# 260: The Best Laid Plans
One cannot divine nor forecast the conditions that will make happiness; one only stumbles upon them by chance, in a lucky hour, at the world’s end somewhere, and holds fast to the days, as to fortune or fame. -Willa Cather
The plan was to use the Substack app to journal each day and adding a photo or two so I could spruce it up a bit and send a post about my walking trip in France as soon as I returned. All started well. I would wake up early before breakfast excited to recount where I had walked, what I had seen, who I had met, and what I was thinking about but, on the fifth day when I opened the app I was oh so carefully typing into with one finger on my tiny phone, everything was gone. All the words and photos I had curated for you were missing and I had no idea where they went.
I texted my good friend who uses the Substack app on her phone to write her newsletter to ask if this had ever happened to her and hoping that she might know what do. “Look in Drafts, Kate”. I did. Nothing. She suggested I contact Substack Support to see if they could help to locate my work. I sent off a quick email to Support and took a deep breath with hopes that I would hear that somehow they could retrieve my missing words and photos. I feared starting a new draft only to have that disappear as well. Then I let it go as there was another day of trekking in front of me and that was my focus for this trip.
I heard from support a few days later with the unfortunate news that they couldn’t find my work either. So I decided to just experience each step I was taking along the way without worry, gathering memories to share with you upon my return. And so it is.
Today is the first of what will be a few posts to you about my trek in Brittany and it begins with me nearly missing my flights!
Pre-Flight Check
A few days before I am to leave, I join a Zoom call with several others who will be on the walk. We are excited as we go over last minute details.
Are you bringing a rain cover for your pack?
What shoes will you change into at the end of the day?
Are you bringing Euros or just a card?
Our flights arrive fairly close in timing so let’s meet up at Charles de Gaul (CDG).
What shall we do with our one night in Paris?
We are just about to sign off when I say, I’ll see you Saturday at SeaTac.
But Kate, our flight leaves Friday. We arrive Paris on Saturday!
Oh my gawd! Friday! Got it. I’ll be there.
I can’t imagine the travel mess I have barely skirted. As I have travel anxiety, this could have been a disaster for me.
Day 1: A Car, a Bus, a Boat, a Train, and two Planes
Friday arrives and at 6:45 AM Duncan, Olivia and their dog Kira come over for hugs and good wishes. The inlaws are visiting and lodging at Pie Cottage for part of the ten days I will be gone and Alan gives me a lift down the hill to pick up the The Strait Shot, a two-hour bus ride that takes me to the ferry that travels back and forth between Bainbridge Island and Seattle and, as a senior, only costs me five dollars.
The bus is waiting when I arrive. I walk up to the driver and ask, Is this the bus to France?. He replies, Well, it could be, and smiles. A good way to start I think.
The thirty-five minute ferry ride is my next link. For walk-on passengers going east the ferry is free…well, it seems like it is free as the full fare is charged going west but, as I am now a senior, I will get a discount on that when I return, too.
When I arrive Seattle I meet up with Bria. Lest we get peckish on the next leg to SeaTac Airport, I’ve brought Morning Glory Muffins. We walk a few blocks to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and sit outside at one of the tables and share our excitement that this long anticipated trip has now begun as I unwrap one for each of us.
Now it’s on to Sound Transit Light Rail to SeaTac. Using public transportation and my feet to get from Port Angeles to my flight has cost me six dollars total. Pretty nifty if I do say so myself!
I’m flying Iceland Air to Reykjavik with a connecting flight to Paris. We have plenty of time at our gate at SeaTac and now I pull out Curried Lentil and Rice Salad, one for each of us. (I’ll post this recipe soon as it’s a staple at Pie Cottage.) The flight is called and we board the plane which feels like a furnace. Am I having a hot flash at my age? If so, everyone else is having one, too! The pilot comes on the intercom to say that there will be a delay as the air conditioning isn’t working.
Now I’m thinking, What if the flight is canceled because of mechanical difficulties? It’s happened to me before when an early morning flight from Santa Barbara couldn’t get the cargo door to close on the plane. Flights were re-booked out of LAX and taxis were provided to drive us the 100 miles along with meal vouchers. But, in Iceland, there is no other airport to taxi to, so I must wait and wait while workmen get on and off the plane breathing and trying to practice the first rule of pie making, Keep Everything Chilled, Especially Yourself. After forty minutes I feel a cool breeze. Ahhhhh!
But now there is another issue!
