Hours later I woke up to Kate shaking my leg. Apparently it was the fifth or sixth shake; guess I passed out hard.
Since I was still slightly in a dream (half-asleep) I grabbed my comb and began to brush my hair. See my dream had been that my hair was greasy. Not normal travel greasy but dream greasy. Imagine a bucket of lard being poured onto my head. There we go. In the dream I somehow found bags of flour on the bus. Just go with me. I was using fistfuls of flour and my comb in an effort to counteract the grease. So I woke up while dreaming about combing my hair. First thing I did was comb my hair. Ah logic.
Kate and I said goodbye to our new flamboyant friends and made our way to Saint Lazare. I know that I don't have that many clothes with me anymore (I brought everything to Scotland) and I only bought a few dresses plus a top but my left shoulder was going to kill me. That is if my spine didn't snap first. That's the issue with carrying everything, you bear the physical burdens.
Saint Lazare, how good to see you at seven in the morning. Kate and I were supposed to drop off our luggage there because our train home was at 2 PM. Guess who's luggage area isn't there anymore? Guess who said it was there thus the reason going to Saint Lazare? How Kate didn't kill me is still a mystery. Though, coffee might have had something to do with it.
Starbucks, first and last time I will say this (I hope) thank you for existing. Kate and I threw our stuff to ground and enjoyed some fresh coffee. That eased all the tensions. Sitting with mugs and sipping frothy brews allowed us to relax and decipher our situation. We needed somewhere to put our stuff. Neither of us had simple access to internet. We had Jonathan do it.
Apparently Gare de Lyon (a particularly familiar train station) had a left luggage area. This proved convenient for everyone since Gare de Lyon is a straight shot from La Défense where Jonathan lives. Metro to Gare de Lyon! The station seems to have grown since last time. Either that or I never realized how frickin' huge it was.
Kate and I sorted ourselves out (became unlost) and found the left luggage area. The rate for an entire day was about seven euros. Sweet dude. Big plus, all three bags fit into one locker. This calls for another sweet dude! Now time to find Jonathan.
Found him! Somehow I'm always the one to spot him first. We all said hello and then began our short day together. It had been a while since Kate had seen Jonathan, Disney I believe. Anyways the two of them caught up and all that.
I enjoyed the fresh air around Notre Dame with Fun.'s Barlights looping in my head. Though I had slept on the bus the weight of travel was still heavy on my shoulders. Wasn't exactly focused but still happy to be with my friends.
Pictures happened. Kate was given Jonathan's camera and went crazy with it. She's a pretty decent shot with it and took over 200 photos throughout the morning. Jonathan insisted that there be pictures of him and me together. I agreed and actually am happy with the results. This one is my favorite.
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| Thank you Kate. |
After Notre Dame we sidetracked into Jonathan's favorite bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. It is a booklover's paradise. The amount of novels was so insane that you had wedge yourself through rooms with book stacks that touched the ceilings. The average American would've been stuck.
I leafed through a few books out of curiosity and found an interesting read. It was "Poem and Songs of Jim Crow" a suitable topic for everyone. As much as political correctness might want to burn this book, they can keep their Fahrenheit 451 desires to themselves. Inside was a plethora of aged viewpoints and brilliantly written southern phonetics. If I'm back in Paris soon I'll grab a copy (we were tight on time). I'll be sure to have it stamped too.
Gamer diet today also known as the screw food diet. Kate and Jonathan aren't gamers meaning they eat like normal people. The muffin held me fine. We (they) ate at a pizzeria nearish to the bookstore. Jonathan had a panini and Kate had pizza. One is allergic to dairy the other gluten. Then again I'm mildly allergic to apples and pears. Have forth friends!
It was time for a key event. This happened to be the Luxembourg gardens. I had seen them back in the fall while waiting for Caitlin after my Lyon adventure. They are beautiful in autumn but spring flowers blow red leaves out of the water. Interesting image there.
Anyways Kate and I (probably Jonathan too) have wanted to go the gardens forever. Originally Paula would have been with us; someday the three will return to Paris together.
Damnit just cried a little there while typing. Moving on, Jonathan, Kate and I walked around the gardens for a good chunk of time. We saw kids sailing boats in the fountain, a lady doing really poor stretches, and groups and groups of joggers. We also stopped for a bit and I gave Kate a shoulder massage. She was all knots. Future jump, back in the Le Havre I properly worked on her back and celebrated with whisky.
Time slipped by and we found ourselves back at Gare de Lyon. Funny how life loves to loop. Outside this station is where Paula and I first met Jonathan. We had dinner not too far away where he played his charm cards on us. He also did a magic trick, major detail.
This time we had a drink outside the station since the clock was running out of minutes. Wine for Kate and beer for me. Says so much about our personalities right there. I had to down my Leffe in the end, damn time.
We all hurried back to the luggage area where Kate volunteered to grab the bags. This left me alone in Jonathan's arms. That was a brief but pleasant moment. Distance is bitch, just saying. Kate returned and dropped my bags with, "No wonder your shoulder hurts." I'm small and can carry a decent amount of weight. But yeah my shoulder hurt like hell.
A problem occurred, wouldn't be life if it didn't. Since we were in crunch time for our train we were rushing through the Metro. An escalator was out of order so Kate had to take the stairs. Her suitcase is general suitcase with wheel and a pull out handle. The handle snapped on the stairs. That proved to be a huge annoyance for poor Kate. Plus she and Jonathan had some fiberglass puncture their fingers.
Saint Lazare was reached as was platform 23. Kate and I punched our tickets and took a short moment to realize that we were finally going home. The vacation was over with that train ride. Kate said her goodbyes to Jonathan with a huge hug. I gave him a kiss maybe two and left the platform wishing that he lived closer. Distance really is a bitch.
On the ride home both Kate and I fell asleep. Traveling for way too long causes fatigue. Needless to say we arrived in Le Havre without much delay. Due to Kate's suitcase situation we took our time walking home. I went slightly faster because my spine was in a decent amount of pain from my duffle bag and backpack. So glad that my return to States bag has wheels and is twice the size of the Adidas duffle bag.
Home, then Subway, then home, then unpacking, then back cracking/massaging (playing masseuse), then whisky, then bed. I was tired and earned the right to enjoy my somewhat comfortable bed. Blackhawks blanket I'm so glad I have you to keep me warm. Goodnight.
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