French Country Travel Life Camera Caper – Part One
This French Country Travel Life Camera Caper is like the course of true love.It isn’t always smooth. Especially on the road of foreign travel. As your experience has no doubt confirmed. But don’t you find when those unexpected clouds of disaster (and aren’t they the worst kind?) do blacken your sky, they’re always worse when you’re abroad?
For the obvious reason: You’re in foreign territory. You don’t know the rules and regs. What button to push. Which color ink to use. Who to call. And when you do call your embassy’s 24 “emergency” line, you get a recording. Which says: “If this is a real honest ta gosh life threatening emergency, call this number. Which you do. And get..(you’re ahead of me already, aren’t you?)…yes,…no answer.
DA BG feels your pain. Because he’s been there, done that and has many tee-shirts to prove it. This is one such black cloud disaster movie:
I’m filming happily in a bucolic middle of nowhere, when my camcorder craps out. Cleverly realizing that the middle of nowhere “instant-photos-be-us” will be of no help, I high tail it for the big smoke. Paris. There in the New York of France I will surely receive an enthusiatic “customer service welcome.”
And, dear reader, I do. The only problem is, that my unit’s manufacturer’s idea of a “European Service Center” is one that simply distributes brochures extolling the virtues of it’s many products. (Reliability, bien sur, being one of them.)
My Homlesian powers of deduction and reason propel me to the logical conclusion in scant micro-seconds: It’s gotta go back home for repairs.
So it does. And I? What to do in Paris for the (at least) two weeks repairs will take? Happily, a friend has a vacant apartment in the heart of the 16th arrondissement. The “Beverly Hills” of Paris. Here live the folks who do not ask the price. They just buy.
I, on the other hand, just look.(And do my shopping at Monoprix – the discount supermart – where, I’m happy to report I did score great bottles of wine for under 3 euros more than once.)
As you might imagine (and perhaps even know?) the 16th is a “pleasant” place. With a capital “P.” A small (laid back expensive) village vibe. Resulting in a proliferation of sidewalk cafes and other ambulatory diversions.
On the leafy green side o’ things, the 16th has a small park – “Le Jardin du Poet” (“The Poet’s Garden) in which I spent many relaxing (brain turned off) hours. The Bois du Bologne, the major Paris park, is also relatively nearby. (Relative to your mode of transport.)
Part Two – Next Time.
THROW ME A BONE HERE,PEOPLE!
What are ya thinkin’?
liking very much your story. wait for the rest next tome. bonjour!
nothing beats these type of posts….your personal experiences and reflections.
you said it barbara!…..getting the inside scoop from DA BG tells you much more about france than any guidebook!
good to know that there’s a “beverly hills” in paris. (lol!)
i can imaging the anxiety you must have had in this situation…
with ya there rena….but i get hte impression DA BG is one cool cucumber who can roll with the punches.
more probably carl….he can duck the punches…or at least some of them?
once again..a great personal adventure from DA BG!..i especially resonated with the part about the embassy emergency phone….too true!
agree brett..that was a hoot!
brett and tina…with ya……and like to add that the “service center” story was also way true!
really like this….sort of a “fish out of water” situation…
know what i mean?
barbara….re: “know what i mean? – NO. please explain
hi ian…no problem…what i was getting at was that DA BG is usually having country adventures….and now he finds himself in a city.
i feel your pain on that “european service center” scene. been there. done that too. didn’t want the tee-shirt! (lol)
appreciate the way you included photosq on the places you describe. really makes it come more alive.
thanks to you, i have make a note to see this place when i make my visit to france. hola!
many readers have said this before i suppose….but what makes you so readable (for me) is that you can convey the essence of the action in a few infoi packed sentences. where any other writer would stretch it into a pargraph.
with you 110% there marly…….”less IS more”..and DA BG is the expert in giving us more in his unique style. (no, he’s not paying me for this! – lol)
the obvious question (er..maybe not so obvious as no one yet seems to have asked it)..will DA BG be styling us with more personal pâris info?
zac..you mean on other arrondiements in paris.
i do indeed!