Reflections on France

We truncated our trip to France to just an overnight in Paris, largely due to time and budget constraints, the desire to come home, and the recognition that France did not exactly fit the theme of this trip. Besides, we reasoned, we have many years ahead of us to discover Europe. Having said that, we were grateful to have our last night in Paris, the heart of Europe and a romantic way to return to Western civilization and resolve our adventure around the world.

Paris

Our arrival in Paris was like a breath of fresh air. The taxi from the airport had leather seats, a Spanish driver, took us through Parisian streets with its gorgeous buildings, and deposited us at our hotel, the Caron De Beaumarchais Hotel. The beautifully restored rooms and vintage decor complemented the atmosphere of Paris, and the location - a block or two from both Notre Dame and the Hotel de Ville - could not have been better situated for an evening walking along the Seine. On the Seine, we talked our way onto the last river cruise of the evening by sharing our story with the first officer. We told him it was our last night of a 6-month trip and our only night in Paris, so he let us on even without a ticket. We took pictures as the boat made its way to its final drop-off for the night at the Eiffel Tower. Despite a chill in the air that turned to a frigid early-spring dusk, we rode the elevator to the top of the Tower to witness the lights of Paris. The evening ended with a archtypically delicious bowl of French onion soup and a steak at a restaurant on the Seine.

The next morning we walked up to the Hotel de Ville for some photos and scouted the area for a local cafe and some shopping. We had to leave for the airport far too soon, but with a vow to return and enjoy the city the way it was meant to be experienced. We could not help thinking that despite our travel fatigue, Paris rejouvinated our desire to see more of the world at the same time it punctuated the close of a singularly peripatetic chapter of our lives, and so it was with mixed feelings that we boarded our last flight home.