Monday morning, erev Rosh Hashana, Emily, Russell, and Marina took a cab to the bus station in Saint- Denis. From there, with mixed emotions all around (but mostly excitement), Marina took a shuttle to Aéroport Paris-Beauvais, where she got a flight to Romania to start her year, at last, as a Fulbright-funded instructor at the University of Craiova.
After watching the shuttle drive away, we made our way to the Marais, where the streets were packed with folks like us preparing for the holiday.
We enjoyed hearing “Shana tovah”s peppering the French, which Russell especially cannot parse. We were able to get round challot for the new year, shabbat candles, apple pastries (pomme polonaise), and matzoh ball soup, too! Plus apples and honey, of course. In a strange kitchen, including an inscrutable induction stovetop, we didn’t want to do too much cooking, though we were able to roast a butternut squash.
In the afternoon, Russell finally got to see Izzy’s home school, Reid Hall. He was to start classes at the Sorbonne Nouvelle the next morning, Tuesday.
In the evening, our cousin Kate and her boyfriend Austyn joined us for erev Rosh Hashana dinner at our residence, bringing yummy French gefilte fish (light as air!) and more challah and pastries and pickles, plus the warmth of family. We had a truly delightful evening together.
At the end of the night, we said goodbye to Izzy, generating more mixed emotions. It is a delight to see him make so much progress toward his long-standing goal of French fluency. Emily and Russell are constantly impressed by our children. They must have great parents.
In the morning, we head to Barcelona, leaving our lovely French apartment, with its nicely recognizable door, behind.
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