Paris for the first time

TWA spoiled me, and taught me the importance of the bump. I was off to Paris for Thanksgiving, to meet my friends Tara and Denise on their first trip to Europe. As I had frequent flyer points on TWA, I took a later flight. And when they asked for volunteers - I ran right up to the counter. I was moved to a flight three hours later, and I was bumped to first class. That trip spoiled me for life. From then on, it was to be all about the upgrades.

I landed at CDG in the early morning, this was before renovations, and Charles De Gaulle looked like a giant sci-fi hamster habitat. I loved the strangeness of it. The people in African dress in the terminal, and the dogs. I followed a family leading a Weimeraner through the terminal. I missed my dog. I think that she would have wagged her stub of a tail wildly if she had lived to know how much I missed her.

I then hopped on the bus to the Arc de Triomphe. Where I had time for a coffee and croissant the very kind waiter saw me as a wide eyed American with bad French and sat me with a well dressed businessman who put down his paper, and chatted with me over a smooth coffee and flaky, buttery, warm croissant. We said adieu, and I started on a nice long walk in the early morning mist watching the city come alive for a Parisian workday. I walked along the river to Île de la Cité. The ironwork of the bridges, and the classic architecture had me in awe as I made my way to meet my friends. I've been to Paris many, many times (Tony had a flat in the Place des Vosges). The city is beautiful, but I have never felt at home there. Denise, Tara and I did a lot of walking at night. The light does cast a lovely glow on the city, and the food for me is second only to Italy. But that morning of my first solo walk in Paris gave me a taste of why people are so enchanted.

We ate Thanksgiving Pizza behind the Opera House (where I shuddered as Tara referred to the waiter as garcon), did some expensive shopping in the Galeries Lafayette, then headed to the train station to take the overnight train to Munich where we had arranged to meet a friend who was studying in Germany.