It’s Spring Break, and we finally accomplish our bucket list
goal of traveling to Europe albeit as chaperones for a school trip.
Peripateticism takes on a new meaning as we embark on a whirlwind trip to
experience three cities in 2 countries in 5 days using subways, trains and
buses. On day one, we hopscotch from Dallas to Atlanta to Paris on an overnight
flight. As we are about to embark on the last leg of our journey, my nose and
throat warn me of an emerging head cold—can’t cancel now and antibiotics out of
my reach. On day two, a quick stop at the hotel to drop our bags and brush our
teeth before we rocketed out of the gate, fighting a daylight savings time
switch coupled with sleepless night on the plane hangover, to walk 10 miles,
see the sights and fall into bed after a 17 hour day. Yes, someone wore a
pedometer. And yes, breakneck speed not only encouraged but expected—leading to
an unfortunate fall on a crosswalk of a busy cobbled street. After I hit the
street with a thud and my sunglasses joined me moments after, I lay sprawled on
the street stunned by the turn of events like a running back felled by a dirty
tackle. Luckily, my knee absorbed the brunt of the energy and the pear shaped
hematoma reminded me that fleet feet don’t master cobbled streets. The
remaining days involved walking, climbing stairs, sightseeing and sprinting
after subway trains. According to another chaperone, we averaged 8 miles a day
with a smattering of sleep, as in never enough, in order to stay on track with the
tight schedule. Now, I wouldn’t consider this trip a flaming failure as we
met some wonderful people, saw the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Versailles, the
Champs Elysee and the Arc de Triomphe and the Mona Lisa, the Uffizi, the Museo
Galileo and the Pont Vecchio. Lunch breaks and the occasional shopping trip
were blissful.
