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August 12, 2007
European Camp Daddy - Day 14: Back to Dublin
Yesterday, in the Louvre, they cleared out a few rooms of the museum because a suspicious package was found in the room with the Mona Lisa, and they're telling me to turn back and I'm thinking...."Christ...Maybe this is it." How odd to be collateral damage in the destruction of the world's most famous painting. What an odd fate that would be.
Instead, I hurried Jennifer to another wing of the museum and told her everything was fine we just needed to go look elsewhere, like in the Mesopotamia section. I had a hunch there'd be no bombs planted there.
There are no stars in Paris. At night, I can't surf the internet from my hotel. At home, I can lie in bed and surf the internet and send emails at all hours of the night. But here, in Paris, I am somewhat in exile, like Napoleon, living out his days in exile with his dog.
I try to get up and slip downstairs at 04:00 but the hotel clerk meets me in his nightshirt. I don't know how he knows I am down there. Maybe cameras in the hall. Maybe the creaky floors of a hotel built in the 1860's are his only alarm. But he is there, and he has sent me back to my room twice already. So I'll not bother him again. My curfew is 06:30. Then I can begin again.
I've put my images together from Paris and Ireland into two little eclectic slideshows. I've decided to call them "Postcards From Nowhere" because I travel so much that I sometimes wake up, unsure of where I am.
I love traveling with Jennifer. I am a starfish and she is my rock. She held up well in Paris on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. But Tuesday she was exhausted, and, after the Louvre yesterday, she crashed and burned. She was probably awake a total of five or six hours yesterday.
Jennifer seems much better today. I swear she slept for 18 hours straight last night. I was somewhat concerned.
The second week in Europe was probably pushing it a bit. Even with a very slack schedule, it has been a lot for her. If I had any sense, we'd have flown into Dublin and out of Paris, but this was not how I set things up. We fly Paris to Dublin tomorrow. Then, on Monday, Dublin to Philly to Denver.
At least I had the sense to get her Nintendo DS charged up with her new French charger. That should help the journey somewhat.
Today, we fled Paris for Dublin. In Dublin, what I notice now is the following:
• It's great to be back in a country where English is the preferred language.
• In Ireland, you can't smoke in the bars, which is great, of course. Much nicer than Paris that way.
• They drive on the other side of the road, so you have to remember to "Look Right" when crossing the streets again. Very dangerous.
• I can get Diet Coke again. In Paris, all that they had was that horrendous Coca-Cola Light, which I can't stand. That and Coke Zero, which also sucks. In Paris, I couldn't find Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, or Pepsi Max. As far as soft-drinks go, Paris was a nightmare.
At the Dublin airport, I got a family bus pass for €8.50 and then, I bought a French to Ireland converter for her French Nintendo DS charger, so it will work in Ireland. Strange, I know, but I want that stupid thing working when we're on a 7 hour flight. I want that stupid Nintendo to shine tomorrow.
We gained back one hour today flying into Dublin. We gain five more flying to Philly tomorrow, then two more when we land in Denver. So, we'll gain 8 hours in two days. Ugh.
Posted by Rob Kiser on August 12, 2007 at 2:34 PM
Comments
Welcome home.
Posted by: sl on August 12, 2007 at 3:59 PM