One major lesson, or reality, of our time in France is that we are perpetually gazing into the future with only a vague vision of our destination. We have a few waypoints in the months ahead but the final destination is still unclear.

Though we are staying in an apartment in the 15th arrondissement our world has been more controlled by the Clinique Saint Genevieve in the 13th.

Last Thursday we made our first visit to the clinique for Tricia’s consultation with the anesthesiologist. That done we had a few days to explore a bit of Paris that was new to us.

Paris is famous for its street art and building murals so we took the Metro to Place d’Italie, which boasts feminist-themed street art. Tricia will be blogging about street art in some upcoming posts so check-in there.

The area is quite laidback if you were to compare it to the Left Bank, or Montparnasse. We loved it and found a small cafe for lunch.

Though I eat more fish and vegetables than red meat, roast beef and potatoes was too much to resist. After lunch we wandered more streets and I found people in doors and windows.

On another afternoon we stopped at a cafe just down the street from our apartment – people watching and sketching the red awning across the street made for a good afternoon.

Monday was surgery day. The docs said it went well, but it turned out to be a lot more challenging than Tricia or I anticipated. They said the procedure would be about 40 minutes. I waited on the first floor, Tricia was on the third – it ended up taking two hours and forty five minutes, counting prep and recovery. She came out with a patch over her eye feeling completely drained.

Back in the 15th the real recovery is taking place, with a lot of eye drops and patience. As of today, Wednesday, her vision is still obscured in her left eye, a pretty stressful condition – which we hope will clear in a few days.

So we hang out here, I make grocery runs, and sketch the flowers we got to brighten up the room. Any warm thoughts and prayers you have for Tricia will be so appreciated, the waiting is so hard.