The plane landed at Charles de Gaulle airport at six A.M Paris time. It took about an hour for them to get their bags and to get through customs. Just after nine they were driving down the famous Champs Elysèes in a cab. Sarah had a big smile on her face and you could feel her excitement as she looked around. She slept well on the plane on the eight hour flight. It felt as if the plane was never going to land but finally it did.
They drove around the Place de la Concorde and she could see the Arc de triomphe on the other side. Matt stared at her and he could see how happy she was. They were staying at a small hotel. The hotel Relais Saint Sulpice.
They booked adjoining rooms and Matt demanded to pay for the hotel himself. He didn't have much of a choice about the tickets, as Sarah immediately booked those after phoning him the day before. She was lucky to get the last two first class tickets at such short notice.
Sarah has never been to Paris before and she couldn't wait to explore the city. They left their bags in their respective rooms and met outside twenty minutes later. They walked all over Paris and then stopped for a coffee at the cafè Constant.
Sarah enjoyed every minute of the day, she has never felt so happy and so free of any burdens. This trip was definitely what she needed. They were both exhausted when they finally went back to their hotel. They planned to meet in an hour for dinner but they both needed freshening up.
Sarah was amazed at the size of her bathtub and had a relaxing bath before dinner. They were both so tired that they only had a quick dinner and then went back to their rooms. Sarah just couldn't fall asleep and pulled a chair closer to check her view outside. She had the most wonderful view she could ever imagined.
She had a perfect view of the Eiffel tower and sat staring at it for nearly half an hour. She was happy and smiled at the thought of Rich's words and she could still hear him clearly: "You're working too damn hard Sarah...you need to take a break..."
Rich would be happy too if he saw her now. Perhaps he was here with her.... watching over her?
She woke up the next morning from a soft knock on her door. It was room service and behind the trolley stood Matt.
"Good morning sleepy head..did you sleep well?"
She wasn't even properly awake and went straight back to bed moaning, but sat up straight when Matt handed her the tray of food.
"Oh Matt...real French croissants....I can't believe that we are really here! She babbled on about all the sights that she wanted to visit and Matt could hardly get in a word. She quickly gobbled down both the croissants and then jumped up to take a shower.
Sarah made a list of attractions she wanted to see the previous night, and she wanted to see everything possible in the few days they were there. Matt asked the clerk at the front desk where they could rent a car and he explained to them where to go in broken English.
They were able to find an old Renault and Matt drove down the countryside while Sarah was in awe of the scenery. They drove past a few chateaus but they were all in terrible condition. They drove for about an hour and then decided to turn back as they still wanted to make a turn at the public library before lunch.
Matt must have taken a wrong turn and needed to find a place to turn around. They landed on a narrow gravel road and by the time they were back on track they were both laughing uncontrollably. They were both having so much fun.
On their left was a beautiful old house and Sarah asked if they could stop to take a few photos. The house seemed to be under construction but it was still in a lovely condition. It made her think of her own house that was currently under construction. Sarah asked the works-men if she could walk around and take a few photos... they told her to go ahead, and when she walked around the corner she nearly bumped into a man walking out of the house.
" Bienvenue au chateau de Berne"
The man said to her and smiled at her. Sarah couldn't believe their luck.