After The Flood

I spent the first ten days of the month in Paris, photographically documented fairly well on Instagram and therefore Facebook. I saw as many sites as I could. I used the Paris Museum Pass to see as many places of interest as I could. I ate numerous amazing foods. Then, the ceiling collapsed in my Airbnb just before I was about to leave home-base in Paris and venture into Germany and Belgium. I wanted to write more, but it has been a whirlwind. It would be incredibly long, and likely boring, to go into every detail. Just know that I am still grateful for this amazing adventure, even through the problems, maybe more-so because of the problems.

Since the flood in my first Paris Airbnb, which was over ten days ago, so much has been experienced in such a short time. First, I packed all of my stuff and I booked a hotel by Gare de l’Est (train station). I had planned to leave most of my belongings behind and travel lightly via train, but I had to move on and there was no time to book a new place that I wasn’t even going to be in for a week. So, I lugged all my stuff from city to city, which was a pain, but probably good for physical fitness. The next day, I took a train to Stuttgart, where I saw sights and visited some wonderful people who showed me around and with whom I had wonderful food, drinks and conversation. Two days later, my train out of Stuttgart was cancelled but I eventually hopped on a train to Mannheim so I could connect to Heidelberg. In Heidelberg, I explored the old part of town with more wonderful people who showed me around before spending an evening with great food, beers, and more great conversation. The next morning was a train to Frankfurt. Why Frankfurt? I don’t know, it was on the train route so I checked it out. After a day in Frankfurt, it was on to Brussels. Brussels was great and I hope to go back. Waffles, chocolate, beer, and so many things to see. The next day, I was on another train, this time to Bruges. Bruges is cute, filled with beautiful canals and buildings. Beyond that, there are fancy shops and restaurants everywhere and not a whole lot more. I got up the next day, hopped a train to Brussels, then another train back to Paris, and got to my new Airbnb in time to meet up with an old friend from Michigan to explore new parts of Paris together. We ate, we saw art, we walked and talked in the pouring rain and had a great time. In all, it was eight days, eight regional trains, eight different lodging locations, and all sorts of sights and foods. Exhausting.

So now, I am back in Paris. My new Airbnb is a very unique artist studio in a two bedroom townhouse tucked way back in a gated villa on the fancy side of Paris. The place has its issues, but I have settled in for a few days and have basically been living like a local. One night, I walked down the street, past the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs Élysées, and walked into a movie theater to relax for a while by checking out a new flick. It was surreal to do such a normal thing in such an iconic and historic location. I am in the midst of my three days between my hectic week of train travel and before guests arriving form the States. I plan to kick it back into tourist mode once people arrive, but for now, it is casual strolls down beautiful streets and in picturesque parks, stops into book stores, enjoying amazing foods at a leisurely pace, grocery shopping in local markets, taking time to read, enjoying rest and relaxation in this wonderful city.

In addition to all of the wonderful things I have enjoyed since being back in Paris over the past few days, I visited the woman who was supposed to be my Airbnb host for the entire month of August. She flew back into town to address her damaged home on the same day I booked my hotel and began my week away from France. Although I received a full refund for the remaining nights after the ceiling collapse, and I received a partial refund for the previous problematic days, she still felt she needed to compensate me for some cleanup and coordinating with repairmen while she was away. This was agreed upon before the ceiling collapse that terminated the stay. She also wanted to meet as we had maintained consistent positive communication through all of the problems we experienced together. I ended up sitting with her fin her home or two hours on Sunday afternoon. She is an informed and intelligent seventy-something who moved to Paris for her first job over fifty years ago. Leaving her home in London, never to return. We discussed issued of politics, race, gender, religion, family, and so on. She shared her observations and perspective of growing up in post-war Britain, living in Paris, and how she has watched things slowly change in Western Europe since the eighties. Her observations and perspective from her lived experience were interesting, if not fascinating. We both agreed and disagreed, our experiences are vastly different, but we both hope for a similar future and the dialogue was entirely positive. As cheesy at it sounds, I felt bad taking payment from her at the end of the conversation, but we had a deal, and I deserved to be compensated for the labor I performed and the assistance I provided to her while I was supposed to be a customer of hers. She gave me a big hug when I left and I felt like I made a connection that will stay with me. If nothing else, her sharing her story and perspective will help shape my perspective and help inform me as I move forward. In an odd way, I feel I have to be grateful for the flood and ceiling collapse of my initial accommodations because it provided for this connection to happen.

