Really, c'est vrai, the last of Paris....for now.

We spent our last two nights in Paris at a small hotel with the grand name of Grand Hotel du Loiret. It's a few streets away from the Cite. Our friend from Brussels was in Paris so we had dinner at La Perla one night, a spinach, corn, pineapple filled burito with goat cheese, yes it was very yummy. And we had breakfast each morning at Brioche Doree. See what we got for 2,75 euros! Our last night in Paris, we had ice cream for dessert. Big creations with Berthillon ice cream and whipped cream. We didn't bring our cameras!! What were we thinking? They were quite large, beautiful to look at and even better to eat.
Our hotel room was small, with a flat screen tv on the wall, a tiny modern bathroom, and a view. Those are my toes and my Moleskin journal with the decorative skulls pattern on it. (you can have one, too, here)
Getting to the airport was easy as we arranged a Parishuttle pickup. The 2E terminal was quiet and we got through security, passport control and customs quickly. The ceiling of the terminal had a lot of wood, not as metalic looking as some of the other terminals. Very Scandinavian, we were thinking. The flight to Detroit (or Dee-twa as they said) was uneventful, yay, and took only 8 hours and some minutes. I watched 2 movies and read half of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Passport control, customs and security there flowed nicely, no hassles, like in Philadelphia last year. We had a 4 hour layover and spent most of it in the gate area, which was a "meat locker." It was freezing in that part of the terminal. We got back to RIC early, touched down at 10:35 p.m. and were home by 11:15, so were able to toast in the New Year with family in our own kitchen. Our house seemed HUGE after seven weeks away in 600 square feet of living and working space. We've sorted out most of what we brought back, or at least put it in places where we can go through it, the brochures, the postcards, the notices, and such. We opened all our mail, sorted the junk mail, paid the bills, and we've only been home two days. We're on Paris time, still, so get up early. I just changed the time to our present time zone, which will help me adjust, I hope. Well, back to life in Richmond, VA, USofA.