Au Revoir, Orléans; Bonjour, Paris!

The holidays are over, Desmond has returned to France, and all of us are getting back into the routine of everyday life. The following story is from March 2011, as I continue to chronicle my past journal entries into this blog. 

Pages from Jan's Travel Journal: March 11, 2011

Our time here in France was speeding by. We checked out of the Jackotel, stowed our luggage in Desmond's apartment, and went shopping. Des was at work, so Craig and I were on our own. We wandered in and out of the quaint shops in Orléans, purchasing treasures to take home. At midday, we found a little place for lunch on a backstreet near Halles Chatelet. It turned out to be a sports bar, complete with numerous screens showing sports events and with many spectators/bettors; all men. I was the only woman in the place, excluding the waitresses. There was no menu board, and we struggled a bit to explain that we simply wanted a sandwich and a soft drink. A man came over to help us, saying "I speak English", but honestly, I think those WERE the only English words he knew. He somehow managed to convey that he thought I was beautiful and that Craig's mustache was crooked. To our great relief, he was soon led away by another customer.

We returned to Desmond's place and found that he had not yet eaten. We accompanied him to a sandwich shop, where Craig and I enjoyed pastries while the our son had lunch. I tried my first macaron, which was crazy good, and Craig had a luscious strawberries and cream tart.

It's time to leave Orleans again.

Then it was time for Desmond to pack. We made it to the train station with twenty minutes to spare, and even though the train was a long one, we were unable to find any empty seats. We stood for quite a while, until at last someone disembarked at Etampe. Upon arriving in Paris, we soon located our hotel, the Ibis Montmartre. The room is good-sized and has a bathroom that we can actually move around in. We look forward to sightseeing tomorrow.