The best laid plans… ahhh, ever so true; never more so for me than during these past days.
But first… Paris! First class was surprisingly ehhh, as the seat did not recline flat, which left me at an awkward sloping angle, with every patch of turbulence sliding me further down the seat. That and the guy next to me was violently vomiting (I am worried about him if he cannot handle the foie gras and champagne in first class as he was on his to way to Coite d`Ivoire for two years of Peace Corps!). That being said, I arrived without incident and explored the city. I like Paris, but don`t love it. It doesn`t seduce me like Roma; sing to me like Tel Aviv.
My joie de vivre was quickly interrupted by the news that our wire transfer to our tour operator in Mali did not go through, and the bank had waited awhile to inform me. Thus ensued 8 hours of calls and online chats with Bank of America (costing me 50 USD), with problem begetting problem (online security-transfer limits-wires-utter incompetence). In the end, Bank of America did not solve the problem, their problem, and I will be closing my accounts with them when I return. Yeah, it`s like that!
So with the Paris sky dark and me thoroughly burnt out from sitting in a dreadful internet cafe/call center in Montparnasse all day (literally), our issue was not solved. Elisa heroically came to our aid and got the thousands of necessary Euros in cash to Victoria before Victoria flew to Paris to meet me en route to Bamako. The urgency was immense as the money guranteed everything from a boat (with captain, crew, chef, and camping equipment), to hotels, 4X4s, festival tickets? charter flight… the works. With that settled I indulged. I went to the top of the Eifel Tower, and am glad I did. It was beautiful; Paris is beautiful. I was reminded of why we have stereotypes, as I witnessed not one, but two marriage proposals on the top deck (both said yes; one woman was pleasantly shocked and the other woman was clearly expecting it). After the Eifel Tower I went to La Fontaine Du Mars (http://www.fontainedemars.com), a brasserie that came highly recommended from a French diplomat I know in DC and another friend. It was worth the hype, was as authentic and charming as possible, and the duck confit was the best I have ever had (even better than Dovetail in NYC- sorry Daniella).
In the course of a few hours, between playing tourist and gastronomique, I managed to walk over 10k. I returned to my hotel (highly recommended), fought courageously in a losing skirmish to jet lag, then got a rather unexpected call from Victoria; unexpected because she was supposed to be en route to Paris and over the Atlantic by that point! I`m still not entirely sure that I understand what happened, but I know that Victoria made it to the airport and indeed even to her seat on the plane, but was not in it when the plane took off because the acquaintance of hers (who was booked for the same flight) whose bag she checked, as a favor, did not show up on the flight and Victoria did not want to be stuck taking someone else`s bag through customs. Certainly a reasonable feeling. The consequence: Victoria cannot get another flight until the 31st, so I am flying solo until then. On the 2nd I will be united with Victoria + Elisa and Katie (as originally planned) in Mopti.
I have decided to continue with the original plan, and will fly to Bamako tonight then bus to Burkina Faso tomorrow where we, nay: I, have reservations at a charming hotel in Banfora (http://www.hotelcanneasucre.com). Traveling alone through West Africa is not what I had in mind for this leg of the trip, but the show must go on, and I have never said no to an adventure. I am getting reacquainted with myself on a level of both solitude and discovery that I have not experienced since living alone in Kenya a few years ago.
THIS IS WHY I TRAVEL.
Love to all. I hope to blog again in the coming days.
Unanswered (as of yet) Questions:
-Why in the world does the Louvre have an “r” in it? (BTW- went there this morning. Two thoughts: 1) Cool 2) Louis XIII was not a fan of subtlety)
-How do fat people shower in Europe?
-How is it that this Parisian weather has me lusting for Detroit’s relative mild climate?
-If I try really hard, might I end up with a dignified ’stache?