Now there is one last solo day in Paris, then it is on to companionship with guests, tourism, and whatnot. There are eleven days left of this lengthy adventure. Although it feels like the end is nearing, the time remaining is longer than all but one vacation I have ever taken. I still have so much that I will experience. What an amazing privilege this adventure has been. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Apples & Oranges: Taking an iPhone to Europe

I’m killing time at the Stuttgart train station, waiting on my train to Heidelberg. I’m sitting here thinking about iPhones, data usage, battery usage, and all the things I’m doing on this trip with my smartphone and to make sure I have the battery and data required at any given time.

I realize many people know about these things. (There are probably resources you could google that are written better than this. Some people write professionally and have editors!) However, since I’m consistently up to my eyeballs in tech, especially Apple tech, I never know what is common to me versus common to others.

At times, my iPhone is more important than my brain while in foreign countries, so I need to make sure I have battery and data. Constantly googling, translating, and mapping your entire day will use more battery than you may think.

Here are some options that may help keep you moving along, with the knowledge of the world in your pocket:

• Cell phone plans are as disparate and needlessly complex as anything so look into what your options are. On a shorter trip, I just paid the $10 per day my cellular provider wanted for international roaming. Restrictions and limitations certainly applied so limiting data usage was a must. (Much more on that below.) Some friends have plans that are much better due to the superior offerings of their cellular providers. (Damn it “Mambo”!) My current trip is too long to justify the $10 a day so I bought a “Holiday SIM” from Orange (foreign cellular provider). I was able to buy the SIM in advance on Amazon and register it before I left. The SIM activated immediately when I put it in my phone when I reached my first foreign destination. Yes, this means I have an international phone number for the duration of the trip. I provided it to the people that would need it in advance. iMessage doesn’t care what number you register in Messages settings on the phone and you can even have multiple. Your Message conversations with other iPhone users stay intact though you may need to add a +1 to their phone number since you aren’t in the states. One caveat here, keep in mind you won't be getting your texts sent directly to your primary number. If you use text messages for multi-factor authentication to certain websites, etc., then you will need to adjust in advance for the most convenience.
• Manually turn on “low battery mode” at all times unless charged or plugged in and you really think you need it off. This option on an iPhone changes a variety of settings to conserve battery power.
• Bring a USB battery pack if you own one. If it’s small enough for a pocket, awesome. If it requires a small daypack, so be it.
• Go into your cellular data settings and turn off anything you don’t need that’ll consume your limited data plans while traveling. You don’t need Podcasts automatically downloading. You don’t need Photos automatically uploading. Your phone will tell you what apps you consume most of your data plan with and you can toggle their cellular data usage on and off individually.
• Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth if you’re not using them. The radios use energy all the time scanning for networks and devices.
• Turn on WiFi when you’re someplace that you can use it and save that cellular data plan, but don’t pass any sensitive information on unknown networks.
• If you’re going to be using headphones a lot and thinking about AirPods or some other wireless option, maybe think twice while out and about. Leaving Bluetooth off and opting for old fashioned wired headphones will save some battery.
• Download your podcasts, music, etc., in advance or while plugged in and on WiFi. Then the earlier tip about cellular data is less impactful. Plan ahead and you can still have your jams and whatnot at your fingertips.
• Charge your phone whenever there is a convenient opportunity, even when it is mostly charged. These days, with modern battery technology, we really don’t need to worry about shorting the life span of batteries due to short charge cycles.
• Do you have an Apple Watch? Do you need it on the trip? It uses the iPhone battery power to consistently communicate between the two. Leave it behind, turn it off, or put it in Airplane mode when you don’t need it for anything. I will say, it is damned handy to use an Apple Watch with maps for directions! (For what it’s worth, I still find Google Maps to do a better job than Maps by Apple while traveling.)
• Want to be able to unwind with ESPN, Sling TV, or something similar at the end of the day, during your morning routine, on a train, etc.? Many of those services won’t work in many foreign countries. You can use a VPN and let your phone virtually reside in the US to gain access to your comfort shows, news programs, sports teams, etc. I opted for Express VPN. Setup is easy. You can do it. It’s $12.95 for one month. Just go to their site or the App Store on your device and click through all the things. Some apps use Location Services on your iPhone as a secondary method of identifying the location of your device. You can turn it off. You may notice certain things will work better on VPN, some better with VPN off. Just toggle it on and off as needed. It’s easy.

