to Paris

The end of our travels to Greece. Having thought so much about it, about how to do this right, about balancing the musts and the wants, I now get the luxury of looking back without penalty. What did I learn from traveling there with my granddaughter, at an age where she was getting to be older and wiser and me, well just older? She said yesterday -- Gaga, I'm getting to be more flexible even as you are getting older and less flexible in what you can do. We are a perfect match! 

Not letting my grandkids down is so important to me right now. Have I kept on opening doors for her? For them all, given all that I cannot do anymore?

Those deeper questions come back to me on the airplane. But earlier in the morning, I'm still focused on Greece.

Our last good morning, again to a Mediterranean blue sea...

(our ride up to breakfast with a million Snowdrops...)

Yes, our final Greek breakfast, though with a buffet type meal, you'll find little on her plate that you could actually call "Greek." Maybe the kumquats, probably from Corfu?

Breakfast buffets are a ubiquitous feature of larger hotels. They save time, save staff, save everything but the food. They encourage nibbling and tasting and not finishing. I should have insisted on only one pastry, but Snowdrop so wanted to try both and in the end finished neither. At least we didn't also order off the warm menu. Tempting omelets, pancakes, French toast. All included! I hold firm and say no thanks.

I have come to understand that expensive hotels excel at waste. It's not their fault -- customers demand it. It's luxurious to wrap yourself in a thick bathrobe, to have a fresh towel waiting for you outside the pool, out on the chair, under your feet when you step out at night. So many towels! I remember lesser places with thinner towels and signs reminding us to reuse them. I used to think -- oh, it's wet, but it's so thin that it will dry by tomorrow. Maybe. Here, I'm of course participating in the parade of towels. You cant avoid it. 

One pleasant surprise is how nice the people at the Astir Palace are to kids. To me as well, but I dont much care about that. I can live with rude. But grownups who are friendly to children teach them to be polite right back. I like that!

Again Snowdrop and I wind up walking along the shore. And again, the sea looks so blue!!

Windy, too! My Greek sea maiden...

(She insists on using my camera on me, taking a million pictures that all look pretty much the same...)

("Can you take a picture of me holding the water from here?")

And just before noon are airport ride is here, same guy as before, chatty, explaining this, explaining that, even as Snowdrop and I are always such quiet passengers!

Our Air France flight leaves on time, but it's a longer trip -- nearly four hours to get us to Paris. There is a bit of a shuffle about arrival gates and another shuffle about our ride back to Paris, so that in the end, we are at the hotel after 7. When initially booking flights, we were targeting a 3 pm hotel arrival, which would have avoided rush hour traffic. As it were, the stop and go ride was terribly long and Snowdrop, who is normally a good car passenger, nearly did not make it without feeling totally done in by it all. 

Still, as soon as we came into our room at my beloved  Baume Hotel, the dizzying pace and the tedium of a long trip faded and Snowdrop's bounce was there again. 

And because the hotel is so special and the people here are so nice, I found in the room a bouquet of flowers and, too, Snowdrop's favorite chocolate covered marshmallow bears. Very quickly all calm was restored.

The Baume always delivers. They're just so good at giving their best.

Paris is an hour behind Greece and so it is early but also late by the time we set out to dinner. I dont try hard here with Snowdrop. I take her to a place she knows and likes, where she orders a dish she knows and likes (steak frites). 

(Les Editeurs)

At first, it doesn't ring bells, but the minute we enter, she points to a table and says -- last year, we sat here! (Indeed we did.) And, before, with Sparrow, you and I sat here! (Yes, that's right.) Well, this time, we sit here:

The steaks in France always seem to be just a tad tougher than our own, but they are delicious and the fries for her a heaven sent!

A big exhale and a big smile, on her face, on mine.

[I should note that Snowdrop fell sick on the night we arrived by the Aegean sea, spiking a fever that worried me, except that this is not the first time she has spiked fevers in Europe. It's probably the lack of sleep coupled with exposure to god knows what along the way. And the excitement. Everything rolled into one ball of excess. The restful day, thankfully, cured her.] 

So, early bedtime is in order! And yet we linger. It's just so great to luxuriate without concern about what's next. And without (that much) garbage on the streets! (That strike seems to be almost over.) And with two days before us that, while rainy, will surely be memorable.

With so much love...