A Night To Remember - Paris

 This is a 'blast from the past' ....

In 1986 my dau. Susan needed to work in Paris for awhile to upgrade her portfolio. Models have to do that and Europe is an excellent place to achieve a better book. 

She invited me to go along. Neither of us had ever been to Europe. If any of you have been in another country you know that things are different 'across the pond'. And, I was nervous about us not knowing one word of French! So, I bought one of those books 'See Paris on $10 a Day' or something like that. I found a listing for a hotel that might work for us... the staff spoke English. 

We take a cab to Hotel Marginan, the driver sets our suitcases on the sidewalk and away he goes. We go in to find the check-in desk in a tiny cubby hole. No lobby. Okay, that's different. 

We follow the clerk up a narrow wrought iron stairway to the second floor and down a long hallway. We open the door ... it looks like a girl scout camp! 3 small cots lined up along one wall, covered with those stiff, indian looking blankets. There's one small wardrobe to hang our clothes in, a chair and a telephone on the wall.

No bathroom? Oh no, there's just one bathroom for the entire floor and it's back down the hall.

We are exhausted. I mean, there's no getting any sleep on an overnight flight! So, we crawl into bed. It's January, folks. and those people don't believe in heat evidently. I got up and piled our coats and other clothing on top of us to stay warm.

Sometime during the night I needed to go find that elusive bathroom. One tiny light gave me enough guidance as I wandered down the hall. I finally found the place. I went in, tried to turn the light switch on but it was weird. It was a knob that you turned. I sit down to take care of things and notice that the ceiling is very high and there is a small window up there and the darn thing is open. Cold air was flowing in. 

All of a sudden the light goes out. I am in total darkness. That thing was on a timer. I stumble to the door and make my way back to the 'comfort' of my bed. 

Needless to say as soon as we got awake we set out to find a different place to stay. And, we found it, too. Hotel La Louisanne ..... 

We had our own bath! Glory Be. And, it was warm inside and was on a street filled with sidewalk vendors (flowers, fish, etc, etc). So much for following a travel book to find lodging. We'd done better on our own.

that's me with the camera standing behind the truck. 

As I say things are different in different countries. Americans are pretty used to comfort. We might could use a little more restraint on that level. But, that's another story.