The door closed 10 minutes early. The take off from SeaTac was 20 minutes late but the arrival at Charles DeGaulle was 15 minutes early...so goes the joys, perils, and realities of modern travel. But this was different. It was the beginning of a grand adventure. Nearly six months will be spent in Europe, most of it it France and specifically in Paris.

After an hour and a half of slow shuffling through the queue at immigration we were reminded of a major truth about Europe, they don't use air conditioning at the same rate we do in the US. Everyone arriving on the flight from Seattle, and for that matter Chicago and Newark who were sharing the queue with us, were "glowing," perspiration was dripping off foreheads. We finally got our five bags together and joined the second queue of the day...the taxi line.

The driver was kind, he managed to get all the bags and us into a Peugeot 304 hatchback and we headed to our new apartment home for the next several months. Msr. LeDuc met us at the apartment and showed us around the place. There were instructions on how to use the washer/dryer, the cooktop, the wifi internet and then a quick survey of the apartment's condition. What was missing was instructions on how to get the key out of the door, but that would come later.

The bags were unpacked, the clothes put away, the gifts and supplies were stored and then the suitcases and bags were stored away out of sight and traffic patterns until we need them for our return. Then we were off to check on our son's apartment, gather up some wonderful gifts from the grandkids and then to the grocery store for much needed supplies. It was a bit odd, we have both been in this part of Paris on numerous occasions but we remember different things about it. Carefour is this way, I said...no this way she said. After agreeing that she had been here more recently we went with her instructions and she was right...there was A Carefour grocery store that way afterall. Turns out I too was right and the one I remember is closer to our apartment but the one she remembered is closer to the kids apartment. The good news is that our memories are still intact...take that Alzheimer's.

Paris is truly a beautiful city. In August most of the citizens go on vacation so the city is pretty quiet and filled mostly with tourists. We discovered if you are carrying several bags of groceries up the street people think you live here and know where things are. Not true tourists...we know nothing, except where to buy groceries to begin to stock up the house. None-the-less, we enjoyed the walk home and stopped a few times to check out some of the local stores. We will be back.

So, while the trip was uneventful and the unpacking of the suitcases and the packing of the pantry were done we were still on Pacific Daylight Time and in much need of a nap. The apartment is quite grand in that one whole end of the living room is window wall and can be opened to allow cool breezes through to the bedroom where the window opens onto the street below. There is some street noise at nap-time but for the most part it was good to get some much needed sleep. Dinner was simple, some poached salmon and a simple salad, and some fresh bread. Who doesn't like the fresh French breads?

After dinner we realized our fist day in Paris was coming to an end. It was a quite time for reading and reflecting and just sharing our day with each other. The adventure began pretty uneventful, the day was beautiful and quiet, the weather was magnificent. What more could two vagabonds want...life is truly good.