Sunday afternoon Mom decided not to schlep with me to the Eiffel Tower so I was able to walk at a brisk pace. Of course since I kept stopping to take pictures it took me about 20 minutes for the 10-minute walk.

There was lots of activity at the tower, and (as expected) there were lengthy lines to go up so I didn't even consider it. Of course I continued taking pix from a multitude of angles, and look forward to viewing them on the computer monitor when I get back to Arizona in another week or so.

I admit I was a little surprised to see a group of four security guards walking around in fatigues, toting some serious weaponry. Of course there were lots of kiosks selling food or souvenirs, although I didn't see anything I 'needed'. Across the street was a carousel - and riding on it were a bride and groom. Her dress was beautiful, and their photographer was taking pix which were bound to turn out great, but she had to be cold. Despite the sun it was definitely on the cool side. Like many others there I was wearing a heavy sweatshirt, while she was in a strapless/backless gown.

When Mom went down to return our Whisper units to Martine (they were wonderful when they worked) she learned that another woman in our group, Phyllis, had taken a bad fall this afternoon. As a precaution she had been taken to the hospital to rule out a concussion. (We found out later at dinner that Phyllis had been released from the hospital and returned to the hotel.)

Our farewell dinner Sunday night was at a delightful brasserie (Chez Clement) on the Champs Élysées right near the Arc d'Triumph. Their decor was quite interesting and included a ceiling of copper pots. We sat with the Petaluma couple, Pat & Merill. It was a most pleasant evening, although everyone was sad that the trip was ending. Of course the meal was delicious, and started out with little glasses of something (kir?) in white wine, and I actually had a few sips. The onion soup was very, very good, followed by beef bourginone (sp?), and dessert was a creme brûlée 'to die for'.

Returning back to the hotel I got a great shot from the bus of the Eiffel Tower all lit up, and someone said it 'sparkled' every hour on the hour. We got up to our room right at 10:00 after a lot of goodbyes in the lobby. Many folks are heading to the airport in the morning quite a bit earlier than we are (Evelyn and Dave 'won' the airport lottery, with a 4:00 wake-up call and 4:30 departure to the airport.). We walked into our room right at the stroke of ten, and our view of the sparkling tower was magnificent!

Then it was Monday morning and we were saying au revoir to Paris. It's been a truly wonderful trip, and our fellow 'bus cruisers' have been a congenial group. I look forward to 'doing' the trip once I can upload all my photos to the computer.

Once at Charles de Gaulle airport we were met curbside by Muriell, who had a cart for our luggage and knew exactly where to take us. (It was quite nice not to have to figure all that out.) Mom and I both decided to pay the extra fee to send our carry-ons all the way through to BWI. It was well worth it not to have to drag it along with us on our travels through Heathrow.

It was an uneventful flight to London across the channel (lots of empty seats on board) where we had a 2.5 hour wait until our second leg 'across the pond'. However, after going through security again and taking the transit train to another terminal (I lost track of how many lifts we took up and down getting from point A to point B to point C) there really wasn't that much wait time.

We boarded first (canes do have their pluses) and had the 2 seats on the right side of the aisle. Of course on this leg of our travels all the seats were taken, so no chance of getting to move and stretch out for the long night ahead. We were experiencing difficulty getting our overhead lights on, but the little girl across the aisle (who did not speak English) saw our difficulty and managed to convey to me that the controls are on our armrests... Duh!

***

It was a long night (being awake for 24 hours was hard on me) but since we were flying west, traveling with the sun, it didn't get dark until we were landing. Beautiful sunset - red ball of sun sinking into the clouds. To pass the time I watched a couple of movies (Quartet, and Song For Marion), did some puzzles, read, ate, and eventually the eight hours passed.

Although we landed a little late (after 8:30) because of strong headwinds over the Atlantic, we were curbside by 9:15! Our luggage arrived at the carousel shortly after we did, and we breezed right through customs (despite me declaring the packet of seeds I bought at the gift shop in Giverny.) Andy was on 'airport pickup duty' so he had stayed in town at his office to be nearby, and we were home at Riderwood by 10:00. I unpacked my pillow and toothbrush, and was in bed within 5 minutes. Boy did it feel good to get horizontal!

***

This morning I awoke around 6:00, so it is looking good as far as getting back on Maryland time - although it's a good bet that I'll crash early tonight.

After a cup of 'coffee' the very first thing I did was connect my camera to Mom's computer and view all of my pix on the big screen. Virtually all of them are keepers, and it's like taking the trip again. I've already copied them into a folder and put it right on Mom's desktop, so she can view them at her leisure. She (of course) is already unpacked, dressed, and done a load of laundry. (It's not yet 9:00.)

I can now do those same things, but on MY list of priorities it's always PICTURES FIRST!