for our exit.  It's over the left-hand lanes, with 2 arrows pointing at those left-hand lanes.  And then, suddenly, the exit is on the right, exiting right now.  So I cut across traffic like a maniac, or a Parisienne, and manage to catch the exit.  Phew!  That was only 1 hour getting out of Paris.

Day 3 Roundup

Sorry about the delay.  Day 4 was mainly driving and then I didn't have wifi, so I couldn't post anything.

Day 3 was pretty good.  We got up and had breakfast.  We didn't get going until closer to lunch time.  Mom's knee was acting up so we took a taxi to our bus stop, which irritated the taxi driver, because it was relatively close.  We had lunch at the Turkish place, which was kind of a disappointment.  I had Shish Taouk (or the Turkish relative) and it was kind of plain.  We've had Greek, Turkish, and Lebanese, and we both agree that the Lebanese is the best.  More spice and flavor.  At least the hommus was okay, and they brought us unlimited, slightly burnt bread.

After lunch, a bus pulled up, so mom hightailed it back to the hotel.  I took the Green Line to the Musee d'Orsay.  It's got the largest collection of Impressionist art in the world, and those are my favorite, so I had to go!  Mom almost came but decided not to.

The museum was pretty good.  I had bought my ticket online, so I got to go in a separate entrance, with it's own security.  I had to open the main pocket on my purse and walk through one of those regular security scanners.  There were signs saying to watch for pickpockets. 

The museum was very open and light and really packed.  Also a bit warm.  You walk in on kind of the 1st floor (for Europe) and then there were stairs to the 0th floor for the main floor.  I couldn't find a ramp anywhere.  I even saw a dad with a stroller going down the stairs!

So I went down the stairs and then walked up a ramp to get to floor 1 on the other side.  They had some post-impressionist stuff that I looked at in a side gallery.  Then I had to walk down a flight of stairs to get to the bathroom.  Mom said the one at the Turkish place was really bad, so I waited for d'Orsay.

So I come back up the stairs, and luckily there was a set of escalators to get you to the 5th floor where the impressionists are housed.  It was great!  Crowded, warm, etc. but still the impressionists.  I spent a little time there and then decided it was time to go home. 

I went to the opposite side of the museum, to find the down escalator, but it wasn't there.  There was an "elevator."  It was a door in the wall, and it had a handicapped sign and said push button for handicapped help.  I looked around more and finally found a down escalator at the other side of this end of the musuem.  And it only took me to about floor 2.5.  Seriously.  I walked down a flight of stairs, then there was a long-ass double flight that I had to walk down.  My knee was twinging badly by the time I got down.

I finally made it out of the musuem at 3:15.  I now had the choice of taking a taxi home, or taking the bus home for free.  Which would also allow me to buy gyros for supper.  Of course, I decided on the bus.  I took the Green Line, so I could make the loop back to Notre Dame.  I sat in the very back, by myself, and listened to the music and tourist info. 

Next thing I know, a lady from Seattle and her group sit next to me.  We talked off and on, and I started to nap off and on.  Half her group got off at the Eiffel Tower, and the rest got off later.  So I was finally alone again.  I even thought of a present for my brother-in-law.

The traffic was horrendous - Friday afternoon - but I finally got back to Notre Dame.  I booked it to a tourist stall and got the present, then booked down the alley to a gyro stand.  Our gyro stand was run by Indians, but it was also 5 euros.  We got chicken gyros, with fries piled inside.  I booked it around the corner and saw my Blue bus.  It was getting ready to leave, but someone else ran up before me, so it stopped and I made it. 

More traffic, more traffic, more traffic.  I finally reach my stop near the stadium.  I'm walking pretty fast, since I'm by myself. I stopped in at the market to get cokes and candy for us, then headed to the hotel.  I walk in, and mom is sitting in the lobby.  She'd been out wandering the village shops and looking for me.  It was 6:30.  So it took me over 3 hours to get home.  Blargh!

Update

More soon. Having wifi problems.

Guess who?

Where's Waldo?

Day 2: Home again, home again

We started walking towards Notre Dame, and I flagged down a taxi.  We've been having good luck on that front.  This guy didn't speak much English, but I knew enough French to get us home.  We had originally thought we'd walk back from Bercy Stadium.  The taxi took us there, then around the side, and dropped us at the hotel with the same name over there.  Which saved us some walking.  Mom's knee was getting sore and my ankles hurt. 

So we get out and at least it was shorter back to our hotel.  We had almost taken the taxi all the way to our hotel, and maybe we should have.  We made it to the market, and got some drinks, and eventually made it home.  We were pretty wiped out.  By this point, it's about 9pm.  We got some ice from the hotel restaurant (no ice machines here) and got to our room and got comfy.  I promptly passed out and woke up a little after midnight.  Mom woke up then too.

So I was sitting here typing up today's events, when we hear a loud squeaking noise.  We're on the 2nd floor (in the US numbering system) and our window opens.  Below our window is a roof overhanging the sidewalk, so you don't get rained on.  Also, our window has a chain lock on it.  Apparently the people next door were opening their window and it was really squeaky.

I continue typing, and there's a knock on our door.  I answer, and no one is there.  We assumed it was the people next door getting the rooms mixed up.  Bear in mind, it's now about 2am.  There's more squeaking, so I look out our window.  I'm very surprised to see a man outside the window next door, smoking a cigarette.  On top of the curved metal roof.  He seemed surprised to see me too.  I closed our window until he was done, because we were starting to smell the smoke.  And so ends our Day 2 adventures!