Spring Break, Part II

Picking up from where I left off, we were in a taxi cab on our way to the hotel by Charles de Gaulle. Ibis in Roissy-en-France is probably one of the worst hotel experiences I've had in a while. The staff was generally unhelpful, unavailable, and un-nice (I know that's not a word, but I'm trying to keep with the "un" theme here). The room we were in is small and dark with only one window, but surprisingly the bathroom was kind of nice. Even as I say all of this, I'm going to have to deal with it all over again in a month when I stay there before my flight home. At least I know what I'm getting myself into this time around, though. And I know where I can go to eat dinner (hint: it's in another hotel).

On top of this, the news was not good and it was becoming clear that Mom wasn't going to be able to get out anytime soon, so she started crying and I almost wanted to peace out and go back to Angers and sleep for a couple of weeks. But I was a good daughter and started looking up other options. Like taking a ferry across the Mediterranean and flying out of Tunisia. Or taking the train to Madrid and flying from there. Or taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Or boarding a trans-Atlantic cargo ship as a passenger. Never, ever let it be said that I am not resourceful.

We ended up not taking any of those options and Mom rebooked herself for Thursday. By Monday morning, we were getting out of Ibis and back into the hotel that we loved so much in the center of Paris. The room was smaller, but we had a little bit of a balcony. There was just a shower though, and one with only a curtain, so water got everywhere and it was generally not fun. I wish we could say that we branched out for food, but I tend to find places that I like to eat and then keep going back, so that's what we did. We also finally got to go see the Eiffel Tower, and even though we didn't go up into it, we did walk around a little bit. It's always just nice to get out and walk around a little bit. Tuesday night, we went out for one last dinner and I had the best crême brulée and hot chocolate yet in France.

Wednesday, I went back to Angers. I left Mom at the hotel and I stayed perky and smiley so that our parting wouldn't turn into a sea of tears. Mom watched me until I turned the corner, which, yes, did make me cry a little bit but IT'S OKAY! because I'll be home very soon. It turns out that all of the attractive french men are in the army and wandering around the train stations. The TGV I took back to Angers was brand spanking new with bright seats and a very "modern" design. I liked it. I hope I get to ride in another one like that soon. It honestly felt like I hadn't been gone at all; it felt like coming home. I spent the rest of the week just hanging out, catching up on TV shows, sleeping, and reading.

I know. I live such an exciting life.

And that's it! Class started again and now I'm one week closer to being home!