Asymptomatic

Brian's been bugging me about visiting him in Austin since he moved down South.  And as Berta and I have expanded our family from 2 through to 4, it has become more difficult to arrange such a trip.  The price of airfare and arranging a date have been the main problems, since I refuse to have Riley be an "In the lap" passenger for safety issues.

Last month Brian told me he was going to be going to France for work, and he seemed a bit distressed about it.  He had done it before, but not for as long as in this trip - three to four months.

So of course, instead of bugging me to visit him in Texas, where he knows people and the language they speak, he has been bugging me to visit him in France.

One weekend in our college years, I simply showed up at Brian's house without calling in advance.  Basically when I arrived, I called and said, "I can't find your house."  This is more amusing when you realize that the drive to Brian's house was about 5 hours.  We keep joking that I should do this again while he is in Texas, and if I was in my early 20s, I might, but with all the kids and work it's a lot more difficult.

Well, Brian - I'm coming to France.

I know it's not showing up outside your apartment and calling, but I figure that some direction on how to get to where I need to go in a land of people that don't speak my language will probably be a "good thing".

My plane leaves Philly on the afternoon of October 13th and arrives in Paris in the early morning on Friday the 14th.  I leave again on Monday.  So it's basically a weekend trip to Paris.

I must be freakin' insane.

I got a good deal on the airfare, actually.  Only $58 after I turned in practically all of my SkyMiles.  I hope to have enough left over for an upgrade, if they let me do that.  Sitting in coach for about 10 hours (yeah, a connecting flight through Atlanta and then JFK) is going to suck.

It took too little to convince Berta, and I feel bad for having to leave her at home with the kids for 5 days.  Thankfully, I was able to swing the trip in the middle of October, so I won't miss Halloween with the kids, which was my only other available weekend.  So Brain, if you're reading this, you owe Berta a big something or other for letting me come alone. 

We actually discussed the four of us coming out, but the plane price was a bit prohibitive.  Plus, the kids aren't really old enough to appreciate the kind of trip we'd want to have, so there wouldn't be much to do with them.

So, dude - Clear that crap off your couch and start figuring out what I need to see in Paris.

Now... Anyone know a way I can learn French in three weeks?