Just a short walk to Versailles

Jet lag could be the worst thing, ever! I am here and made it safe and sound. So far so good. Bertrand, the father, picked me up from the airport hassle free. Though I must admit, I think he thought the amount of luggage I brought was astounding. Later he revealed that he recognized me because, "I cooo-d nut see yew becase of all ze-luggage being pushed, but I saw a small head peek out from bee-hind and z-at is how I recognize, becase yew said there was red luggage." To be totally fair, I only had one 60lb bag, which I got on the plane after my poor father paid $150 extra dollars for it, plus another to check and two carry on bags. The luggage fee conversation went something like this "Kat, you can't get rid of 8lbs of stuff, like some shoes maybe to save $150?" Mom replies with, "Drew, it's still cheaper to pay this fee than try to ship." A short eye roll and swipe of the credit card later, all my shoes are heading to France. First of all, how is one supposed to pick between shoes, isn't that like picking your favorite children? I want all of them to get the experience of walking in France, so how do you even narrow something like that down. When I was unpacking at the house, I honestly thought to myself, "What the heck is all of this stuff and why did I bring it again?" Because it is always imperative to have 700 Gap 'My Favorite Tees' when packing for a foreign country...one day I'll be good at travelling light.

After a quick drive through Paris, where I caught sight of Sacre Coeur, I rode up to St. Germain-en-Laye (Henceforth referred to as SGeL). If you read the tabloids, which I, of course, NEVER do, you would know that Salma Hayek was married there last spring to French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault. Let me tell you, she has great taste, it is absolutely beautiful. SGeL is a beautiful western suburb of Paris, complete with a local castle. Louis XIV was born in the castle and it is amazing (see picture below), the family and I took a 'promenade' around the castle grounds on day one. It was so picturesque and idyllic, until I saw two French musicians get arrested by bicycle cops for smoking weed, and you thought only Americans were that dumb...rest assured they exist in France too. We then took the kids to the carousel, where Elliot, the 4 year old proceeded to tinkle on himself, cutting our walk a bit short. We then returned home for a typical French meal of quiche, salade des champignons (mushroom salad) and vin rouge (red wine), it was divine. After dinner I was able to check my e-mail on Bertrand's computer, attempting to master the French keyboard where the 'M' and 'W' and other grammatical aides are all out of sorts.

I was very frustrated the first days and a half because I could not get the wireless to work, ceasing all communication with the outside world. My parents and one other lucky person received cryptic e-mails like "I am here, can't type on this keyboard. Will call when possible." I am sure my parents got a bit nervous when that's all they heard for two days. However, I spent the better part of yesterday holed up in a McDonalds, which I took a 2o minute walk to, to use the free Wi-Fi. I learned the trick of using McD's wi-fi, whilst in London and spending a good few hours there instead of paying the hostels outrageous costs for internet. However, not having internet was like a smoker being in a room full of cigarettes and not being able to smoke, it was excruciating...try it and you'll see. Scary how dependant I am on this little computer, I don't know if I like that. However, Bertrand downloaded their Wi-Fi program onto my computer and all is right with the world, because now I know what's going on in it.

My house is beautiful and located in the small village of Mariel-Marly, which is a 20 minutes walk down and up hill from SGeL. I am also just a short walk from Versailles, which will be great to visit again. While walking there yesterday I felt like a rotund American tourist in that by the time I got back up the hill, I was gasping for air, either it wasn't quite as steep as I thought or the old ladies passing me where just used to it. It was also market day in SGeL, I was able to see all the vendors, produce and clothes out just waiting to be bought. That's always the nice thing about Europe, the open air markets make you feel so...European, as people walk around with their wicker baskets full of baguettes, eggplants and assorted cheeses. I'll have to spend more time there next weekend, because at that point all I wanted to do was get to McDonalds and use the internet. The rest of the day was nice and relaxing as we played games outside and had a dinner of Croque Monsieur, which was actually the first breakfast I ate in Paris when I was here about a year ago. As of now, it is Monday morning and the parents just left for work a while ago. I had to get Elliot (4) and Maine (9 months) breakfast because they don't start school until Thursday. Ines (6) slept at her cousins house last night, so she is still not back. Today should be laid back but I have the daunting task of preparing dinner tonight and helping Carima, Marine's full time nanny/housekeeper, who speaks no English, with the bathing process. Should be something good to post about that...YIKES!