So, after an exasperating first 6 days in Paris, dealing with my previously-mentioned theft from my carry-on, I had an amazing last few days!
First of all, I owe a huge thank you to Dave (Happy in Paris) for being the light at the end of a long tunnel...Dave gave up a good part of his day off making many phone calls and searching for information on my behalf, as to how and when and where to deal with this nasty little issue...thank you, Dave...you are an ! I owe you and Arlynn lunch the next time I'm in Paris!
Here's the short version...the longer and more interesting version will be appearing soon in my trip report! I arrived in Paris on Wednesday, April 27th, and after discovering that I'd been robbed, I spent the next 6 days, with the exception of my day in Chartres, dealing with Canadian Consulate and Embassy/Pisa Airport/very frustrating and very slow internet connections...and so on. After Dave's intervention on the 6th day, I filed a police report and then realized that I had only one day left in Paris with my son...I was really angry at having "wasted" time dealing with something that some idiot(s) had created, and also more than a little scared, because of the violent way that my belongings were smashed and vandalised, and late Tuesday evening, around 1:00 A.M. I was still awake and not able to shut it off. I made a decision to call my Flight Center agent in Kitchener, Ontario and beg for his help!
Here's where it gets really interesting...you may have heard me talking about flow, on occasion...that's when the lights are green as far as the eye can see along the major street that you are driving on...in other words, when everything goes soooo smoothly, you just know that it is meant to be...
I called Ryan, told him my sad story, asked him if there was any way that Air Canada would consider changing my departure from Thursday May 5th to Saturday, May 7th...he was quite certain that it wouldn't be possible, 'cause my ticket was a no-cancellation, no-change, cast-in-stone kinda ticket...still, he said, he'd try.
He called back about an hour later, and opened the conversation with, "Brenda, you are going to looooove me forever for this! Air Canada said yes! They said tell her she can have the same flight at the same time on Saturday, instead of Thursday!"
Wednesday morning, I called Lauren, my rental manager for my Paris apartment, and asked her if there was any way I could stay in the apartment til Saturday, fully expecting to hear her tell me it was rented and I'd have to move on. BUT, she said, "Absolutely! The apartment isn't booked until the 20th, so stay as long as you like!"
THEN, I called my son, and told him my amazing news! He asked his hotel manager if there was any way he could have his room 'til Saturday... "Nope, no way, it is booked solid here..." "oh, wait a minute....we've just had a no-show! The room is yours til Sunday!"
Is that flow, I ask ya?
It's amazing to me how much we were able to cram in over the next 3 days....a full day Louvre-ing, walking in the Jardins de Tuillieries and then being chased out at 8:30 P.M., ice cream cones in hand, by a crew of overly-conscientious security dudes with mean-looking dogs and really irritating whistles, lunching at the sidewalk cafe across from the Louvre, another caffe creme and then another, going to the Museum of the Middle Ages, walking my a$$ off day after day, shopping along the Palais Royal street shops and finding the perfect little handbag for my oldest granddaughter....a miniature bustiere!!!...and then buying a mondo-boxed set of a DVD tour of the Louvre, which is going to be a "Cheap Trip to Paris From Mugga" gift for my grandchildren, along with their assorted t-shirts, poker cards with French kings and queens, jewellry, hats and all.
Friday evening, everyone came back to my apartment for a "left-overs" dinner...the last of the cheeses, the bottom of the bottles of wine, a fresh baguette, the last pieces of the raspberry tarte from the patissiere next door, fresh tomatoes and avocadoes drizzled with green, peppery olive oil and red wine vinegar...and my son hugged me as he was leaving...and then hugged me again, saying, "Wow! A whole month in Europe! Congratulations, Mom!"
Saturday morning, a taxi to Charles de Gaulle, then an 8 1/2 hour flight to Toronto on Air Canada, with great food, excellent service, loads of room between the rows of seats, and a half-full plane...it doesn't get any better than that.
Overnight in Toronto, then a 4 hour Westjet flight to Edmonton and a quick dinner at Earl's Southside with good friends...finally a 2 1/2 hour drive home...back where I started, a month ago.
So, here I am, still a little tired, catching up with my Slowtrav friends...it was amazing, it was truly wonderful, and I'd go again in a heartbeat...in fact, I've already started planning the next trip in my mind!
Thank you for your concern, your caring, your private e-mails and all the messages here on Slowtalk...it means the world to me, and I'm truly appreciative...
"I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." ~ Robert Frost Brenda
Brenda -- I've been following your posts, and wanted to say thanks for writing such interesting reports! Was so sorry to hear of your Pisa robbery -- (a similar thing happened to my husband several years ago on a flight to Budapest from Germany), and was so glad to hear you managed to get the extra few days to enjoy Paris - one of my favorite cities in the world. You are so right - there are times when everything falls into place; but you have to ask to make it happen -- and you did that! Congratulations.
