Is This Paris?

The trip always starts in the mind. First, there is the contacts with the Country Office (CO), and the resulting agreement on when to arrive, etc. Then, Mr. Franko provides a itinerary for my review based on the dates that I need to arrive and depart. In this case, he placed me on a new airline, Air France, and had me waiting in the Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris for one of the infrequent flights to Bamako, Mali.



I will be traveling overland to our CO in neighboring Republic of Guinea. But I have over eight hours between connecting flights between Paris and Mali. Even this is more than enough time to explore the huge airport. So, I did my research on how to take the RER train that originates within the airport, and to venture into the heart of Paris. Now then, 8 hours seems like a lot of time, but I can not miss my flight to Mali. What, with the possibilities of getting on the wrong train, passing through security, etc. I figured that I had 1 1/2 to 2 hours at best to wander Paris. I was also hoping to pick up a geocache (www.geocaching.com - think GPS treasure hunt) find a few blocks from the Notre Dame Cathedral on the Isle de la Cite.

The train was a piece of cake, especially since I exchanged some U.S. dollars for Euro's before I left Sea-Tac airport in Seattle, WA (my departure location. I am home-based in Arlington, WA - no, a much smaller town than Arlington, VA)). I knew that from my pre-departure research that most U.S. generated credit cards lack the embedded security RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip that European Union-issued credits cards have. I needed hard cash. The train whisked me along until I saw a sign outside the train window at an underground station. Hey, I'd better get off!



I popped up from a tunnel and there I was. The courtyard before Notre Dame. Visions of Victor Hugo and Charles Lawton's portrayal of the Hunchback (classic Hollywood movie produced in 1939 - I am a big 1930's film fanatic) loomed before me - in reality!



I was stunned. But I was also tired. I had been up for about 30 hours (not too unusual on my trips). I was lugging around nearly 20 pounds of briefcase. I have developed this habit of becoming self-sustaining during my travels after my last loss of luggage. I keep all that I would need to survive, minus water, to last several days. An extra pair of under garments, medicines, a full set of PDA training tools (cables, chargers, data synchronization docking stations, portable PDA batteries, spare laptop battery, granola snacks, spare contacts, first aid kit. Yes, I have not yet learned to travel light. This is in addition to my fanny pack which is always within 18 inches of my grasp, which contains, cash, credit cards, 3 PDA's, spare PDA battery pack, passport, medicines, tiny first aid pack,etc.

These are not just tourist trips. I always fear that my luggage will get lost, or someone will pilfer my brief case while jammed in a crowded developing nation airport as I try to quickly pull my luggage off of the baggage conveyor. I also carry in my fanny pack a flash drive with all files needed to do my training. With those items and my 3 PDA's, I could get by. I have to be prepared. The expense and time of my trips for Save the Children have to have risks mitigated to ensure that time is not wasted.

So, my arm was falling off having lugged everything around since yesterday morning. It is now early afternoon the following day. I tried to gain entrance to the American Airlines Admirals Club that I am a member of (a great location of respite between exhausting flights). I might of convinced the Club to securely hold my briefcase for me while I ventured into Paris. But, alas, the club was in a terminal that I did not hold a boarding pass for. Ah, security.

I walked back across the Seine onto the right bank. I never did gain a foothold on to the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank. This is more than just wanting to visit the traditional bohemian side of the Seine. Left in French is gauche, which means awkward. Yes, us south paws are always bumbling along in life, twisting our arms and hands trying to accommodate right-handed (dextral) appliances and door frames. The word sinister also is derived from left. Left handed persons in the Middle Ages (not in the Orient, though!)were considered strange and twisted. A snail whose shell is coiled to the left is termed sinistrial. Us left handers do not have a chance, hence my desire to congregate with my sinister fellows on the Left Bank of the Seine....

The geocache which i wanted to locate was in the St. Gervais St.Protais area of Paris. A geocache is typically a small container (an old 35 mm film canister perhaps) that a person with a Geographic Positioning System (GPS) enabled device (I always carry one to record the entrance to train stations) hides and then posts the exact (within 3 meters) location on the internet. This particular geocache internet posting wonderfully described this side street in the heart of Paris which contained buildings from the 15th century.



I never did find the cache, of which there are over 500,000 cleverly hidden all over the world. After one does find a cache, there is typically a small pad of paper and a stubby pencil within to jot down your name and date. Later, you are able to access the caches' web page and record it as a find. I have over 100 finds all over the world, but I know several persons with thousands of finds. My main interest in geocaching is that it takes to places that I would not normally locate. Not the weathered griffins along the edges of the church in the square near the undiscovered cache.



I then happened upon a small shop which offered paper items, such as stationary, real ink pens (the ones that you must dip in a bottle of ink to produce characters) called Melodies Graphiques. The owner was so gracious. After a purchase of a couple of book markers (where did I leave off reading last night?) and a packet of stationary and envelopes crafted from handmade paper, the owner tenderly wrapped them in colored tissue paper.



I then headed or the train station to return to the airport. Wonderful day!