Back in the US of A

I left my apartment at about 8:30am on Saturday and 21 hours later emerged from the car in the driveway in Tucson - a bit groggy and worn. The initial flight from Paris was delayed about 2 hours because the radar system in Scotland that monitors our flight path was down. This cause me to miss my connection in Dallas, but I did make a later flight (just barely - last one to board). And my bags caught up with me the next night.

Well - I'm glad I don't have to do that too often. I do make the trip 2 more times in the next month, which doesn't sound great. When I consider that one of the original ideas on this project was 3 weeks in Paris, 1 week home - that would not have been good for anything except frequent flier miles! It was quite different my last trip when I flew to Boston (less than 10 hours for that - easy). I conclude that you want to live on the east coast if you plan frequent trips to Europe.

Now that I'm home, I have spent most of the week 1) in front of my computer completing my Solution Definition Documents (which I submitted yesterday - yeah!), 2) going to doctors, dentist, barber, and 3) trying to get into a sleep routine. So far, the only night I have managed to sleep past about 3 am was one with the aid of Excedrin PM and half a pitcher of margaritas. Oh yes, I have also had 2 dinners out at Leo's for Mexican food and barbecued 3 times! That was also good.

The first thing I noticed on Sunday is how wide all the streets are here - not just the main streets. Even the neighborhood streets are wider than the big streets in the Marais. Then, of course, there are mountains and a sky that goes on forever. I find that I miss the walking quite a bit. Sure it's possible to walk places, but it's not the same. First, most everyone is driving - the pedestrians are the minority by far. And as you walk, you won't pass any boulangeries, no assortment of stores for food, wine or deserts, and there are few if any outdoor cafes to take an espresso or beer. I guess that is what I noticed and missed right off. On the other hand, I have not noticed the smell of urine anywhere here!

I'm back to France a week from today - probably just as I get into proper sleeping habits again. Then 2 more weeks until I leave. I've determined that I will do something every night / day during those last weeks. No days off. I'll see how that goes for me. Stay tuned!