Last night in Champoluc we had a storm and the night was rather cool. I started down the mountain at 5:00 am, with the goal of reaching the Milano Linate airport by 7:30 am, to give me enough time to return the rental car and go through the boarding process. The trip was uneventful but I wasted some time finding the car rental return because of poor signaling. Checking in was a breeze, and I had to cool my heels in the waiting area for a good hour or so before it was time to board.
I landed in Paris CDG a little before noon and promptly found my way to the light rail RER. Géraldine had given me very clear instructions on taking the RER B to Châtelet-Les Halles, and from there transfer to the RER A to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, for a total travel time of about half an hour. In the way I met a nice couple of expats who made sure I made the right transfer, so pretty soon I was waving hello at my dear friend Géraldine. She had brought the car to pick me up, so I had a nice driving tour of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a city on the western outskirts of Paris (not to be confused with the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quartiers of central Paris). She recently bought a condo here, attracted by the attractive residential areas and the green spaces around the Laye river.
It was hot! Apparently, this is the third hear wave they have had this spring and summer, with temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius (about 100 degrees Farenheit), which doesn't sound as high as what we can get in the Central Valley, but is a killer in a place that isn't really used to air conditioning. The strategy is to keep the house closed with the thermal blinds, to keep the heat out at the expense of living a life of darkness.
This is going to be a busy weekend because tonight Géraldine needs to attend a High School reunion in Orleans (south of Paris), so we will spend the night at her Dad Marcel's house, and tomorrow Sunday there is a birthday party for her great aunt and great uncle, who are in their late 70's. Marcel is a gracious host, but my French is too hesitant for me to hold a good conversation. Fortunately, Lucas, Géraldine's youngest son (20 years old) is with us and he likes practicing his English with me.
Like a good grandfather Marcel loves to have Lucas around, and since he is young he has to do all sorts of high-tech jobs like trying to figure out why the remote control of the TV is not working. Rattle, rattle, rattle. Obviously, something was broken inside, so the diagnose was that it was dead. Then he had to order one online for him, and a small discussion erupted because Lucas had ordered it under his family name, Marchand, but Marcel wanted it delivered it at his home under his family name, Carminatti. It was really funny watching those two interact.
While Géraldine went off to
her reunion, Marcel cooked for us guys a delicious spaghetti al ragú in
industrial quantities. The old concern that you don't want your guests to go
hungry! Afterward we watched the news, which are not very encouraging about the
Iran or Ukraine wars, and with those gloomy thoughts I said goodnight and
retired for the day.
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