Posts: 1810 | Location: Berkeley, CA | Registered: 22 March 2005
O.K., Brenda, what I really want to know is: How did you arrange a flight with roomy seats on a half-full airplane? Now, that's flow, for sure! Charity
Posts: 1484 | Location: Santa Barbara, CA, USA | Registered: 11 May 2003
You are so right, Motherjudy, we have to ask for what we need and want...how else does the Universe know what to provide? Mark Victor Hansen wrote a book called, "The Aladdin Factor" and after I'd read it, I realized that the book could have had only one page....covered from top to bottom with the word 'ask', repeated a thousand times, because that was his message...
Charity, I have no clue as to how that was arranged...I certainly didn't have anything to do with it, 'cause if I was that powerful, I'd have made sure that the Lufthansa flight going over was a whole lot more roomy....it was truly pathetic! The woman beside me was very, very petite, and SHE had problems getting in and out of her seat, because the seat in front of her was that close. Save me from a repeat of that flight...I'll be a lot more choosy next trip. I've never been crammed in like we were on that flight Usually I am really selective about my airlines, the seat selection and the flights I take, so this one on Lufthansa was a surprise, when we boarded....and then a total downhill slide from there
Still, it's over, it didn't kill me and I had a truly amazing trip, in spite of the bumps in the road...so, in the over-arching scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a 'woooops'
Thanks, cigalechanta....It was pretty spectacular!
"A child on a farm sees a plane fly by overhead and dreams of a faraway place A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse and dreams of home..." ~ Carl Burns Brenda
Nancy, Nancy... It was tempting, but, no, like a good little Canadian girl, I came home... 's funny, as amazing as it was to see all the things and places and people that I saw on my trip, it was also wonderful to see the Canadian landscape as we flew over Gander, to watch Peter Mansbridge narrating the 60th Anniversary of the VE Day Remembrance ceremonies from Appeldoorn, Holland...and most of all, it was lovely to see my prairies finally, and our glorious sunsets that we live with in our part of this planet... Nice to be away...nice to come home...
"I, for one, know of no sweeter sight for a man’s eyes than his own country." ~ Homer: Odyssey Brenda
...both! all! ...and then some... Actually, what I usually do is Google for a quotation on the subject of the post or the topic that I'm posting on....and then, sometimes I'll just make something up as I go along...then, I also have a few shelves of great books with great quotes...not so much a dictionary as favorite authors, like Merle Shain, Kahlil Gibran, Hugh Prather....I know their books like the back of my hand, and usually can find the quote that I think fits the topic. THEN, 'cause I'm a bad girl in hiding, I sometimes throw in a more than slightly off-color line, and fudge the words with symbols...so far, no one has busted me for it!
Thanks for noticing and appreciating my words...it means a lot to me that the words touch someone in some way...
"I don't plan to grow old gracefully. I plan to have face-lifts until my ears meet." ~ Rita Rudner. Brenda
Lili, you can read about it here. You can look at recent posts by a member by clicking their name on the left side of the post and selecting View Recent Posts by BGE from the menu.
Aralynn says, "A vacation doesn't have to be wonderful, but it does have to be memorable." True grit raised yours from M to W. Bravo and come back soon!
Thanks for the bravo, Dave...that helps...'cause living through those few days felt like I was in a major meltdown...nice to know that it seemed otherwise to you! I'll be back, no doubt about it...the time I had in Paris was only a tiny hors d'oeuvre, enough to let me know that I want to return for the full meal deal!
Annie, thank you for your kind words...I felt like I was less-than-coping, so it helps to hear that you thought otherwise...it wasn't easy, and I was really angry and very scared...I felt really spooked that some creepo-gleepos could trash my personal belongings and my gifts for my family in such a way. The smashed toiletries,lotions and bath gels in my bag really shook me up, for some reason...and the gift bag that the jewellry was in being destroyed like it was also was rather difficult to deal with. I was determined to spend time with my son in Paris, and NOT time dealing with this theft thing...that was what prompted me to call Ryan, my travel guru and ask for an extension...the gods were obviously smiling on us!
Lili, cigalechanta...hope you found your way to the original post...and thanks for asking about it!
On the other side of the ocean and a few days away from it all, I am still really, really angry that such a random act could have so much effect on my precious few days in Paris...I am pursuing this with the airline and with my insurance company...we'll see what they do with it. Send good vibes and positive energy for me!
" Strength does not come from winning. You struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength." ~ Arnold Schwarzenegger Brenda
Topic Closed
! I owe you and Arlynn lunch the next time I'm in Paris!
, I sometimes throw in a more than slightly off-color line, and fudge the words with symbols...so far, no one has busted me for it! 
