Home again and the end of the blog....for now

We are home. As I've done throughout the trip, I'm writing this post about yesterday's events, so actually we got home Tuesday afternoon. It's weird traveling back from Europe. We had a 9 hour flight (direct Paris to Minneapolis - heaven) and arrived only two hours after we departed! So it was about 12:30 in the afternoon Minneapolis time as we light railed home to our lovely apartment. 

Traveling was pretty easy. I splurged for a taxi to the airport. Our original plan was to take the metro but it was 6 AM and we were tired and had a long day of travel ahead of us. It also didn't hurt that I had 50 Euro in my pocket that I didn't want to deal with changing. The security at CDG airport was not too bad. A little customs here, a quick run through security there. And no taking off of shoes. Nice. Flight was easy. Leg pain was surprisingly under control.

I'm getting sick again, which is pissing me off, quite frankly. Another cough with sore throat. Geez. I could use some of that Italian Bisolvon right now. I did my best to cough into my sleeve on the plane but by the time we were home, I was madam coughs a lot. At least I'm not trying to be touristy and sick at the same time.

Around 4:30, the best part of my day came when George got home from school. He hugged me for a good 10 seconds, and if  you know anything about George this is a BIG deal. We missed each other. A lot. I showed him some of the little goodies that I brought home from the trip for him, including frisbee (from frisbee dinner day), a book on anatomy from the weird wax anatomy museum (the Specula) in Florence, some Parisian candy and a t-shirt from Mr. Chicken's Chicken Clothing Store. And then we vegged on the couch, catching up on TV, which I haven't watched in six weeks. 

By 8 PM I could no longer keep my eyes open. Alex had already retired to his room to sleep, so it was early (late?) to bed for me. 

I'm missing the trip, but so grateful for the opportunity to travel with Alex. We struggled and we triumphed We traveled on plains, trains, boats, busses and cars. I tried to count the number of museums we visited and a rough estimate is around 30 in three countries. We swam in the Mediterranean and I hiked Mont St. Michel. We tried new foods and new drinks (Alex ate brains twice!) and I panic tipped a waiter. And we learned how to flush toilets in ten different ways (seriously, this is not standardized in Europe). I miss the sound of multiple languages in the background. And I miss the simplicity of living out of a backpack already. My tiny home seems overwhelming. But there will be more trips, more adventures and for now, being here in Minneapolis on a sunny crisp fall day is perfect.

This is my last post...until our next adventure. Thank you all for traveling with us.

Upside down at Notre Dame, tough times at the cemetery and a low key last night

Today was our last day in Paris and as such, the last day of our trip. We woke up to sunny skies and a hankering for one more taste of the city. Breakfast was a bit of a bust, alas, because the place we found that had the amazing hot chocolate had sour hot chocolate this morning. Not tasty. Croissants were good to get us on our way.

Our plan was to walk around the little island on the Seine called Ile Saint Louis, which has loads of quaint shops and character. We were too early, though, and almost everything was still closed as we wandered through. No big deal. Instead of a wander, we sat under some trees in the beautiful backyard of Notre Dame, watching the people wander by and kids play on the little playground. After a while, the kids left and I had the idea to try the round spinny thingy (clearly I don't know what the name of this thing is - see pictures) on the playground out for ourselves. The next ten minutes were spent spinning, taking pictures while spinning, taking videos while spinning and then feeling quite sick. So fun. So sick. We started a trend as other grown adults tried the spinny thingy too. 

After spinning and nausea, we tried food again, this time at an overpriced place near Notre Dame. Food was mediocre and we were still feeling a bit queasy so it wasn't the best time. And for me, our next destination for the day was calling. Metro time. On our way to our stop, we came across an event that looked much like the kind of protest typical in the U.S. Sure enough, after googling I discovered that it was a labor union protesting and rallying. It was interesting to watch the speeches, despite not understanding what was being said. We stayed long enough for us to recover from spinning and lunch.

