Au Revoir Learn more about France in International Living Postcards--Sunday Edition
Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007
Paris, France  We've returned to Paris at the height of the summer season to find…fall?
After 24 hours of travel and a 9-hour time change, the overcast skies and chilly temperatures have compounded our sense of disorientation. Have we traveled not only to another continent…but to another season, as well? We've been away for a month--a week in Baltimore, two weeks in Panama, and, finally, a week in western Canada. Back in Paris, we find the city overtaken by tourists. The Parisians are down south on the Med or elsewhere in Europe. We feel like tourists ourselves, in the city for only 10 days. Come Sept. 1, we'll be back in Ireland full-time. Between now and then, we're tying up loose ends here. We'll return as often as our schedules allow…which means we may not be back in this beautiful city for a long while. I'm feeling sentimental and nostalgic. Our three years as part-time residents of the City of Light seem now a moment. We owe our time here to our daughter, Kaitlin, who wanted to attend school in this city for a year. Her one-year student stay turned into a three-year family adventure. Now Kaitlin is in the States, preparing for her first fall semester at college. Her bedroom in our apartment is empty. I stood in the doorway last evening…remembering…and turned to find Lief behind me. "This is harder than I expected," I said. "What? We haven't lost a daughter," Lief responded. "We've gained a home office." "Nevermind," I said, poking him in the ribs… I'm packing clothes, books, and toys…Lief is sorting papers. We have a clear division of labor in our home. I take care of the household and the children…Lief takes care of the paperwork. After two big moves, first from the States to Ireland nine years ago, then from Waterford to Paris part-time three years ago this month, we're well down-sized. A Paris apartment doesn't allow you to keep anything you don't absolutely need. We're not renting out the Paris place, which means we can leave clothing and personal things. When we walk out the door later this month, we'll carry two suitcases each, our laptops, and Jack's backpack. In Dublin, we'll rent. The market is too over-valued to consider buying. Jack will attend Dublin's Lycée Français. Our long-term plan is to organize homes in four or five places where we like to spend time, then to travel among them, following the seasons and our interests, trying to tempt the children to come visit. Our Paris home is established. As is a small apartment in Panama City and another in Buenos Aires. My project this year is to complete the renovation of the tumbledown farmhouse we bought two years ago in Istria. I'd better get moving; the year is getting away from me… In 2008, we'd like to build our house at the beach, either in Panama or Nicaragua. As Lief's business interests are increasingly focused on Panama, perhaps that will be the spot. Kaitlin's empty bedroom (or should I say Lief's new office?) reminds me that the years are passing. If we're going to realize this perpetual traveler plan, maybe we'd better accelerate our efforts. Kathleen Peddicord
Publisher, International Living [Don't miss out. Get your free IL Postcards subscription today.] P.S. While we were away, Paris launched its Ve'lib bicycle rental program. Taking a page from similar successful programs in Amsterdam, Lyons, and elsewhere, the idea is to reduce vehicle traffic on the streets of this city and to give daily commuters an out-of-doors alternative to le metro. The rental stands are everywhere…as are, I've noticed, cyclists two-wheeling it throughout the city on these sturdy silver bikes. First half-hour costs but a euro.
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