Blog by VONNIE DAVIS -- International, Award-Winning Romance Author: Adventurous...Humorous...Amorous.

Friday, September 6, 2013

I hope Paris and Berlin are Ready for Me!

Unless you've been living in a cave, you've heard about our upcoming trip--first to Paris and then on to Berlin. We take turns every couple years, making the big journey across the pond, as they say. Calvin's son, his only child, lives in Berlin. Kelly and his Berliner wife, Katrin, come to the States for a visit every other year or we go over there. Kelly is very much like Calvin--warm, caring, intelligent, fun-loving, tall, and slender--and handsome.
 
 
Kelly holds a PhD. in High Energy Theoretical Particle Physics, earned after carrying a double major of math and physics at MIT. Katrin runs a large beauty shop in a fashionable part of Berlin, where she grew up. In her broken English, she told me "he is the brains, I am the muscle of this marriage." The woman is high energy, let me tell you. While I lumber along, her feet barely touch the ground as she flits from here to there.
 
We're flying out of Roanoke for this trip. Usually, we use our regional airport, but a friend told me it would be much cheaper to use Roanoke's. I went online, did some comparative shopping and found we'd save $120. per ticket, which makes the hour drive to the Star City worth it. From Roanoke, we'll fly to Atlanta and from there, directly to Paris, a nine-hour flight. We'll arrive in the City of Light at eight in the morning. Once we're through customs, we'll catch a train through the city, getting off at the rue (street) Royale exit, or sortee. (See, you've learned two French words already!). Our little Parisian apartment is a short walk from there.
 
 
 
 
Here's a couple shots of our living room and one of our tiny French kitchen...
 
 
Do you see the washing machine in the corner? According to the apartment information we received from the rental company, it takes 4 hours to wash a load of laundry. We're on the second floor by European standards, third floor American. In Europe, the ground floor is relegated for businesses and is not figured into the floor count.
 
Our apartment is on the Left Bank, in the Latin Quarter near the Sorbonne University, where centuries ago all the students spoke Latin exclusively as they walked the streets and argued politics and philosophy in cafés. We're a few blocks from rue Moufftard, one of the oldest streets in Paris, narrow and curving with chariot groves still visible in some places. In times past, monks used to run outdoor markets there. The tradition carries on today...
 
 
Come back next week and I'll bore you with more pictures. I'll be like a child with her nose pressed to the candy store window. Paris fills you with wonder...I hope it fills me with story ideas.

19 comments:

Lilly Gayle said...

Wow! Sounds like an exciting trip. Wish I could pack myself in your suitcase for the trip to Berlin. My daughter and her husband live in the Bavaria region of Germany and I'm dying to visit again. I've been to Munich and Nuremberg, but have yet to see Berlin. Please take plenty of pictures and share! Have fun and get plenty of ideas for your next romance!!

Beth Trissel said...

Vonnie! Sounds fantastic. Have a fabulous and safe trip.

Alison Henderson said...

Have a fantastic trip, Vonnie! I haven't been to Paris in decades, but my memories are so vivid it feels like months. Bon voyage!

Anonymous said...

Bon Voyage, Vonnie and Calvin! And here's a small tip. If you've never done the bateau mouche lunch cruise, then it's a real treat (in more ways than one) And I think you'll find your sexy couple just waiting for their story to be told.

Susan Macatee said...

Sounds great, Vonnie! Have a wonderful trip and tell us all about it when you get back!

Angela Adams said...

Vonnie and Calvin, have a fabulous, relaxing and safe trip. Looking forward to your return.

Lynne Marshall said...

Very excited for you and Calvin, Vonnie. (I guess I have been living in a cave because this is the first I've heard of your European plans).

Can't wait to see more pictures, and enjoy that adorable apartment, and most especially Kelly and his wife.
Bon Voyage!

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Lilly, my sons love that area of Germany. They sometimes travel there for a bonding time of searching out their roots and backpacking over the countryside.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Thanks, Beth. We'll have a grand time, I'm sure.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Paris stays with you, doesn't it, Alison?

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Thanks, Andrea, We plan on taking a cruise on the Seine.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

I will, Susan. I'll have lots of pictures to share.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Thanks, Angela. We've been planning this trip since March.

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Lynne, I thought I'd told everyone on the planet. I've been talking about it for a long time. We're sure to have a great trip in Paris and especially in Berlin with the "kids."

Liz Flaherty said...

I get excited every time I read a post. Thanks for sharing the process!

Chrys Fey said...

Sounds absolutely wonderful! I can't wait to read about the adventures (and crazy situations) you have in Paris and Berlin.

P.S. four hours to do one load of laundry? Eek! lol

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Oh Liz, I wish you were here to help me pack. I've got piles of clothes and I keep asking will I wear all this? Decisions...decisions. LOL

Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Author said...

Chrys, I'll have stories, I'm sure. As for the washing machine taking so long, things in France ate a little different. Take the lights in the restrooms, for example, they're on a timer. If you take too long, the lights go out. The same way with corridor lights in the hallways of motels. You better hurry to your room and have your key ready or you'll be fumbling in the dark.

Calisa Rhose said...

I am so jealous! But do have fun!