Getting there and here

1

I made it to France! Both flights were good. I thought I would be able to sleep on the flight from Charlotte to Paris but instead I watched the new karate kid, always sunny, and ratatouille. I arrived in Paris at 7 am and my couch surfing friend, Jean, met me at the airport. When we got to his apartment, located in a suburb or Paris called Montreuil,  which he shares with 4 (or 5?) people we both took a 3 hour nap. We went with Jeans's cousin to a big flea market so he could buy a mattress for his new apartment. After dropping off the new mattress the three of us went back to Jean's to eat a salad, cheese, and bread.   

Jean and I had been invited to Jean's good friend, Vincent's (also surfed at my house) parent's house for dinner. We met Vincent at his apartment for drinks and more bread and a dried fish snack. When we got to Vincent's parent's place we had appetizers of cheese, crackers, meat slices, spinach bread, cheese wrapped in cooked bell peppers, cantaloupe and dessert wine. Then we moved to the table and had pasta cooked with zucchini and mushrooms and topped with scallops and crawfish, and bread. This was followed by 7 kinds or cheese and more bread and to wrap things up we had a serving fruit and a fruit tart then coffee or tea. By this point I am stuffed and having slept only 3 hours in the past 44 I was falling asleep in my chair (the wine wasn't helping). After dinner Vincent's dad took us back to Jean's where I immediately passed out. 

Today I had to head to Grenoble. Jean wanted to make sure I got on my train so he came with me to the Gare de Lyon in Paris and, because I used and American credit card to make my purchase, I couldn't use the electronic machine to get my ticket so We had to wait in very long lines to get it from a teller. When we finally got it i had about 3 minutes to catch the train. Jean sprinted with me all the way to the car I was supposed to be in. So here I am - on the train the Grenoble, seeing the beautiful countryside sprinkled with farm houses and sunflower fields.