Jet lag? Totally sucks. But being home with Georges TOTALLY makes up for it.
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. It's magnificent. And I can't believe I got this shot from a moving car on a curved exit ramp!
I had a pretty good flight, except for the fact that I never seem to be able to sleep on an airplane, even in an upgraded class. And in future I will avoid JFK like the plague because of the horrendous traffic getting in and out of there -- between 2 and 3 hours EACH WAY -- and the stress of wondering if I will even make my flight to Paris because of the frigging Belt Parkway and the limo company insisting they were picking me up "early enough". (You New Yorkers know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. FUGGEDABOUDIT!) But at least while I was not-sleeping on the plane, I was more comfortable than in regular coach class. A Twitter friend of mine pointed out that I could fly Open Skies' business class for less than the cost of business class on Air France or any other airline, and he's right. But I have to say, the Premium Voyageur class on Air France, which is a step between Business and Economy, runs a pretty close second to normal business class and at a much lower fare. Plus, if I compare overall service on Air France to that of Continental, flying AF just feels more civilized somehow. If I could afford it, I'd take the Premium Voyageur seat again (I used G's FF miles on this trip, though).
My new kicks. And yes, they really are that freaking bright (maybe even more radioactive in person). You need sunglasses just to look at my feet.
How can I describe what it means to come home to Georges (or him coming home to me, when he's the one who's been away) after many days of being apart? I'm not sure that I really can find adequate words. "Happy Happy Happy" (an expression the Little Guy came up with - in English, no less - about four years ago to describe how he was feeling when we asked him how he felt about me and Georges getting married) is the the first thought that comes to mind. "Complete" would be another good word. "Bien dans ma peau" would fit. Also "belonging".
"Right". It just feels RIGHT. For all that there are moments when I realize I will probably always be a little bit of a poisson out of water in France, no matter how long my life here might be and even when I'm officially French on paper... it is being with Georges that makes everything here feel RIGHT for me. He is what makes living in Paris special for me now. People have asked if Paris has changed for me at all, now that I've been living here a while and am no longer a touriste, and the answer is Yes, it has changed. I still get excited to see the Eiffel Tower or Sacre Coeur or Notre Dame, but I'm less excited than I used to be. I still love doing "Parisian things", like sitting in a cafe or buying a baguette, and judging by how often (when I was in NJ) that I very nearly automatically spoke French to Americans, I know France has really gotten into my DNA. Yet I probably take Paris for granted a bit more now than I would have when I first got here, when everything was new. I am more blasé about the architecture, the ambiance, the "Frenchness" of it all. I suppose that is normal, and I would feel the same sense of things changing had I settled in London or Boston or Venice or Melbourne. Familiarity may not breed my contempt of Paris, but the bloom is certainly off the rosé (if I may be permitted to mess with the metaphors).
I can actually see our old apartment below Sacre Coeur, coming in from the airport. I don't miss the apartment itself but I do miss those views from "up there".
But each time I am away from Paris and from Georges, and then come back again, I am filled with the deep sense that THIS is where I belong and where I was always heading... even when I didn't know it. Whenever someone used to ask me "Why Paris?" I could never really give them a clear, concise answer, before Georges. But NOW I know.
Why Paris? Georges. Just my Georges.
Happy Happy Happy.
