Joyeux Noel!

 We're in Paris! And weeks behind in blogging.

We arrived in Paris on Sunday night (12/10), after leaving Alaska at noon Saturday. We were delayed in Dublin when Storm Fergus (which sounds bizarrely cozy) blew through and damaged our plane on the tarmac. Much waiting and fussing later, they had to retire the plane and switch us to a new one. We nevertheless made it to Paris and finally fell into bed at 1am, by then Monday. 
 
I wish I could say we bounced right up and went exploring, but in truth I was absolutely knackered by the jet lag. Possibly exacerbated by all the joys of long Covid. Brian made a strategic trip to the grocery store, so even without immediate adventures there was baguette, cheese, pate, and wine those first few days. Really, we made a good start on Paris.
 
My niece Claire Noelle who makes her home in Chamonix came over to visit with us Tuesday through Friday of our first week. She was meeting up with friends so we simply offered her a berth and bided our time until Thursday to have a proper visit. Her schedule was a bit chaotic – we were initially supposed to host her Friday-Sunday (her birthday being Monday), but it all worked out well. By Thursday we had rested enough to make a big outing. We started with a lovely walk. The Seine is running very high and brown from rains upstream, and watching the barges fly down is a bit unnerving. Several days later we walked up to the bend near Ile Saint-Louis to watch them corner, the French version of Nascar. We’re planning on taking a boat tour on the Seine for the holiday lights, but will wait for the raging waters to subside.
 
Our pre-trip investment is paying off. We got an Amis de la Louvre membership. You just sail through all the lines and no fuss. Free entry for a year, us and our guests. We did the math and it pencils out if we go 5 times, which I am sure we will. We went to a single exhibition – the Treasures of Notre Dame. They are displaying them during the restoration work, all sorts of interesting relics. It’s probably the best opportunity to see them in decent lighting before they get whisked back into the church. But of course the joke is there: if you gathered up all the pieces of the “true cross” from just the museums of Europe you’d have a crucifix the size of the Empire State Building. 
 
After her swift trip, Claire left us to head back across the country, toting with her the Alaskan smoked salmon we carried in our luggage. Before leaving she bought us a poinsettia, so we have our holiday décor. Avant!

~Lucy

Claire & Lucy, Being Silly

Internally Silly, Eternally Silly