The Last Night - Followed - By A Long Day

Tuesday night Roger's family and friends hosted a party for our farewell to Paris. About 25 people gathered at a quaint little restaurant in a courtyard that had about ten different little cafes and bars. It was a comfortable evening so the front windows and door was open for fresh air.

After dinner and drinks the other patrons were all gone so the music started with singing and dancing and we didn't get back to the apartment until 2 a.m. At 7 a.m. we left for the airport. I am writing this Wednesday night from Portland and we are looking back at one of the longest days of our lives - but also remembering the unique experiences of the past month.

Chichis - Churros - & Shopping

It's our last day in Paris so we started early. Roger's brother came to visit him from Brussels today so the men stayed at the apartment. Afran and I headed to a huge street market and went to several boutiques to do some shopping for clothes. I discovered that my size 10 to 12 is not easy to find in France. Their "one size fits all" is about a size 6. Many women here are tall, thin and gorgeous - making me wish that I was born French.

The first photo shows us relaxing over a two course lunch which included wine and French coffee for 12 Euros each.

The man is from the street market and he's making homemade churros (they call them Chichis in Paris). Yes, they are fabulous!

I just had to show you one more pastry case - the bakeries here are unbelievable.

At 8:30 tonight friends and family are throwing a party for us at a Paris restaurant so I am sure that it will be a late night. I decided that it would be wise to start packing because we have to leave for the airport tomorrow morning at about 8 a.m.

This trip has been an unforgetable experience.

Hamburg Airport

We're sitting inside the Hamburg Airport waiting for our flight to Paris. Roger's sister was afraid that we wouldn't have any food until tonight so she cooked a huge International breakfast with food from Germany, France, Iran and America.

The airport is close to where they live so it only took a short while to reach it. It's very nice having someone to interpret so our check-in went quickly.

I spent some time in a magazine / book shop looking for something in English and I finally settled on a newspaper and a paperback book. I was going to buy a Vanity Fair but the price was 11.95 Euros (that is about $16 US). The book was only 9 Euros and I figured I'd get more for my money. Europe is not the place for bargains but it's a joy to just shop and enjoy looking at beautiful fashions that we probably won't see in the U.S. for several years.

Hamburg Sunday Flea Market

Downtown Hamburg has a walking mall that is several blocks in length with cafes and shops on both sides. During the summer months antique and junk dealers set up shop in the mall between the cafes on Sundays. Today was the last time for the season and we were lucky to have perfect sunny weather.

Shopping for antiques in Europe is far different than the U.S. with some rare and unusual merchandise. Regretfully, the prices are also "rare and unusual" so I wasn't able to purchase more than a few items (which I bought for my own use). Nevertheless it was exciting to see such beautiful antiques. It felt as though I was walking back through history.

Friends Forever.........................

Roger and Bernd have known each other for over 35 years. They worked for the same company headquartered in Germany, with branches all over the world. They have corresponded and talked by telephone through the years and tonight they reunited after not seeing each other for over 15 years.

Bernd's wife Lillie is also a friend of Roger's so the evening was filled with stories of their memories and experiences. Rossi is a 2 1/2 year old Golden Lab who loves to be petted so he and I quickly became friends.

Bernd and Lilly have lived in Hamburg for many years and now they have a house near the Elbe River where Air Bus has an airplane factory. The drive was very enjoyable and we enjoyed a private tour of another part of Hamburg on the way to their home.

HOME ON WEDNESDAY - - - - -

It's official. We return on Wednesday, September 30th. It's an interesting flight in that we leave on Wednesday from Paris at 10:30 in the morning and we arrive in Portland at 7:30 that same night. (We lost one day when we departed Portland so now we make it up).

Hamburg Tour

This morning Mahmood drove us to a nearby lake that extends all the way into the city center. We enjoyed a leisurely walk where we found a beautiful swan swimming with a variety of large birds that we've not seen before.

This afternoon Aramak took me on a tour of downtown Hamburg. We started at the Reeperbahn which is the red light district near the harbor. Prostitution is legal here and the area of strip clubs and prostitution houses cover about four or five blocks in the district. Interestingly, on a nearby street there are a variety of churchs representing many different countries. This area was developed specifically for the numerous ship seamen who travel in and out of the port which is second in size only to Rotterdam.

The building is in the fresh fish market area where on weekends, fish vendors set up shop to sell fish that was fresh caught the night before.

The city is compact and clean with designer shops and beautiful residential areas.