Emily and Russell's Travel Blog

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In the last two days, we have been saying goodbye to the kids, and attending as much as possible to enjoying our time with them.

Our apartment is proximate to at least two excellent bakeries (for croissants, baguettes, and coffees in the morning) and a decent supermarket. We did not, perhaps disappointingly, visit the local landmark or any of the many, many sex shops around us.

On Saturday, Emily and I had a quiet morning while Izzy took Marina to his climbing gym.

In the early afternoon, we walked around a bit and had a satisfying and rejuvenating lunch at a Chinese restaurant, where we all ordered basicaly the same thing.

On Saturday night, Izzy’s host parents, Stéphane and Agnès, hosted us for a gracious, sumptuous dinner and delightful conversation. He is in great hands and we are grateful.

We heard that things were going well at home. Miriam took Luna for a walk with Cuffy (and Ann).

On Sunday, as Russell continued to recover and Emily started to sniffle, we spent the afternoon at the Louvre.

When the kids were young, Emily and Russell had to cajole them to spend time in museums. Now, they have more stamina than we do. We all saw a lot that we loved. Marina was especially taken with John Martin’s Pandemonium (1841), depicting a scene from Paradise Lost.

We all made the obligatory stop in the room with the Mona Lisa, though the hordes of folks with cellphones trying to get their own photo debar any serious time with it, or with many of the other well-known pieces. Still, Russell’s Television (the band) obsession made some time with the Venus de Milo obligatory.

One lovely surprise was Franz Hals’ famous Portret van René Descartes.

After the museum, Izzy went home to get some work done in preparation for the week. Emily had declared the day “crepes or die.” We chose life.

After some rest, we had a proper last meal as a family of four. Marina smartly figured out that we could order a charcuterie off menu.

Our time together as a family of four in France was coming to an end. There were smiles and tears and crème brûlée as Marina prepared to head to Romania in the morning.

A blessed way to end the year