July 27, CDG, Paris
It was so very sad to leave today. The morning began with thunderstorms – just the kind of day we had been looking forward to for awhile – and now too late for me to enjoy with Dave. We had an unexpected visitor as we were getting ready to leave – a man arrived with a photo of a crane! It was the kind of crane that will arrive to remove and replace the engine. He said this could happen anywhere from Aug. 4 – Aug 16, and Francois from Paris will be there to do the work which will take about five days.
Dave took me to the train station in Chaumont and I had my nose pressed to the train window as the train pulled out of the station. The ride to Paris was uneventful – more of the same views as we had enjoyed along the canals – small villages, fields of hay and wheat, huge grain silos, and – for a change – expansive fields of sunflowers. The grain fields differed slightly in color – a few had been burned and were dark brown, some were a soft golden color, and some the color of sienna. All had been cut, some still had bales on the fields, and some gave the impression of a piece of velvet with the nap going one way and then the other depending on the angle from which they were viewed. There were occasional fields of corn, and potatoes with purple flowers. As we got closer and closer to Paris the view changed to more and more industry. Gone was my beloved French countryside! I did, however, catch a quick glimpse of Notre-Dame and wondered if it is as beautiful as the cathedral in Reims.
When I arrived at Gare L’Est I had to walk about fifteen minutes to Gare du Nord, then get on a metro train to the airport, which took about forty minutes. From there, I took the hotel bus, which circled the airport in search of more passengers for about another forty minutes before arriving at the hotel.