Au Revoir Paris. What I...

didn't expect in Paris...

• Wine this good and at these prices - $4-8 retail and $18-$25 in restaurants, crazy. I wish we could easily bring some back to share with everyone.

• More warmth than rudeness in the locals.

• Fewer people speak English than I thought.

• Older men and women hold onto their style and care about it.

• A baby boom - families in every neighborhood and older parents.

• So many simple freedoms - parking cars, bikes and scooters without meters. Sitting on the bridge wall edge of the Seine with your legs dangling over while drinking beer or wine. I can't sit on the edge of a ledge at 1st Ave. without being asked to move.

• Such carefree thinking - a mother riding a bike in busy traffic with her daughter hanging on behind her, no helmets. A dad on a scooter, daughter in front of him whizing down the street. Scooter smokers, scooter cellphone users.

• Safe and so clean, no litter, saw only about people 7 people begging in 10 days.

• Patience. So few horns honked. And cars, bikes, scooters and pedestrians all work together in harmony, they all figure out their turn with each other.

• The confidence in women from 8-80. And so many older women eating alone.

• The so-so concierge service from our hotel - just blocks from the Eiffel Tower. I found more Googling from the room.

• Very very few restaurants have bars, nightly we would look for a bar to grab a drink before dinner and usually ended with no luck.

What I will miss about Paris...

• The charm of imperfections in the streets, the cars, the architecture, the stairs, the windows and the people.

• Sharing a beer in a cab.

• The beauty of connection, relationships and community. People stop, have lunch, dinner, drink wine and talk face to face and take time. Families gather and again, stop and slow down. Kids roam freely and safely while their parents connect.

• Daily glacee' while walking.

• The sexy French language.

• You can have just as amazing and high quality of a meal on a park

bench as in a fine restaurant.

• The Paris way of eating is true connection and why I like to dine close to the person/people I am with. It justified my hate for large tables and my love of sitting on a bar stool knocking knees with my date mates.

• The active lifestyle of using your body to move through your day.

• Maorning pasterie with my French cafe'

• Sipping wine under the Eiffel, I can't do that on Lake Harriet.

• Having dinner with friends while your dog hangs leash-less.

• Walking with a glass of wine down the street.

What I have missed from Paris...

• Talking daily with my Mom and Kari, and hearing their voices.

• Relationship connections - hugging, talking, seeing friends and family.

• Working on Radar.

• Our home.

• Baking.

• My desk.

* Drawers.

• Cooking.

• The freedom to go out without a map and 3 cameras.