If you aren’t in the Apple tech ecosystem, I’m sure you can translate the above to apply to your devices of choice. I’m not the person to ask. As an Apple employee in 2007, I received the first hit iPhone for free and have been addicted to using all Apple portable technology ever since.

If anyone has any other tips, feel free to comment below.

So It Goes

When I was planning this trip, I often said: "I want to live in Paris, truly see what it’s like to live in Paris for a month." As we all know, as we have all experienced, life includes a variety of unplanned and unexpected events, expenses, and so on. I got that health issue and healthcare stuff squared away on Monday. Life, it happens, you deal with it. I did. That’s how life works.

Now, let’s go back to before I left for Europe. It was a week or so in advance of the trip and I was made aware of a recent roof leak above the apartment I was renting. I had a discussion with the homeowner and we covered all the details. She assured me there was minor cosmetic damage, but that my stay wouldn’t be affected by it. She believed her contractor. I believed her. She went on her vacation. I went on mine.



Fast forward to this Tuesday, the day after the doctor, when an extreme rain came down over Paris for a sustained period of time. When I returned to the apartment, the bathroom was flooded. I cleaned up the mess, laundered the towels and rugs, and spoke at length with the homeowner. She felt awful, but I agreed to stay home the next day to be here for the contractor’s return visit. Everything went well, I only lost half a day of my vacation, and I was on my way. The homeowner was grateful and effusive in her praise of my willingness to help. We all need a little help every now and then. No sweat. Everything is now in the rearview mirror. Later, we agreed to cash compensation for my troubles.

Early in the morning on Wednesday, as I was waiting for the contractor, I was listening to podcasts through an iPad. This had become my norm while doing any activities around my apartment here. The iPad stopped playing so I stopped what I was doing to check on it. It had entered an endless reboot loop. Apple logo, black screen, Apple logo, black screen, repeat. I have a long history of troubleshooting Apple devices so I knew what to do. Quickly, I realized that this poor iPad had likely just given up the ghost right in front of me. It was a goner. Due to various reasons, I had decided to bring “work” devices on the trip instead of personal ones. Mainly, I am to be gone for an extended period of time and I wanted to be able to work remotely if some urgent matter arose. I double-checked the stats on this iPad, handed down to me due to an administrator opting for something newer, and I realized it was well out of warranty. At nearly 4 years old, iPads that break are basically disposable. Please recycle them in the greenest means possible.

Today, I decided I’d make a Genius Bar appointment at the Apple Store Opera and have them confirm or deny the death of the iPad. It received its death certificate at approximately 2:30 PM local time in Paris. I’d been considering buying myself a personal iPad for some time. It has been ten years since I owned one and thought maybe that an iPad is all I really need for a portable “computer” outside of work. The stars had aligned and I bought an iPad Air and the keyboard case that transforms it into something akin to a slim laptop, instead of a tablet to poke at. An unexpected expense, but I’ll still be able to cache videos on Netflix for all of my upcoming train rides. Onward.



I ran around a few places in Montmarte after the Apple Store visit and eventually headed back to my apartment. As I was exiting the Metro, my Airbnb host called from Andalusia. Long story, but what had happened is pretty simple. It rained again. The rainwater had been collecting over the main room of the apartment. The ceiling has collapsed. Her neighbor had gone in to check on things after hearing the crash. Some of my stuff is wet, some of her stuff is damaged. She is canceling her vacation and flying back tomorrow. I need to find a new place to stay for the rest of the month. I bounced around some ideas, asked some people about the places they have stayed here, etc. The homeowner had immediately offered up a full refund, so I figuratively have that in my back pocket. A friend wisely reminded me to reach out to Airbnb. They are now involved. They appear steadfast in their efforts to find a resolution. My current hope is that I find a new place to move into on Saturday, unpack, and get a good night's sleep so I can ditch my stuff and head to Germany with a small bag on Sunday morning as planned. It is looking like that will happen.

I wanted to live in Paris. Life is full of surprises. I got what I wanted. So it goes.



Since the ceiling is on the floor, it is a lot easier to do what Lionel says…

My Experience With Socialized Medicine

First, I feel like I am failing to post enough to this blog, but at the same time, I am not committing to do it more. We will all see how it goes, together!

