Leaving Paris

We left Paris. The departure was slow and fun and relatively painless.

The packing happened in a flash.

Sky was out with friends for most of the time. True and I hung around. We took a walk down to the 'brown bakery.'

He had an orange juice.

We walked home, talking.

True kept me entertained ...

... as he always does.

Anna was exhuasted and took a nap.

Sky came home briefly full of stories.

One of the last things we did was give True's surviving fish to the gardienne, Mme Hajj.

She was happy to have it, along with a lot of our furniture.

One of True's friends was visiting from California.

I took them to the Champs Elysees, where Sky was spending much of his time with his friends.

It is a beautiful street, full of surprising details.

The boys made their obligatory stop at the Nike store to inspect the latest soccer shoes.

They walked the avenue ...

... and fooled around.

I looked in the windows. This is a display for La Duree, the famous macaron shop.

Later, we met the family of True's friend for a farewell dinner. It was beautiful weather and the restaurant was open to the street.

True and his friend watched a soccer game through the window of a cafe next door and periodically came back to report the score.

It was a lovely evening.

Friends loaned us their apartment for the last few days after our things were packed. There was a wonderful street market outside the front door.

It had flowers ...

... and fruits ...

... and fish ...

... and baked goods ...

... and wine ...

... and a thousand other things.

Anna shopped there for our lunch.

This man made crepes, both sweet and savory.

His stand was very popular.

True ordered a chocolate crepe.

He devoured it.

He always gets the same thing.

Then he had a Fanta, a rare treat.

I had a bottle of hard cider.

Then, we headed back to our temporary home.

That evening we set out for a fondue dinner in the Latin Quarter.

We passed all the old sights.

We went to the same restaurant we had been to several times before, most recently with Pierce.

We ordered both meat and cheese fondue.

Sky, in particular, loves cheese fondue.

Afterward, we walked the narrow streets.

Sky had gelato at one of his favorite gelato shops: Amarino.

The next day, our last, was lovely.

We wandered down to the Eiffel Tower.

The boys had soft ice cream.

It's sort of a tradition.

Even Anna had one.

We sat beneath the trees near the tower enjoying the day.


Then, finally, it was time to leave.