It has been quite a week, certainly not dull. It started with a full and eclectic Saturday.

Saturday morning I joined the Urban Sketchers of Portland at Directors Park in downtown Portland. Contrary to what you might hear on the news, Portland is not burning down. It was a beautiful sunny morning, the bright autumn leaves dazzled.

Laurel Porter, one of the news anchors at KGW news, was there with a cameraman doing a feature on Urban Sketchers in Portland. I am not sure when it will air, but I may be on TV since she did a pretty long interview with me. Thanks Tricia for the photo.

I did a sketch of the cameraman filming Laural doing an interview on the other side of the fountain. He said he had never been sketched before.

Tricia joined me at noon and we headed toward the river to take part in the No Kings Rally – all 40,000 of us, part of 7 million nationwide. We met some wonderful people who all shared love and concern for our democracy.

Tricia took a photo of that sign and talked to the lady who made it. She had tears in her eyes as she told her about her 7x great grandfather who signed the Declaration of Independence, and how disappointed he would be to see what is going on today. His name was Abraham Clark, we found his signature on a copy of the Declaration. Check Tricia’s post today for more photos and thoughts.

The entire route was a bit long for our knees so after talking with people, and listening to a lot of drums we figured it was time for lunch. We headed toward Powell’s since there are a lot of places to eat along the way and it was in the direction for home. On SW Oak, between 9th and 10th I saw a sign written in French, it was in front of a tiny restaurant – Måurice.

We have been looking for this place ever since we got to Portland. In Washington, the Oyster Bar on Chuckanut drive was our hideaway spot, we have needed one here, and we have found it. When I say tiny, I mean tiny. I doubt it can seat over 20 people, there are no large tables, most are only for two. They even have a sommelier, the chef is right there cooking just a few feet away, and she is fantastic. She actually does a bit of French, and Norwegian, yep, Norwegian. It is known for its patisseries which, we have yet to sample, but we will that is for sure. They are only open from 10am to 4pm, perfect for us since we rarely go out for dinner. On my way out I thanked the chef and said, à bientôt – see you soon.

We started with oysters, bien sur.

With duck in cherry sauce on the menu how could I not try it.

Quite a day Saturday – urban sketching, interview, No Kings rally, and gourmet lunch – not bad.

Sunday Alexis and Joe came over for our traditional Sunday lunch. We ate well and played a board game. Seeing them more often makes missing France a bit easier.

Monday, October 20, marked one year since we boarded the Eurostar in Paris headed to London, we were leaving France. We both shed a tear as the train entered the Chunnel. I did a couple of sketches. France was something we were doing, now it would be something we did.

My old friend Tim, well we are both older, but we have been friends since we were in High School a lot of years ago. Three weeks ago he had ankle surgery. We went to visit him on Tuesday. A lot of fun with them, talking and playing some music together. I trust he will be up and around all healed soon.

Wednesday, the 22nd, marked one year since we flew from London to Chicago. I did a sketch on the plane that captured our mood – heading off to a bit of uncertainty. We had no idea how dark things would really be for our country.

Our time in France was easily the three best years of my life. Thank you all for tolerating my reminicing about it, it had such an impact on me, both of us.

Friends, food, the travel we still do and will do, and of course art and music all keep me sane. Those of you who follow this and comment are part of that circle of friends that is so important, so thank you again.