It is time to say au revoir to Paris. We are ready to be back in the land of sunshine and big skies, but I always have mixed emotions when it is time to move on. Granted, this stay in Paris seems quite different than my first one, mostly because the work changed completely and we were stuck with uncertainty for so long. But one thing does not change - the friends and relationships we established. We will miss our new friends. It is strange, since we've been in Tucson so long and have had a consistent group of friends most of that time. We don't make a lot of new friends in Tucson. But, come to Paris, there is no choice - you must make new friends (or drive your wife crazy). Like the last time, we found that we only really started to get to know people after the summer season... and now it is time to go. Well, hopefully we can keep the acquaintances and will meet again!
We spent our last weeks productively - in spite of cold weather (we were lucky that there was little rain at least). We were able to enjoy visitors from the UK a couple evenings (Hamish was here one week, and John another). And Lorenzo has been here most weeks, so we get to visit with him most regularly. We scheduled a dinner with Aurélie and Floriane, good friends from our first visit (Nanthasinh was unable to make it, unfortunately). We had a very nice meal at Bouillon Racine in the 6th. I tried foie gras for the first time - it was good, but very rich (and I ate too much)! Lorenzo joined us for that also (I think he's going to miss us!). And we met Pawel, Izabela and their son David downtown for lunch over the weekend! The time flew by.
Besides eating, we spent our time walking through some areas we like - Ile St Louis and Ile de Citi, then over to Luxembourg Gardens. We also strolled the Champs Elysees with Pawel & Izabela - lots of preparation for Christmas going on right now. We are a bit sorry to be missing that, but it will be our first Christmas at home in Tucson in 3 years. So that will also be nice. Paris was decorated for Armistice Day last weekend (the 11th hour of the 11day of the 11 month) - to celebrate the end of WWI. It seems very different around Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame on a cold, grey November day, as opposed to summertime! November has its own grey beauty (provided you are dressed warmly enough!). Only a few weeks after going off daylight savings time, daytime has gotten very short (like from about 8am to 5pm). The crowds still come out around Notre Dame in the afternoon, but mornings are quiet, and Luxembourg Garden was positively peaceful. Quite the contrast from the first week of September in the sunshine, with people everywhere. Even the metro seems a bit more deserted.
Today, I made my rounds saying farewell to the friends on the 7th floor of the DiVinci building at our customer, then back to the IFS office for lunch and another round of goodbyes, and finally to l'Olivio to see Marwan and Catherine. Last time I left, I was on my own (Debbie was already back in the states). Fortunately, this time we had each other's company for our last dinner out at Le Victor Hugo (which was also the first place we ate when we moved in). Actually, Debbie even had the same salad! We cleaned and finished packing. Put our earplugs in (the college kids sound a bit rowdy tonight). Au revoir, Paris.
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