Dernier Jour

Dear Readers,

Here begins my very last entry of the trip proper (I think there will be one or two entries to come once I`ve returned and organized my thoughts - and photos - somewhat). I`d like to thank everyone who kept up with this journal for taking interest in my adventures and I hope you all enjoyed my attemts at giving this voyage a lasting written legacy. Before I talk about my last day in Paris, though, I`d like to post a little PSA:

If anyone is interested in seeing some photos from the trip, please either comment on this entry with your email, or just email it to me (jbbartram@gmail.com), as the photos won`t be up until sometime in August (and I don`t expect anyone to remember to check in two months). I`ll be putting up photos in order of trip sequence and I think there might be some neat ones (or I hope, at least).

Now that that`s over and done with, I can talk about my last day in Paris and the end of what`s turned out to be a glorious trip.

The morning was spent running some errands - I picked up a copy of Jane Eyre at a little second-hand bookshop over by Notre Dame to read on the plane home, then Max and I decided to take full advantage of the fact the city had given us an absolutely gorgeous day (sun shining, fluffy clouds from a storybook, streets bursting with life) and walk through the Tuilleries to the Champs Elysée. It was a treat being able to meander through the gardens in nice weather - last time we went through the clouds were looking ominous and it might even have been spitting rain, and a crowd of others (both tourists and natives) had had the exact same idea as us.

Other than the très cute ducklings swimming in a fountain, the highlight of the stroll was when a couple of women from Burlington struck up a conversation with us after sighting Max`s Canadian flag on his backpack. They were in Paris for a KISS concert (and I assume to sightsee as well), and they made our day when they said they`d mistaken us for a real French couple - quel compliment! It was mostly a result of our attire - Max was wearing his new scarf, quite à la mode in Paris right now - and I had on a dress I`d bought at a cute little (reasonable) boutique in Montmartre a few days earlier. Practically walking on those perfectly fluffy clouds that hovered above us and glowing with pride at our stylish ways, we walked through the rest of the gardens and up the bustling boulevard.

Stopping in at FNAC, the French equivalent of HMV, I fulfilled my vow to buy some French rap (I find it endlessly entertaining, as they still try to sound as hardcore as their American counterparts, but the beauty inherent in the French language makes even the most agressive `gangster` rap sound just a little pretty), and struck up a conversation with one of the employees that had me walking out with a rap CD as well as a few other pieces of great modern French pop - can`t wait to put them on when I get home and dream about my time in Paris.

Après lunch, which we had in a tiny café that had me thinking about Amélie the entire time (it even had walls the same shade of green as Jeunet uses!). The waitress was quite sweet, but the rhubarb tart I had for dessert was just a bit sweeter. After a rest at the hostel, we bought some essentials (wine, cheese and one baguette each) and had a farewell Paris picnic on the slopes of Sacre Coeur`s hill. It was the perfect way to say goodbye - everywhere people were frolicking and soaking up the sun, and I could feel the city`s pulse more than ever.

It`s time to go now, but I`ll be updating again once I`m back in Canada about the last hours of the trip and some scattered recollections and impressions from Paris and beyond.

Au revoir!