Au Revoir Paris....Hello Seattle

My Parisian adventures have come to a close as I am back home safe and sound.  We soaked in as much as we could on our last couple of days as well as solved the great packing issue of 2010.  Not surprising, I purchased a lot of stuff along the way - I was there for a month after all....  In order for me to get it all home I would either need to ship it or get an extra bag to bring on the plane with me.  After some research it was clear that hauling it on the plane would be much cheaper than shipping it.  I did learn that next time I can arrange for a cargo container to bring my treasures home by sea...if needed.  Reese was even kind enough to bring me a big duffle bag so I didn't need to purchase an extra bag.  But that doesn't mean I didn't get a bag from Paris, in fact I bought 2 but neither are appropriate haulers.  There were many iterations of what got packed where in order to distribute the weight evenly.  Each back needed to be 50 lbs or less.  In the end it all turned out fine - stuff is home safe and sound but there was a lot of fretting in advance.

For our final day we went to a photography show by and about French feminists.  It was part of a month long photography festival all over Paris.  The photos in this particular exhibit were from the collection of Margaret Durand who was very active in the early days of the feminist movement centered in Paris.  It was fascinating to see how closely the French and American movements were linked and how the issues were/are the same in both places.  There was a video compilation of clips from the seventies including an interesting interview with Jane Fonda.  Who knew she speaks fluent French???  After the exhibit we took a coffee/wine break and soon enough it was time for lunch...at 5pm.  Our schedules got later and later as the trip went on.  We were turning French!  We wanted to get in one last amazing falafel sandwich before we left and this would be out only opportunity.  In order for this to happen, we would need to get to the falafel joint(s) ASAP as they all close at sun down on Friday for the sabbath.  Only a few minutes stood between us and our beloved fried chickie-peas so we had to divide and conquer.  Reese would stay behind at the cafe to pay for coffee/wine and I would book it to Rue Rosiers to get the goods.  By the time I got there 2 out of the 3 shops were closed but I made it to Chez Hannah in time and was able to deliver our farewell bundles of joy.  I never thought I would have to rush to get somewhere before sundown - so dramatic!  

After "lunch" we finished packing, cleaned up the apt. and relaxed at home. We HAD to go out on our last night so we ended up at a cafe just down the street that always seemed to be hopping . We sat outside under heat lamps and did our final rounds of people-watching.  We then headed up the street to "Le Bouldog" restaurant for dinner at 11ish.  The place was packed with diners but the lovely owners  made space for us.  The atmosphere in this place is so lively and friendly - so glad we decided to return for our final dinner.  Based on how the owner seated us, it was clear he thought that Larisa and I were a couple....which of course Larisa milked for all it was worth all night long.  So funny.

We were up early in order to get our mammoth bags down the elevator to get a cab by 8am.  Remember that this elevator only holds one person???  In order to get our heavy bags down 5 spiral flights of stairs quietly we had to use the elevator or we would have woken up the entire building (remember the French start their days late - no 7am calls for these folks).  Our brilliant system involved me upstairs (I was "shipping") loading each bag in the elevator alone and hitting "1" to send it downstairs.  Larisa was stationed (she was "receiving") on the ground floor outside the elevator to grab each bag and get them to the doorway.  I would then call the elevator back upstairs to do it all over again.  Brilliant plan and it worked out just fine.  Thank goodness the cabbie loaded them into the trunk and thank goodness I asked for a big cab with room for a lot of bags!

The flight home was 10 hours but not terrible for me.  Larisa ended up sitting next to a guy that farted the whole way home - gross.  Luckily, I sat next to a woman returning from Saudi Arabia for the Hajj.  It was interesting talking to her about her experience there.  She was with a contingent of folks from WA state and they were all flying home together.  

The best part of this day was seeing Jen, Sarah & Annie at the airport.  It felt like I had been gone so long even though it was only a month.  I'm home in my own bed with my lovely girl and adorable kitties.  While life in Paris is beyond amazing, it still doesn't beat my own home sweet home.