Return from Swiss Bliss

This picture is from last week, when we were listening to a band concert in Luxembourg Gardens. Aren't Colin's parents cute? :)

It's a relatively quiet morning here in Paris. I say relatively because, in comparison to last night, you could hear a pin drop! France did exactly what it needed to do in its World Cup game last night, so the whole town was abuzz with celebrations at the end of the game. Even at our "far" end of town, car horns honked and inebriated fans filled the streets with French huzzahs late into the night. I may not be a soccer fan, but I love being around explosions of joy and celebration. It's amazing to see and hear people unite en mass like that!

Anyway, as you can guess by the arrival of this posting, we are back from Switzerland. It was a super-quick trip, but we had a great time. (Colin is glad that I am no longer inspired to burst into song ... but hey, the hills were alive with the sound of music! Ha.) We spent one night in Montreux and one night in Interlaken. The picture to the right is from Lake Brienz, on a boat trip from Interlaken to Brienz. Even though it was rather cloudy, the views were fantastic. I would love to have a little Swiss chalet near here for summer retreats! (OK, who wouldn't?) This trip was a wonderful respite from the recent heat in Paris. Anyway, I'll have more pictures to share in the weeks to come. (I know, I still haven't shared many from Prague or Normandy!)

We returned home to a couple of surprises. The first was the arrival of our new couch yesterday morning. It's gorgeous -- red suede! Of course, we admired it for about an hour, then covered it with sheets and towels to protect it from doggy hair and drool. So far, Didge seems to prefer my side of the bed to the new couch, which is probably for the best.

The other surprise was that Rachel is going home sooner than we expected! She was originally leaving Paris on July 20, but has changed her plans to leave on July 6 instead. So, we basically have one week to say goodbye to her because she's off to Rome a week from today. This revelation triggered some strong feelings in me, as I suddenly realized that our time here in Paris is truly coming to an end. I've been going through the motions of planning our return, but losing a key member of our friend circle truly drives the point home! I'm starting to recognize that another chapter in our lives is coming to an end, and we're looking toward the next stage in our lives. My retirement is nearly over, and employment is on the horizon. Colin heads into the home stretch to becoming a doctor. Then it's on to destinations unknown to meet new friends, find new careers, and forge new adventures. It's exciting, but at the same time, I am sad to see this part come to an end. I never, ever thought I would live overseas, much less in a non-English-speaking country! Sometimes, I think that if I can do this, I can do just about anything.

So, forgive me if I start to wax nostalgic in the weeks to come. It's going to be an exciting, hectic, and emotional time for us! I'm glad that I have this online outlet so that I can express how I feel, and I'm grateful to those of you who keep coming back to watch the story unfold. Stay tuned! There is more to come...