French Adventure...Day 1

The plane ride was ordinary and, before I knew it, the pilot was announcing our descent into Paris. I pushed the window shade up and looked out. A soft, serene sea of lavender blue became visible. Far below were tiny sparkles of light struggling to show themselves through the vast sea of pre-dawn haze. It was lovely.

The plane twisted and turned on its approach to CDG airport and, at every turn, new lights came into view, the sea of blue lightened and the sun pushed up toward the horizon. I searched for the Eiffel Tower with no success, however, on final approach and just before landing, the gleaming white crown of the Sacre Coeur cathedral appeared. The plane touched down, the sun broke the horizon and I was in Paris.

Paris was to be short-lived since catching the train OUT of town was the first order of business. Rail travel is new to me and it was an adventure in itself with my limited use of French. However, I DID make it to the train ontime and settled down for a 5 hour ride to Bayonne, my destination and home for the next week.

Due to lack of forethought on my part, I did not have my camera available for a major part of the trip since we passed through some very beautiful country. It wasn't until we started passing the sunflower fields that I started kicking myself for not having access to the camera! They were glorious...an ocean of yellow as far as the eye could see! Sigh. I guess I have to come back this way with a car.

Arrival in Bayonne was on time and I found myself in my hotel in the historic district within 22 hours of leaving home. Since sleep on train and plane was minimal, I went to bed...but not before snapping a photo out of my hotel window! What a treat...hotel windows that open onto a pretty street scene below.