Oops.

So I disappeared off the face of the blog-planet for over a month. Apologies.

Since my last post, I went to Disneyland Paris, went to Strasbourg, and discovered Parisian Christmas. I also helped a good friend (yes, I do occasionally stray from my solitary life with D) to scurry around Paris and do everything she wanted to do all at once before she quit France and returned for good to Boston. The talk of December for R was a Parisian discotheque with our Italian and Indian friends. After braving the freezing cold and then climbing five flights of stairs to meet at R's apt before, I don't think it can surprise anyone that all four of us sheepishly admitted that the allure of cookies and wine in a Parisian apartment instead of flashing lights, awkward dancing, and a 20€ cover charge was too much to stand.

So the discotheque never happened. I did have my lost-Sara moment that evening though, as N and I took the same night bus to place de la concorde, at which point I was supposed to connect to a different one. I couldn't find it though, and ended up walking along the Champs Elysees at 3:30 am desperately seeking a cab. It was actually really cool - still plenty of people around so as to feel safe, but comparatively deserted. The Eiffel Tower was completely dark save a red light at the top for the planes to see.

Returned home to Colorado for two weeks, still dislike United Airlines and am torn on my status about Air Canada. The first flight was great, the second - the flight attendants were rather rude. One accosted D as we were boarding, claiming that he absolutely HAD to show his boarding pass getting on the plane (I mean, literally stepping onto the plane), as this apparently is a new "pro-cess" developed during our four hour layover in Toronto. I have never once had to show my boarding pass on the plane, but I guess those Canadians are sticklers for fake "pro-cesses."

Also, the little screen on my seat was completely worthless - nothing would work. They kept restarting it, but eventually it was just annoying, so I didn't watch much. Later, when my on demand TV screen just completely froze, I called the flight attendants via the little button, and no one showed up for THIRTY MINUTES! Then, a flight attendant stops by and says "Can I get you to turn off that call button?" I told her that actually, I had pushed it for a reason, my screen was completely frozen and I was wondering if she could turn it of b/c I had asked another attendant and she hadn't done it, and the new woman responds, "First of all, you don't know that she didn't do it. Secondly, I've been very busy. We've been coming through with water." I told her, that, yes, someone had come by with water an hour earlier and that was the lady I had asked. She continued to argue, at which point I think I may have been affected by the hour of a frozen screen burned into my eyes and two (TWO) crying babies directly to our left in the aisle, so I asked the flight attendant why she was getting an attitude with me, all I wanted was for the screen to be turned off b/c it had been malfunctioning the entire time, and couldn't she please just turn it off? (I know you are all rolling your eyes, wondering if perhaps it was ME with the attitude, but I promise you, I was well-behaved up until this point.) She disappeared at that, and five minutes later a DIFFERENT f.a. showed up to try to turn the screen off herself. She looked surprised that, wow, I must have been right, b/c she couldn't turn the screen off either. Really. I must have been the talk of the plane. The same plane in which some drunk Greek guy kept bothering people before takeoff, and the same flight attendants had to deal with him. Priorities, people.

So anyway my trip home was pretty good and I'm glad it snowed, even if it may have caused some driving difficulties for some. I'm selfish that way I guess.

Also, I love my Navigo. Anybody who's ever used those little paper tickets in the Paris metro has to understand my love for this magnetic masterpiece. It's the small things in life....