A Typical Day

I rise at about 6:30, shower, and go down for breakfast at 7:00 AM. Breakfast is served in the cellar of the hotel building which dates from the 1400s. My 10 minute walk to the train is along Rue Saint Andre des Arts to the activity of a city just starting the work day – a woman polishes the brass nameplate on her store front, beer is being delivered and a garbage truck is picking up trash. My train station is in the shadow of the statue of St. Michel on the left bank. Notre Dame is across the bridge and to the right.  There is plaque on the wall of the Fountain of St Michel commemorating a member of the French Resistance, who died during the liberation of Paris in August, 1944.

I go underground and get on RER B. I have learned that it is best to walk down the station to the left and get near the end of the train as it makes for a shorter walk when I arrive 15 minutes later at Croix de Berny , south of Paris. Along the way the train passes Laplace and Gentilly which bear no resemblance to their namesakes in Louisiana.

From the station, it is a 5 minute walk to the office building where I am working for the next several months. More to follow later........