countdown

Just a few more...years. Sigh. Then Paris will be my home. C'est la vie!

Deal

I've made a deal with myself. If I lose a certain number of pounds by a certain date, I will go to Paris again next March during Spring Break. Now that's a good deal!

Comparison

Since my first trip to Paris in 2004, I have wanted to move to Paris permanently. I even named this blog after that dream. On that first trip, mid way through the week, I knew I didn’t want to leave the City of Light and return to Tinytown. Finding a way to get there, legally, occupied my time. Finally, I realized that retirement would have to occur before relocation could. So I waited and dreamed.

But I have decided to compare where I am to where I want to be to see if Paris really is better.

Paris                                                               Tinytown

Speak French                                                               Speak English

Expensive cost of living                                                 Cheap cost of living

Rent a tiny apartment                                                    Rent a 2 bedroom house

Variety of restaurants                                                    4 restaurants

Many museums                                                            One museum (not yet open)

1000+ years of history                                                 100+ years of history

What “customer service”                                             Good customer service

No one knows me                                                       Who doesn’t know me

Many movie theatres                                                    No movie theatres

The Metro and buses and trains                                    My Jeep Patriot

Paperwork for everything                                             What paperwork?

Rain                                                                             Heat

Boulangerie                                                                 The Shell gas station

Patisserie                                                                     The Shell gas station

The Eiffel Tower                                                          The water tower

The Seine                                                                     Full ditches after a rare rain

I think I’ll stay in Tinytown. Makes sense, no?

Is that a cell phone?

During one of my four trips to Paris I took many pictures of statues. Captions came to my mind most of the time. Sorry to say this one inspired a "Can you hear me now?" quote. Isn't that a cell phone? Next trip, I promise to keep track of what I photograph and where. Of course, not knowing gives me a reason to return and take more pictures!

Lock answer

I just got an answer to the question in April about locks on a foot bridge. According to an anonymous poster on my blog, engaged couples lock a lock on the bridge as a way of demonstrating their engagement. Ofter there initials are on the locks. Isn't that lovely?

Hope and the Iron Lady

I realise if I'm going to call this blog "From Texas to Paris" I should post something quite often about one place of the other. So today it is the 'Iron Lady.' This picture is from the ground up and I'm happy to admit I took this.

Looking up to the blue sky is a way of creating hope. Hope for the future. Hope for better things. Hope.

Triumph!

This is Mom at the Arc de Triumphe. We decided NOT to climb the steps to the top. However, we did enjoy walking around. Inside the arch (you can sort of see in the picture) is a huge French flag. Later that day we saw the Musee D'Orsay.

By the way, Mom, a coffee drinker almost gave up trying to find a 'decent' cup of American style coffee. We did find one-- at Starbucks! Lucky me, I could get a good cup of tea everywhere!

Paris by request

After a long walk, including many steps and winding streets (one made of steps!), we arrived at the side of Sacre Coeur. Of course, we walked at night. So we weren't too sure of some of the people we saw along the way. However, the view of the church is very nice. We went inside (no pictures allowed) and somewhere along the way I lost my Metro Pass!
I'll post another picture and travel story in the next few days.

Hope for the future

(Photo from ParisDailyPhoto, now starting its fifth year.)
My suitcases are just about all packed. The travel arrangements were made more than a month ago. My resume will be typed and ready to copy tomorrow. And after a night in a Houston hotel, I will leave on Friday the 13th for Paris, France. I could be working in Paris this summer! I'm trying to stay calm while I complete the final arrangements.

Missing Film Mystery- Solved!

Over Spring Break, this past March, I took a trip to Paris. To record this event I brought along two cameras and three rolls of film. And a bunch of batteries.
The digital camera produced adequate pictures. I saved them to my desktop and printed a few expecting to have actual pictures from the APS film I had shot.
Two rolls of film were sent to Wal-mart for processing. Upon return I discovered envelopes full of reprints. Had I sent the wrong rolls in?
I searched everywhere for my missing film. Did I leave them in Paris? Oh no.
The third roll, still in the camera, had a few pictures left. I shot them and turned in the film to Wal-mart, again.
After 12 days I finally got my pictures. This roll was also reprints from four years ago!
So what happened to my film? I must have tried to reuse the rolls (if they haven't been marked correctly by the lab that can happen.)
I did not lose the film. I just took pictures on the wrong rolls. Fortunately (?) the original film was not damaged.

Lesson learned: take two cameras, buy lots of batteries, buy FRESH film.