In France
5:45 AM
I slept most of the time during the flight… last thing I remembered was the plane taking off… I forgt how afraid of flying I am… especially at taking off and landing… the rapid change in pressure terrifies me….
Although Charles de Gaulle is one of the biggest airports in the world (and worst) …my connecting flight is from Orly airport, which is the other side of Paris! I honestly and wholeheartedly will not complain… I can think of a worse fate than going by bus through Paris… PARIS!
6:30 AM
Bus is late; I am getting nervous that I won’t make my flight…
I CAN’t believe they made me pay the bus trip! Air France must be THE worst airline on earth…service sucks!
10:00 AM
I am here in Marseille… Men are beautiful, women are beautiful, children are beautiful, buildings are beautiful, even dogs are beautiful…. and the light! Oh my God I can’t believe the quality of light here… it is so bright that I felt like a vampire who is getting out of darkness… no wonder all those famous painters came here… the light is BRIGHT!
8:30 PM
On my plan for the first day was a trip to the public beach… Apparently there is no such thing as a private beach here… no Mariotte hotel , no Mevenpick… no need to pay 50 or 30 JDs to access the beach… the beach belongs to the everyone… not only those who can afford it …
I obviously had the “shat il 3am” in Aqaba in mind… garbabge everywhere and unattractive guys staring with those dirty, hungry looks….Needless to say I was not excited about the prospect of getting wet and salty in a public beach…. but could not tell my hosts since they are being all generous and perfectly companionable…
Ohh…. the public beach…it was like bringing a picture in a perfectly glossy magazine to life!……It is the most beautiful spot on earth…it is clean… human beings are chilling there in peace… everyone is busy with their own thing, no one is staring (except for me of course…) I wonder what would happen if these ladies go on the public beach dresses or undressed, they way they are there… Everything is just beautiful.
Got to go for another meal… that bagutte they eat here… i can safely wonder if the french invented breads…. with that thought…. je vais etre de retour …
Sand Castle
Public Beach
Those men are actually fishing!
On a different note, i have been reading The Black Book… . It’s PERFECTLY CORKING…. and no… i am not reading it because of the silly Turkish series fad… I’ve been hearing about Orhan Pamuk all my adult life, but I had no idea he really wrote so well; I always suspected him of going largely on his reputation… but honestly that guy trully deserves his Nobel prize…
![IMG_0039[1]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7121/6962859922_2342ea8985_m.jpg)
Wow, you are in France! So, what do you think about French people in general? From what I have heard, they have a reputation of being rude to visiting travelers. However, I suspect that if a visitor is polite in France, she/he will be treated the same.
How is the light in Marseille different from the light anywhere else? Is it always sunny there? Are the street lights especially elegant? I am puzzled.
I think it is great that all the beaches are public. I wish that was the case in America. We have a lot of beautiful beaches here, but most are privately owned. There are a few public beaches here and there, but not enough for everyone to enjoy.
I have heard about how the French place a lot of importance on the enjoyment of life. I like their attitude!
I am jealous about all the delicious French food you will enjoy!
I read the biography of Orhan Pamuk at his web site. He sounds like a very interesting person. I have previously heard his name, but didn’t know anything about him.
Have fun and watch out for rustling bushes in the parks.
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Madas Reply:
September 1st, 2008 at 13:52
Ok… the french are indeed rude! I mean the bus driver was spitting the words… he was talking to me as if i am the most stupid person on earth!
But in the city, where i am people are so nice and sweet, they say hello, they smile… So i suppose prople who are in the tourism business are rude, while others are nice.
Now the light… i guess there is something in the air here, the polution is less for whatever reasons, so the air is more tranparent! and therfore the light is brighter… if you are anywhere else, you would feel it is darker somehow… i can’t explain it, but i am sure there is perfectly plausible scientific explentation.