After two metro line switches, we finally made it to a huge and famous cemetery in Paris called Pere Lachaise. Many well known Parisians (and non-Paris folk) are buried there, and much more interesting to me, the mausoleums and grave markers are incredible. Right after we arrived, however, Alex's afternoon anxiety and depression set in and we were stuck on a bench working on getting him settled before wandering around. It was a rough one. He was anxious about transitioning home tomorrow and that brought up all of these worries about what he's doing with his life. Regrets about the trip were also a topic. At one point, I was rubbing his back and he busted out laughing for a minute, saying that people walking by probably thought we were mourning. I responded by saying that I thought maybe we were mourning the end of our trip. It's so strange to look back throughout the trip and think of all of the places we've worked through these emotions, from churches (many, many churches) to museums to beaches and now a cemetery. It's the traveling Alex and Ali anxiety show. But in all seriousness, today was not an easy day for Alex and the worst of it made him stay put on the bench while I explored the cemetery. This is a must do for visitors to Paris. I know folks like Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison are buried there, but I only saw Chopin's grave (which was beautiful). It was a somber and surreal walk.

Alex and I, for the second or third night in a row, purchased groceries and ate in the apartment. We were just physically and emotionally spent (must have been all that spinning -- physically and otherwise) and we needed to pack for our trip home. I'm sad to be at the end of this journey, but I also can't wait to see my George (and all of you fine people). As last days of a trip go, this one was quite fitting.

Sunday in the park with Alex, Musee du Cinema and more French film watching

Today was beautiful in every way. The sun was shining a lovely 75 degrees and the wind was just noticeable enough to cool overheated skin. I really can't believe our luck with weather on this trip. I guess we needed good luck with something, right? We started the day with our fourth (and last) visit to the local crepe place. For some reason, each time we go, the crepes taste a bit worse (really just the savory ones). I think we're just getting picky. But, I gotta give them credit for their caramel crepe with caramel ice cream on top. That's the best in town.

We hopped on the good old Line 1 after breakfast, transferred to the 14 and found ourselves in the Bercy neighborhood for the day. I've never been this far outside the touristy part of Paris (and really, we weren't that far out at all). At first the neighborhood looked strange, because I'm so used to old Paris, with the ancient buildings and streets. But I warmed up quickly after taking the short walk to our destination, the Musee du Cinema. It is located next to a huge public park, appropriately called Bercy Park.

First the museum. Alex and I were both pretty disappointed in the content of the museum proper. It was one floor, had a few interesting posters and artifacts from the beginning of film in it, showed a few clips (one of which was about eyeballs and super disturbing -- I can never unsee it) and highlighted a few directors that Alex likes. But overall it was a disappointment. The museum's gift shop, however, was excellent. It seemed more like an independent cinephile shop than a museum shop. We spent more time in there than we did in the museum itself. Alex picked up the only souvenir he's purchased for himself on the entire trip - a book bag that has the illustrations of one of his favorite director's movies on it.

The best part about the place, though, was the fact that it showed an array of excellent movies throughout the day. Alex wanted to see Beau Travail, a film by Claire Denis, which he's been wanting to see but couldn't find anywhere. The catch was that it was playing at 7:45 PM, so we had four hours to figure out what to do with ourselves.

Oh yeah! There was that beautiful park we walked along when heading to the museum. Lovely Bercy park made for a spectacular afternoon of people watching and nature appreciation. We picked maybe 5 different areas of the park to sit and relax, each with its own character and charm. We watched volleyball players, viewed kids playing in an newly emptied water feature that was now perfect for a game of tag, watched the leaves fall from the trees lining the edge of the park, saw children weaving among the shrubs playing hide and seek and finally at dusk, hung out near the cinema taking in all of the newly arriving patrons.

The film itself was excellent, and not understanding the French language was not a hindrance to enjoying it at all. Visually, I don't think we could have picked a better film to watch and the mood set by the director was obvious without words. The plot is about a man in the French military and his struggle with breaking free from the repression and constriction of his life and the resulting actions he takes because of it. So good. Our metro ride home was uneventful and easy (love that Paris public transit) and we were home safely and sleepy by 10 PM. Best day.