It’s great to be back in the City of Light. Winter is not in a hurry to leave Europe this year. We spent Easter Sunday in Bruges, Belgium and it snowed! Actually we were treated to three of the four seasons in our two days there. All the while it was just darn cold. Somewhat warmer in Paris and there is always a cozy cafe to duck into to share a coffee and some delectable treat. We have rented an apartment on the Left Bank to celebrate our tenth aniversary of our engagement. It’s great to have your own kitchen and washer and dryer, oh and the killer view down the street to the towers of Notre Dame. We are really feeling at home here as we make our way around and my five years of first year french is really being put to the test as I head to the market to buy ingrediants for the evening meal. I’d forgotten how wonderful all the food is here (how could I?) and the music as well. Posters all around our neighborhood advertising things like a Chopin and Liszt piano recital at a nearby church aglow in candlelight. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons across the Seine in another church setting. Yesterday as we explored The Marais (a neighborhod on the other side of the Seine from us) we came across a fascinating music shop filled with ancient instruments, many of which I’ll admit to having never seen before. The old proprietor took great delight in demonstrating them to the folks who wondered in. Great music, food, art, wine and people. Paris.

au revoir

hs