The toilets! They are not working properly! My travel anxiety is more than starting to bubble up now. If only I had brought a gummy to smooth me out. More folks wearing work vests come on and off the plane. I’m silently fretting over making the tight connection to Paris but the lovely flight attendant tells me that as we are getting in a bit late most all of the passenger congestion at the Reykjavik terminal will be cleared out and I should be ok and if not there is another flight at 10 PM.
Hmmmmm…
I pop in my airpods, dial up the relaxing music I’ve downloaded to my phone and close my eyes while waiting for the all clear. A small blessing is that there is no one in the seat next to me so I won’t have to play Who-Owns-the-Armrest. I don’t believe that is anyone’s favorite game. When the captain’s voice finally comes over the intercom to say we are cleared to fly, I pull out Tales of a Female Nomad and am immediately drawn in to Rita Golden Gelman’s adventures that make mine feel pale in comparison.
We land and I see that Reykjavik’s terminal is small and, as we are now in the EU, I must head straight to passport control. They move us through in a modicum of time...really just a minute or two. They’ve defintely done the move-them-along-quickly-to-connecting-flights routine before.
Now to find the gate for the next flight. The one to Paris. The board shows that it is in the final stages of boarding and we run so and make to the end of the line just in time and I breathe a sigh of relief. Talk about a tight connection!
I won’t bore you with my attempts at dozing on this leg other than to say that the music, book, and a pre-ordered Keto box with piri-piri chicken, a meal that is actually good and GF, gets me through to Paris.
When I arrive I have no idea what day it is or how long I’ve been up…or down…but I’m here. After texting and sending photos of our location in the terminal, Bria and I meet up with Johna and Wendy, two others who will also be on the walk. An Über to our lodging for the night is next. We drop off our bags, freshen up a bit and jump into into another Über for our few special hours in Paris.
As there is a tremendous amount of traffic, it takes over an hour to get into the city proper. Metro may have been a better idea but when we are finally dropped off near Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, I know it is worth the drive.
In 2011, I teach a multi-day Pie Camp at the beautiful home of
in Gascony and on my return I have two nights in Paris. At Kate’s suggestion, I take the Bateaux Mouches but it is during the day and she says that at night it is magical. So, the plan this time is to see the sparkling lights of the beautiful bridges, Musée du Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and of course Tour Eiffel as we float on the Seine. We keep walking but can’t quite figure out where to go to get tickets. But heck, we’re in Paris! Right?Hunger has set in at this point and we decide that this must be quelled. I look to my left and see Café Panis, a brasserie that back in 2011 I meet up with some Seattle friends. We say, Oui! C'est parfait!
We are seated quickly and order glasses of wine and something to eat—magret de canard et frites for me. Then we clink our glasses and toast our good fortune of being together in Paris.
Suitably refreshed and energized now, it’s out the door we go to continue our walk along the Seine accompanied by the sparkling lights which now are everywhere. But, we’ve missed the last sailing for the evening of the Bateaux Mouches!
I think, a walk after a very long day of travel via car, bus, boat, train, and plane from my home on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, is really what I need and this special walk, in the City of Light and Love, embraces me like no other.
I’m so very glad I figured out that my flight left on Friday instead of Saturday because, had I not, I would have missed it all! Que sera sera!
Next up I will share the journey to Quimper in Brittany and the start of my quest to find the traditional Breton pastry called kouign amann.
A Big Ask
Writing and teaching are how I make my living and each paid subscription helps me to keep the lights on at Pie Cottage. I am sad to report that I lost a number of paid subscribers while I was gone, so through the end of October I am extending the 25% off sale ($48.74 for one year) to all NEW one-year subscriptions. IF this fits in your budget and you find value in my work, I hope you will please consider supporting me with a paid subscription or by giving a gift subscription to a friend. It really means a lot to me.
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Que Sera Sera
I give my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for choosing to be a part of this sweet community we are creating here. See you next week!
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I loved this post - even the part about losing your draft seemed serendipitous to me. After that, your focus was on the adventure not the reporting of it. More and more, I think our opportunities for just "being" are sliding away from us. We're all tethered to our phones or laptops, etc., and it's just too much. This way, you can stop and really see where you are and the beauty laid out before you.
Your comment on losing your drafts - "So I decided to let it go and experience each step I was taking along the way without worrying" - words to live by! I hope the digital loss allowed you to be even more in the moment on what sounds like a fabulous trip with wonderful people.