Oh the french they know how to enjoy life… they dress nicely, they smell niceyl the eat nicely… they know how to live
As for your comment in the last post about not traveling… i totally beleive it is different to travel physically or to live life through the internet… through the internet you can’t smell the beautiful smells of the forrest, or taste the berries that i had yesterday…
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5:45 AM!!!!!! Fancy meeting you in France that is Internet virtual, 5.45am that is a statement!!!! Is this the journey of life that I once thought of?or simply a trip of adventure ,in this case you are the pseudo Alice in wonderland where Alice’s adventures in Wonderland that tells the story of a girl named “#”Alice who falls down a rabbit home into a fantasy world populated by peculiar and a fantasy creatures, could this be the flight ! or the airport ! or a bus then you are in south of France, and then you come up with this ;I quote you : Ohh…. the public beach…it was like bringing a picture in a perfectly glossy magazine to life!……It is the most beautiful spot on earth…it is clean… human beings are chilling there in peace… everyone is busy with their own thing, no one is staring (except for me of course…) Everything is just beautiful.” That is ecstasy Mariam and I am happy for you because you are radiating a glow that did not appear on you for quite a time .
I await for you to find a Looking-Glass, and what you will find there I hope to see and read your next move. try and find an empty bottle fill it with good time to last you for a life time . nadim
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Madas Reply:
September 1st, 2008 at 13:55
I feel a little bt like Alice in wonderland… i will tell you the moment i find the looking glass
But i found things that Alkice did not find… for example i was walking in the forrest yesterday and i ate some berries from the tree! that was the nicest thing ever
I won’t think of this as the trip of my life… i will think of it as one trip among the trips of life… I mean, every place is different and every experience is great…
Nadim… the world is a beautiful palce, ther eis so much to see… i am very happy to be alive and in my health and to have the ability to enjoy all this beauty. Hamdulilah
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Woaah c’est tres tres coole’, quand de les oiseaux la maison de voiture! ahh..I hope that had a meaning..
I’m told that the French would appreciate you trying to speak their language even if its broken,but if you use English in the communication, they won’t be nice, try it out see if its true.
and bring on more memoires de paris, est va a la louvre!
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Madas Reply:
September 1st, 2008 at 18:08
lol! not bad… not bad at all…
They are great here, except for the bus driver of course
I will bring as many memoires as possible, and unfortunately can’t go to the louvre… it is in Paris and Paris is not on my plan this trip
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Is this the journey of life that I once thought of? that was my question,I differentiate between a trip and , a journey in life is with an accompanying meaning to ones inclination, one can be on a trip period !!!! and another can be on a trip with a journey of life I am not sure if you understand me ,think before your remark.
dose this ring a bill(née Pio) take care Mariam and enjoy the moments to complete an hour of joy,you deserve to be happy.
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Madas Reply:
September 4th, 2008 at 19:52
you lost me somewhere between “i differentiate between a trip and a jounry” and the Nee Pio bit… please explain.
But to tell you something. My own journey started a few years ago… it was reflected on my blog… the changes that i have been though. You have commented a few times about it… lets say that the hardest part of the journey is behind me… but is it over? you would know better simply because of your seniority…
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Oh I definitely prefer real traveling to the internet!
I recently had an interesting experience at a place a short drive from Indianapolis. It once was a large farm, but it has been transformed into a sort of living museum with buildings and people that are reenacting different times in the past in the State of Indiana. There is a Pioneer Village that depicts life in the early 1800’s. There are dozens of actors there ranging in age from young teen to elderly who are playing the various roles such as farmer, doctor, blacksmith, etc. I really enjoyed talking to some of the actors and learning about life as it was nearly 200 years ago. In one house was a small piano. I asked the man there where the piano came from. He told me all about how it was shipped from New York City down to the Gulf of Mexico, then up various rivers until it arrived in Indiana. It was all very interesting. The actor also enjoyed the conversation and the chance to tell an interesting story. We thanked each other. 
I took a few pictures. Eventually I will get around to blogging about it, after some other stuff.
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Madas Reply:
September 4th, 2008 at 19:53
Davis, that sounds like fun… but i have a question for you… have you ever been outise the USA? where did you go? please tell me a story about it…
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If I tell you a story, it might be several pages long.
I have been to Italy, South Korea, and very briefly to Mexico, just across the border from Arizona. The trip to Mexico was with my grandmother who wanted to do some shopping. My grandmother loved to haggle. In fact, I don’t think she ever paid full price for anything in her life! I don’t remember much about that trip as it was just a couple of hours. My grandmother bought a few small things after talking the merchants way down. 
I could tell a lot of stories from Italy and South Korea. I have quite vivid memories of each, but I don’t want to hog all your comment space.
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