French Bread Moments Part 1

I'm writing this from our borrowed flat in Paris!  Mike's friend Nicholas loaned us his family's city flat for our stay.  It belonged to his grandparents, and it's very 1960s in its decor.  The Danish modern dining set and the antique armoires in the bedrooms blend together in a way that sems appropriately French.  We have a nice city view from the kitchen and plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms.

I'm keeping this brief cause WiFi (wee fee in French) is hqrd to come by. I found this internet café in the neighborhood, and I'm typing on a French keyboard.  Some letters and symbols are not where I expect them to be!

This is our second trip to France.  We spent a week in Provence in 2007;  One of the most memorable moments from that trip was when Daphni, aho had been happily eating baguettes at every meal, stopped midway through her breakfast and said, "Oh duh...French Bread!!  It had just dawned on her how the crusty loaves got their name.  We laughed...a lot.  "Yes, darlin'...French Windows. Look...French doors!

She gets embarrassed when we tell that story;  But everyone has what we now call French Bread moments, when the obvious you've overlooked smacks you in the head.

What's your most recent French Bread moment?  I had one yesterday:

I do like to control what goes on around me.  It's hqrd to do when traveling abroad, and sometimes I get stressed out and end up being a wet blanket.  I don't want to do that this time.

My bad sense of direction is legendary, too.  Mike and Daphni, who both have working inner compasses, talk over me when they discuss how to get from A to B.  I shut down mentally and don't even try to figure out where we are.  I follow, but I am not a follower by nature and that stresses me out too.

So what do I want to get from this vacation?  I needed to find a happy place betzeen my desire to control and my fear of dealing with directions in a strange place.  It disturbed me that I didn't even know the name of the street we're staying on.  If I got separated from Mike and Daphni, I'd have no idea how to get home. 

I decided I wanted a vacation with quality family time, a chance to see things I haven't seen before, and experiences interesting enough to write about and share with all of you.

So I let it go.  I paid attention the next time we went out, and noz I know my Metro stop, what lines it's on, and I know the name of our street.

Mike and Daphni choose our itineraries; because they like to do that.  I am fine with what they want to do and see.

I like to wander and read placards in museums and people watch and look in shop windows and eat pastry and drink Bordeaux.  And so I shall.