Halfway to Beijing from Vancouver

Flying on an Air Canada flight 029, a 767. Interactive entertainment AND a plug-in on the seats for the laptop. That means five and a half more hours to write. 

Lot of movies to choose from, The Bourne Ultimatum was the first pick. Other than the title and the name of the main character, the movies have little in common with the Ludlum books. But they are really fast paced and good entertainment. The second movie was Ratatouille. For some reason, I skipped the theatre showings. What a huge mistake. What a great message movie. A mouse chef in Paris.

Five years ago, my daughter and I spent a week in Paris as part of a round-the-world jaunt. We stayed in a thrifty hotel on the Rue de Rivoli the first night, then moved to a Best Western by the Pont Neuf bridge and Les Halles for the rest of our stay. Paris has a very special place in our hearts. The food, the history, the people.

The food is…..well heck it’s Paris. I can’t really think of an adequate adjective. We were there at the end of June, so we would dine in the afternoon at the sidewalk café’s on the Rue de Rivoli and savor the sights, sounds and smells of the city. And of course, we would watch the people.

The history….when we were there we did a Hemmingway self-tour. We visited the apartment he lived in during the 1920’s and the bars he wrote about.

In Ratatouille there’s a great line, “That was rude, but we’re French, it’s ok.” As for the people, well I’m still waiting to experience the ‘rude’ factor. Everytime we went anywhere, I would speak French to them and they would give a knowing smile, nod and answer me in English. My daughter would pat my arm and say, “That’s ok dad.” My French is brutal at best, but making the effort to speak the native language endeared me more than once. I guess that’s the way to get over being the ugly american when you’re travelling. Respect the other culture and make an effort. I remember watching an episode of Rick Steeve’s travel show and how he was talking about service in a restaurant and how some cultures view slow service as good service, as opposed to the standard on the north american continent. After last year’s trip to St Vincent, my wife and I ended up in St Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles and found a restaurant, Kontiki, on Orient Beach on the French side that we always dine at when we’re on the island. After several trips there, we got to know the wait staff and the customs. We would always have a bottle of wine and relax before we ordered our meal. The pace was relaxed and slow. Not something you would ever find stateside. Frankly, many americans, with their fast food mentalities would be upset with the pace. It’s different, but it’s not wrong.

Watching Raratouille brought me back to Paris, maybe I’ll head home that way.