Second, this post is about using the healthcare system in France, but for now, I am going to withhold why I needed to see a doctor. Not everything needs to be public.

And now, my experience with socialized medicine in Europe. It became clear early on in my adventure that I was going to need to see a doctor if circumstances didn't change. I reached out to my primary care physician back home, he felt the same way and encouraged me to visit a doctor here. Okay, so what do I do about that?

Finding a doctor. The first thing I did was Google "English speaking doctors in Paris." I was able to quickly find an English language site that listed doctors and even allowed me to book an appointment online. I found a doctor that I thought would work, so then I did a bit of internet research about the doctor to make sure I felt good about seeing her. Once I was satisfied, I went ahead and booked an appointment for the next business day. There was no checking with my insurer, no lists of approved doctors, etc. I wanted to see this doctor, so I could.

The office visit. I arrived at the office nearly 30 minutes early because I wanted to be sure to have time to fill out the paperwork and whatnot that goes with a first-time visit to the doctor's office. I went inside, found my way upstairs, stopped at the secretary's desk and started with my "Bonjour! Parlez-vous anglais?" Since she spoke English, we moved forward. She asked me if I was me. Since I am me, she told me to have a seat. No paperwork. None. The doctor brought me back early and we discussed what was going on. We talked about my current issues. She asked all the prerequisite questions about medical history, prescriptions, allergies, etc. She came to the same conclusion my primary care physician did back home, so I felt incredibly comfortable with the unanimous determination. She wrote the prescriptions and explained them all. We had some more discussion to further my understanding and put my mind at ease. She told me how pharmacies work here and where to go. I paid her the 80€ consultation fee and I was on my way. Yes, 80€. Approximately $90. With no insurance coverage and not being part of their system. That is the full cost, completely transparent, no mysteries, for me with no membership in their system and no coverages applied. If I didn't have cash on me, she was willing to bill me later. We didn't talk about money until it was all over and I had my prescription in hand. (Side note: I could have had a doctor come to me for the same price or maybe even less if I wasn't picky. Consultations here at home or in an office range from 30€ to 100€. I picked a doctor on the more "expensive" end of the spectrum.)

The pharmacy visit. I brought my prescription four doors down to the pharmacy. Again, I started with my "Bonjour! Parlez-vous anglais?" Since she spoke English, we moved forward. She looked over everything, stepped in the back, and came back with all three prescriptions. She went through them one-by-one and explained again everything the doctor had told me. She rang them up in the register. I was in fear. Three prescriptions, no insurance, no discounts, what is the damage? 19€ out-the-door. That is it. I laughed and told her how cheap I thought it was. She laughed and told me Americans tell her the same thing all the time. Rounding up, the visit was five minutes in total.

For what it is worth, my last prescription refill before I left for my trip was a total pain. First, it was delayed because my doctor's office refused to comply with my request for a change from 30 days to 90 days even though I was to be gone for more than 30 days. I compelled them to actually speak directly to my doctor. When they spoke to him, common sense ensued and he ordered the prescription. When I arrived to pick it up, it wasn't ready because my insurance changed. I gave them my new insurance and they said they didn't take it. I told them I would just pay cash to get it over with. They agreed to fill it within 30 minutes. I went and visited some of my favorite people that live nearby and went back after an hour or so. It still wasn't ready. The pharmacist "expedited" it and I bought my one prescription for more than the three in Paris and went home.

My appointment was this morning and I am feeling better already. I know this is one anecdotal experience with the local healthcare system here, but it was even easier than I expected. It was cheaper than I expected. I have always heard from people that use systems similar to this one in France that they have certain advantages similar to what I experienced today. Experiencing this for myself was eye-opening. So many things that we do in the States have their reasons behind them, but we have ended up with a very complicated and convoluted system that doesn't feel like it prioritizes patient care. It was clear to me today that my care was what came first and it felt good.

Olá Lisbon!

It is the end of a very long weekend, but also the end of my first day in Lisbon, Portugal! The confluence of travel, time change, poor sleep and so on has led to a fuzzy brain and a malaise. So it goes. I still got around and saw as much as my fatigued self could handle before and after getting settled into my Airbnb.

