On the 11^th of April I boarded a plane for Philadelphia, sat there for four hours then boarded a plane for Madrid, Spain, was there for one and a half hours, then boarded a plane for Marseilles, France, where I caught a bus for the city of Aix. There I was picked up by a friend in a car and delivered to the apartment I was going to live in for the next three weeks.   We took off at 6am on Monday and arrived at our destination at 1pm on Tuesday.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I was traveling with my very special lady friend, Karin, it would have been a drag, but we worked at making it fun. We were both beyond tired when we arrived. When I woke up in the morning I was confused for a few seconds when I didn’t instantly recognize where I was. Then it hit me, thus the title of this blog.

The apartment we are renting for three weeks is worth a description. First, it is small, under 400 sq. ft., and old. I’m not sure how old but I think I found where Napoleon scratched his name in the cement foundation. We live on the third floor and there is no elevator, but there is a narrow winding cement stare case for us to climb up.  It makes every trip out of the apartment a true adventure, especial when the hand rail just comes loos in your hand when you are on the way down with a walker that is too wide for the passage and must be carried folded and sideways.

The bath room is too small to call a room.  I counted the tiles in the floor – there are 30. Each one is six inches’ square which is a total of about 8 sq. ft.  In this “room” we have a shower, a wash basin, and yes, even a toilet. They all fit just fine. It’s only when we add a human body that it gets a bit cramped. Oh yes, I almost forgot, the medicine cabinet is located directly over the toilet so if anything should fall out of it like your tooth brush, it won’t get lost.  You must also close the window in the living/dining room to open the bath room door. It’s good coordination training.

The bedroom is fine and the bed is a comfortable one. It is queen size and has enough room on either side that you can stand up and if you stay facing the wall, can walk sideways out to the end where you can walk out the door facing forward.

There are two folding chairs at the three-foot square table where we eat our gourmet French food. Thanks to Karin we are eating very well, I even get to have my oatmeal every morning, which is my meal of choice.

We have two work stations, Karin’s is on the table, after we get the dishes off it, and mine is on the small coffee table by the couch. It has proved to be quite adequate.

We’re happy campers and having fun-filled adventure. I have started a short story to add to my “Steel“ mystery series. And the best part, Karin is happily putting up with me.