Paris!

Rajan and I are leaving for Paris Wednesday, and, needless to say, I'm quite excited. We had air credit with US Air (a story too long to go into here) and suddenly realized we needed to use it fast! Seventeen years ago we went to Paris for five days and never got over it -- the French window where one could step onto a balcony over a street that bustled all night long; the crusty baguettes with coffee and hot milk at breakfast; and all the art museums! It's a thrill to be going back -- this time for eight days.

There are additional bonuses this time: My nephew who lives in France, just outside of Geneva, is coming to join us for a day. Four of the stories in my children's collection take place in or near Paris, (most of the details coming from research), and now I can get first hand information at the Fontainebleau Forest, the Jardin des Plantes, the Trocadero Aquarium, etc. We also found that renting an apartment is more economical than a hotel room, so we can cook our own dinners. Being vegetarian (although we do eat seafood), that will make meals easier, but friends are also giving us names of vegetarian restaurants that seem to have sprung up in recent years.

We are also trying to brush up our French -- although on our earlier trip we found the French people so helpful and friendly, despite the fact that we mangled their beautiful language.

We both love art, and especially we love the Impressionists. It felt like a spiritual feast before to go through Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre; to see Montmarte; and all the sidewalk artists and little galleries along the Seine. I will never forget, too, how uplifting it felt just to stand inside Notre Dame Cathedral. I can't wait to see it all again.

We are taking a computer, but I don't know if I'll have time to blog. If not, I'll certainly take copious notes and then blog on return. And who knows? I may even get a new story there.

Stay tuned.... (I won't even attempt that line in French!)