Going Back To France

Norwegian Air

Ok, not that soon. Not until close to the end of the year, actually, but we are going back to France - to Paris and to Lonlay l'Abbaye. So I am very happy. I have Norwegian Air to thank for it. Opening the U.S. air routes to this low cost carrier was quite controversial, for reasons I don't fully understand, but Norwegian has a good safety record and mostly brand new Dreamliners from Boeing, so I was pleased to see the carrier begin non-stop flights between Los Angeles and Paris - the best part being that our tickets were less than $700/person!

Image: Norwegian

While Norwegian splurged on new aircraft, they must have saved a lot on the budget designer who came up with their flight attendant uniforms. Wow, blue plaid! Now, I've read that the staff is incredibly nice and friendly, so no reflection on you guys, but I have to say it looks like they are dressing you for the supergeek prom night here. The women, meanwhile, are sporting those tight caps like the kind they put on babies with misshapen skulls, and must wear Boston Strangler red leather gloves. Interesting. Hope I don't fall asleep on the plane. But really, maybe they just have a good sense of humor.

Image: theflightattendantlife.com

So, what's happening with the house? We spoke last week with Jim D., our builder, who has been very busy on other projects. He assures us that with the better weather arriving, he and Nicola will begin laying the underfloor on the ground level which is the prerequisite for all the other work. Once that is done and they have something to walk about on, their team can begin to rewire the house and extend the plumbing where we need it. Then will come wall framing and other exciting stuff. For now, it's mainly a shell, although the delightful original plumbing fixtures are still in place.

Here you can see that the old outside wall and door to the small bathroom have been removed. The space is tiny, about 2 meters by 2 meters, but we can't expand into the neighbor's area behind here, so we will keep it simple. I'm so anxious to see it all torn out and redone, but I know that we have to be patient and see to the utilities first. If all of the electrical wiring and plumbing can go in before the walls, we will avoid having unsightly pipes and cables running along the ceiling and floors, as they do in many renovated French homes.

We will have to keep the toilet in the same location, maybe switching to a wall mounted type. Would love to see suggestions as to how others have configured the necessities in such a small space. But no links to photos of airplane lavatories, please, especially if they are done in blue plaid! If you must be amused, enjoy "Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style" by the outrageous artist Nina Katchadourian at http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/photography/sa-flemish.php_.