It's 4 A.M. and All's Well

The joys of jet lag--we're now in Florida and wide-awake way too early this first morning back. But of course, this is always the case when we're adjusting to a 6-hour time zone change, so we know what to expect. Our biggest challenge at the moment is having to wait until 8 a.m. for the (finally) newly reopened City's Bistro to start serving breakfast. But all truly is well, because our travel day was an easy experience--no nightmare airport scenarios such as those experienced by so many travelers this past summer--and even better, we returned to a home and city undamaged by Hurricane Ian. Things could have been so much worse, and our hearts go out to those south of us in the Fort Myers area who took the brunt of the storm.

Our last week in France continued to consist of days of boat preparation interspersed with more relaxed pursuits, including:

Port neighbors Steve and Rosie were kind enough to drive us to the boating supply store in Compiegne on Wednesday, September 25, so that we could pick up some supplies we had ordered to complete the winterization of the boat.

Debating next moves after a great lunch at La Brasserie Parisienne
in Compiegne

On Friday, September 30, we made our way to Paris for a last visit before our return to Florida. No visits to "significant" sites this time, we just wandered through neighborhoods familiar and unfamiliar, to-and-from a mid-day meet-up and lunch with our New Zealand boating friends John and Margaret. By the time we got back to the boat we had walked nearly 10 miles.

One of the entrances to the Assemblee Nationale, where the lower legislative chamber of
the French parliament meets. The building is the Palais Bourbon, built in the 1720's for 
a daughter of Louis XIV, and much modified under Napoleon I to complete its transition 
from residence to a building suitable for government functions

The beautiful Gare de Lyon, one of six train stations serving Paris. Built in 1900, it is a perfect example of what we envision when we think "classic European train station" 

Lon enjoyed the sun as we walked across the
Seine on Pont Alexandre III

The Art Deco imagery of the iconic
Maxim's of Paris Restaurant

Paris in microcosm: monumental sculptures, the Eiffel Tower, lots of traffic, and leaves just
beginning to turn their fall colors. You may think that the cyclist in the photo is taking his life
in his hands, but he is probably quite safe--Paris has added a lot of bike lanes
 since we last visited in 2019

Catching up with New Zealanders John and Margaret at Les
Antiquaires in Paris. When we went our separate ways after leaving
Amiens on the Sommes in mid-August, they cruised north toward Belgium
and the Netherlands and we went south toward Paris. They were in 
Paris for a few days prior to flying home on October 4

We again walked through Paris' premier leisure port, The Arsenal,
and it was more crowded with boats compared to early September. The winter
 residents are apparently making their way back "home"

The past weekend was a mixture of sun and rain, laundry, cleaning, last walks around the Cergy neighborhood, and a Saturday night "farewell" dinner with Aussies Steve and Rosie at the local Italian restaurant.

Autumn's carpet of leaves is evident at the finish line for the "run-swim" portion of a 
quasi-triathlon being held in the large park across the river

It was not an especially warm day for the swimming event

On Sunday the village of Cergy closed off the Rue du Port for a large "brocante", essentially a big flea market. I wonder if any of the attendees went home with the stuffed fox that had seen better days

The salon of C.A.R.I.B. III, ready for its long winter sleep: cleaned and straightened, 
cabinet doors propped open for ventilation, curtains closed, appliances powered down.
Here's hoping the spiders don't create too much of a mess when we're gone

We left the port on Monday for an airport hotel. A local express bus
conveniently runs from near the Cergy Prefecture train station to
Charles de Gaulle Airport. We were planning to walk to the bus stop,
but Steve was nice enough to offer us a ride

Much as we recognize that we've yet to have a summer turn out the way we planned, that hasn't kept us from starting to talk about what route we would like to cruise next year. We've gone so far as to make a reservation with the Arsenal Port in Paris for a 3-week stay in June, but since no money has to change hands yet it's a low-risk proposition. Meanwhile, as much as we enjoyed our time in Europe, it's nice to be home and we're looking forward to our Florida activities. Which means . . . the blog is now suspended until next year.