Photo Night at Our House

Paris 2005 

I've spent a good deal of time tonight going through our photos from our recent trip to London and Paris. As I work back in time, I see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Arc de Triomphe, my beloved Eiffel Tower. And the beauty of it is, there are lots of pictures of my Mom and Aunt in them.

This time in Paris was less rushed. Instead of having three nights there with me suffering from bronchitis the whole time, we were all well, with the exception of some suffering from tiredness and others ordering some meat tartare (uncooked, blech), and suffering from a 24-hour Montezuma's Revenge.

Paris in September is a wonderful place. Like London, the leaves were just beginning to turn, but the weather was for the most part fabulous, the people friendly, and returning there for me felt like I was coming back to see a friend I did not know well but wanted to.

Instead of just seeing the Big Stuff, we also worked in walks through the Marais, the Jewish Quarter, the Latin Quarter, and climbs up dombs from Sacre Couer to Notre Dame with it's massive gargoyles. We ate gelato as we strolled through Luxomburg Gardens, and saw Napoleans Tomb.

Nearly every night, after our parents were in bed, my husband and I would go out for a glass of wine at the cafe' around the corner and talk about our day. We met a number of French people there who quickly took to us as we were among the few foreign tourists willing to be out late at night, so they weren't so overwhelmed by the number of us, and a few drinks helped loosen up their desire and ability to speak English with us, as did our French.

Overall, it was a lovely trip. I will post a few other pictures as time allows, but have to say that going to London for a few days (which was rushed, but I'm glad we worked it in) and on to Paris to put our suitcases down and drink in the city did us both a great deal of good.

We're already talking about where to go next. Budapest, Prague and Moscow? Perhaps a tour of the French countryside, or a return to Rome. We're still talking about Asia, and whether to go to Tokyo first or save it for later and go to Bangkok, Thailand and VietNam.

Who knows where the next trip will lead us. I just know that every time I travel I come home to see my city through renewed eyes. One of appreciation for where I live, but I also bring back a few new habits, a few new ways of looking at things, and that changes me. And hopefully it's all for the better.

Happy Travels.