I made some changes to this site after the first post and Instagram is now integrated. I am hoping to post photo highlights on Instagram throughout the days. There is a feed on the left if you are on a computer, but you likely won't see it if you are on a mobile device. My Instagram profile is public for now if you want to check it out.

If you want to see unedited photos from my iPhone camera roll, sans any context, feel free to peruse my iCloud shared album. Expect randomness that includes landmarks, scenic views, foods, unique cars, motorcycles, street art and other things that amuse me.

My first impressions are that Lisbon is amazing, the weather was perfect today, and my Airbnb is near perfect. I am staying in the oldest part of the city, Alfama, which is the only area of Lisbon to survive the earthquake of 1755. I re-read this today to compare to my experience so far and it seems spot on. It isn't a showpiece, it is a place where people live and have consistently lived for centuries. Alfama has charm, grit, beauty, and many rocky, narrow, steep paths.

One quick bit of advice. If you ever find yourself somewhere with luggage that you want to shed so you can move more freely, check out Luggage Hero. I went on the site, found a location, made an immediate reservation, walked in and dropped off my main bag. This made getting around much easier for a few hours before I could check in to my Airbnb. I believe it was checked for 3-4 hours and I paid €5,00. I gave the guy a €2,00 tip because I thought it was a great deal, appreciated him working through the language barrier and want an ally if I want or need anything from his shop later in the trip. Also, I had a €2,00 coin in my pocket.

Hey! I wrote a second post and you just read it. This is going alright.

Do I Really Want to Click "Publish"?

I intend to use this site to document a record of my experiences during my upcoming adventures. In making the decision, I asked myself what motivates me to do this. Honestly, I am not very motivated, I am forcing myself to do this. I will attempt to explain this to myself and anyone reading, but first I need to say something…

I am eternally grateful for the experiences I am about to have. I understand what a privilege it is to be able to travel, to see parts of the world outside of our own, to be able to take time away from both work and life. One could go on at length about this tremendous privilege because it is just that, a tremendous privilege. Those that know me well, know that this isn’t normal for me. (The exotic travel or the public expression of thoughts and feelings!) Personal travel only became a regular occurrence for me in recent years. My “normal” was to go years without a vacation, to see them as frivolous expenses that I could not afford, to use “vacation time” to recover from an accident or to take care of some other area of life. Now, as that very same person with those experiences still part of me, I get to go off on another amazing adventure in a string of various adventures I have been privileged to experience over the past few years. I want and need to maintain perspective.



Okay, are we good? I hope so. If you are still reading this, thank you. Let’s be honest, if you have read this far, you could tell me this is all for me and I would not argue it. However, if anyone gets anything out of it, I’ll be even more grateful and maybe even feel a little joy. 



So I have decided to force myself to write, to better remember, to remain grateful, and to maintain perspective while gaining new ones. I have always found that when I write something down, I can recall it with much more ease. Yes, the use of pen and paper does help even more, but I'm just not that person, at least not right now. Even the act of writing this initial post is a vast departure for me. It is time to exercise more of the right side of the brain again and maybe stop living so dominantly in the left side. Coincidentally, the left side is where I had my brain hemorrhage. Maybe it was trying to tell me something. Well, it told me many things but maybe it also wanted me to even things out.



I will post pictures too. Posting here will allow friends and family with little to no engagement with social media to be able to check-in if they so choose. Maybe I will make my Instagram account public and just accept the problems that come with it. Instagram could feed to this site if I take the time to figure that out. I could have Googled it in the time I wrote these two sentences. Currently, my Instagram feeds my Facebook account and I think that might be the extent to which I post to social media while I am away, but we will let that play out on its own without any self-imposed sanctions.

One last thing for now... Why "Perfect Freeway"? It is from the opening lyric of David Byrne & Brian Eno's song "Everything That Happens"

    "I ride on a perfect freeway
    Many people on that road"

It later continues

    "Everything that happens will happen today
    And nothing has changed, but nothing's the same
    And every tomorrow could be yesterday
    Everything that happens could happen today"

I am a fan of music, a fan of lyrics I find subjectively appealing, and a (big) fan of David Byrne. I have thoroughly enjoyed the album "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" from the moment of its release through to today. Those lyrics hit me in a certain way. My interpretation isn't important, but maybe if you listen to the song they will hit you in your certain way too. If you're so inclined, consume the entire album from start to finish as you appear to have done with this post.