THINK AGAIN!

I got a phone call out of the blue, as they say, on Monday evening. It was from a very long-standing friend of mine. We were chatting away for some time when I began to sense that there was something different about the conversation – a word used here, a phrase there. Finally I asked him, “by the way, where are you ringing from?” “Oh, I’m here in Paris”, he replied. And he went on to explain that he was over with one of his now young-adult children who suffers from a very serious and chronic medical condition, and apparently there is some world-renowned specialist here in Paris from whom they were advised to get a ‘second opinion’.

I made a very quick executive decision, and decided that St. Joseph’s Parish would just have to get on without me for a few hours, and arranged to meet them. We went for a pleasant meal, and a long chat, and before one realised it, it was time to say farewell. In between medical appointments they had managed to visit some of the tourist sites, like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower – it was the daughter’s first time in Paris. They planned the following day was to visit the Louvre and spend some time there before their return to Ireland later in the day. I said I would phone them to make sure everything was OK, and bid them ‘au revoir’. (No harm letting them think I’ve learned some French!)

When I phoned mid-morning on Tuesday it was to find that sure enough they were spending some time at the Louvre – admiring it from the outside! Of course I had forgotten that it closes on Tuesdays. To compensate for the disappointment I offered to bring them to Versailles. It was a lovely sunny day, and while they wouldn’t have time to do the tour of the Chateau, they could at least admire the grand scale and beauty of the architecture, and the magnificent lay-out of the gardens. Because we were conscious of not being able to do too much walking, I drove in the side entrance, which brings one to a car park close to the canal, from where there is an impressive view of the Chateau from the rear. Many photos were taken of fountains and other views. And then we took the ‘train’ up to the Chateau.

“But to get the best view of the Chateau you really need to see it from the front”, I enthused, as I led them around the side of the building. I had known from previous visits that they were restoring railings across the front of the courtyard, so I wasn’t concerned to see scaffolding and other signs of works around the side. But, to my dismay, when we got to the front, not only was there work going on at the railings, but half the actual chateau was covered in scaffolding and canvas – we could have been anywhere for all we could see! It just wasn’t our day!

I was beginning to get afraid that the signs were ominous, and worried that the final tragedy might be that they would miss their flight back to Dublin – can you imagine anything worse?? We headed back to Paris, and I’m happy to be able to report that without any further mishaps they arrived safely home later that evening. (And they all lived happily ever after!)