April 1st.....and 2nd... !#*&^*& jetlag

So, here I am. Sitting away several minutes prior to an overseas flight from MSP to Paris, France (Where else?). As a par for the course the flight itself requires its own plethora of waiting times. Thankfully, I spent the majority of the time quaffing Killian's Irish Red with my Dad, who stuck around until I had to go through the terrorism defense parameter. With luck, and swift blow to the back of the head, the flight should go by rather quickly... but I'll see in due time. In the mean while I'll curse the non-existent ($$$ filled) wifi and envelope myself in a few chapters of Dune Messiah...

At first I thought I'd have an entire row to myself. then AT THE LAST MINUTE someone else took my secondary spot... at least it was an interesting lady going to Saudi Arabia... apparently to hopefully start a combined effort to fight cancer... USA providing the knowledgeable manpower while black gold produces the revenue. Neat.

Yes! Nine hours of cramped legs annoying high school students later and I'm finally in Paris.
I even succeeded in navigating the airport and finding Ted. Finally I stepped forward into the outside (60 + Fahrenheit!) and was greeted with the sights and sounds of Paris after a short Train ride...

errrr.... and then I had a Milk shake. We had the HONOR of being able to have our first train layover in the lovely area of Disney Land Paris. Ted wanted to stay longer... but I wouldn't let him.

Ted... thinking we're spending the day here........


...and giving a last long look goodbye as I said no...

+1 train ride and +1 bus ride later..... In Teds current home of his residence, Nancy, at last! This was my first look into a French town and it was well... dense. The amount of people on the streets nearly rivaled the foot traffic of NYC.

There were several other similarities to the states such as the well fed homeless, hooch in one hand, and the other one open for handouts from an ignorant sot. Another thing was Ted's bathroom (apartment visited post drop off), which only held the slightest similarity to my own house, with the tiniest WC I've ever seen, only containing a toilet (apparently they're everywhere).
The Mighty Throne

To put it bluntly, st cloud is droll and all, but Nancy is a breathing organism of architectural expertise and merit. The ancient architecture is fantastic, and the French do have quite a bit of style.



<---Rentabikes and FLOWERS, in APRIL what a novel idea.










Despite the cool architecture I was greeted by the strange looks as I walked merrily down the streets (a poor choice..I found out later smiling is impolite..)gangly arms flailing, jumping off of random walls and pillars scattered about the city.

Fortunately, I received smiles and laughs (laughing with me, hopefully) when I gave my all at trying vainly to express orders or requests "En Français".










I also managed to learn some interesting things about the French, and strikes. They love them. If it was an organism, it would most certainly be kissed on both cheeks by every single passerby. Even Ted's school had faced the wrath of the mighty strike, as the doors were locked shut, and signs posted to convince students and teachers to commit themselves as well to the current "oppression".


<--- we're on STRIKE!








<--- Accompanied by










<--- Locked Strike chains









Post Nancy tour, I gratefully succumbed to collapsing onto soft objects upon returning to Ted's 200 year old apartment (they're all that old, or older). Shortly after, we were invited to partake in eating with a slew of Ted's friends, who all ended up being delightful people, hailing from our USofA as well as Mexico, Scotland and England.



I enjoyed one of the best pizzas ever. Peperoni has a new master... Chriso slices... mmmmmmm...I also used my water glass for wine, a gross sin. Also, there wasn't a good..errr ANY dark beer to be found... at least Stella is OK.



Well, this is the end of my first (and second) day 36+ hours of 2 or less hours of airplane sleep... and I'm going to pass out...