Paris episode 1

I step off the plane , and it's cold and grey, as only Paris in winter can be. They lost my luggage, the hope is that it will be at the hotel sometime tomorrow. It seems every architect ever called on to design an airport has conspired to use the same color scheme. Grey and drab. Maybe it's an effort to camouflage the soot and grime, but instead of hiding the filth it makes one feel as if they will never be free of it. Can't believe they lost my luggage, and i'm not in my 'admirable attire' Our driver darts and whizzes among the flock of cars leaving the airport. hurtling us out of the gray confines onto a stretch of 10 lane tarmac. Past power lines and idyllic statues of cows. I wonder if the namesake of this place, Charles De Gaulle knew that a side effect of greatness is to have a place like this named after them. It takes awhile but we finally leave behind the sad derelict 1970's apartment buildings topped with the blazing signs of Sony, Telecom and Autos, and enter the old Paris. The old town where the buildings all try to occupy the same space, great stone buildings with wrought iron, gables and gargoyles towering high above, yet all under the french flag. At their feet lay a thousand cafe's, jewelers and boutiques.

The hotel and the room are delectably small by US standards, but perfectly comfortably by French! Even walking in I feel as if I want to pull the desk up in front of the window, pour myself a glass of wine, and work on the next great literature masterpiece.