Paris wrap-up and back in T.O.

It feels good to be back, home. My bird (Punch) was happy to see us back, the gardens are doing well (thanks Joan!) and the flight was uneventful. I'm under the weather, having picked up some bug in our last days in Paris. Fortunately my sinuses didn't close up until after the flight, otherwise it would have been a painful takeoff and landing. As it is, I'm relaxing inside today and unwinding. Getting caught up on email, sending off invoices for recent work, lining up what my next assignments will be. And making some time to get this blog up to date.

Our final trip (just Andrea and me in Paris) was nice. We slept in each morning, found a different place to have breakfast each day, and took advantage of the Velib bikes to get around. Last year it was 1 Euro to get access, this year it was 1.70 Euro (still 1 Euro for each 1/2 hour on top the first free one). We used the bikes for 3 days @ 1.70 E and only went over the 1/2 hour once so we spent a total of 6.10 euro each for 3 days of transportation. Perfect!

Over breakfast we'd decide what to do... one morning it was a visit to the art collection at Jacquemart Andre and another it was a ride out to the Moulin Rouge. Afternoons were lunch and parks, wherever we were. We were close to the Jardin du Luxembourg so that was a given... reading, lunching, napping, and then the pleasure of Paris in rain. The muted tones of the city are well suited to overcast and rainy days. And taking shelter in a cafe, sipping a coffee until the rain lets up is a relaxing time... enjoy.

Dinners and evenings were very low key. I think we were just too tired to try to make late nights happens, and the comfort of our hotel was enough to entice us back each night rather than looking for more. It only took a night in Paris to realize what a busy and demanding trip it had been. I'll expand on that thought as I add details to the trips between Belgium and Paris...