bon après-midi, Paris, France

Surviving the dijonaisse disaster, our tour heads to our final destination. Paris.

The group fatigue is so heavy in the air, you could almost bottle it. We are collectively exhausted. 9 days. 7 countries. Was the best saved for last? Paris is spectacular, though I think a favourite destination will only reveal itself for us all on retrospection.

We spend the afternoon touring some of the architectural landmarks of Paris by bus. We view what remains of the Notre Dame. The Louvre. The iconic bridges and the grand lady herself, The Eiffel tower. Statue of Napoleon.

The architecture is so exquisitely detailed. The investment of time. Money. Intricacy overlooked in our modern world, though I do consider the investment in such luxury, was in a time of significant wealth disparity and showmanship of status and power. The beautiful buildings all begin to look the same. This is easy territory for me to get lost in.

The highlight of our visit to Paris is our city of lights dinner. Our group head off for an evening of French cuisine, entertainment and the Eiffel tower at night.

I bravely order la grenouille - ze frog. Kermit arrives, and I try a little. The meat is tender, texturally similar to chicken; though it is so heavily marinated in garlic it's difficult to discern the true meat flavour. I do not finish Kermit. Miss Piggy, I am not.

I move on to the snails. I've had them before at a classy French restaurant in Melbourne. I'm not sure our restaurant tonight is fine dining. The snails are okay. Chewy.

The highlight of the evening is the entertainment - an accordian player and beautiful multilingual french / english singer. I am overjoyed to hear Non, je ne regrette rien, by Edith Piaf. I request my favourite song, la vie en rose, and my heart swells watching Brandon and Julia, a married couple of ten years, slow dance to the most beautiful ballad of love. I've attached the video. Excusez-moi at my terrible interjections in English. I can usually hold a note much better than this. Just ask me. Though, I've enjoyed some wine tonight, and this is such a beautiful song. And moment.

I'm seated next to Michelle. I'm saddened that tonight is our last evening together before she returns to California. We commit to our journeys of self-love and compassion, and I'm so very thankful to have made such a connection with such a wonderful human being.

Our night concludes with another visit to The Eiffel. Too much wine. Not enough sleep. Farewells to the group we've spent what seems like forever with.

I'm grateful to have an additional night in Paris before my departure on 21/11, 1600 Paris time, to Istanbul, for the final leg of my journey. The Mediterranean (and a little more of Italy 🥰).

Au revoir, à bientôt, to my newest friends, and an abundance of gratitude for our shared experience.Read more