It is hard to think that next week I will be posting from The Pearl. It has been quite a journey with a lot of memories. Tricia is posting about our time in Kotor today.

Our apartment in Paris is in a perfect location, in a Haussmann style building, just a block from Gare Montparnasse. It is like living in a museum or a rare book library.

This week our outdoor activities have been curtailed by the extreme heat: Monday 99F, Tuesday 101F, Wednesday 102F, and today forecast is for another 102F. As a result we have stayed in a lot, we have only fans, but it is still better than outside, so I have not had much of a chance to sketch outside.

I did venture out to the nearby boulangerie for croisants and such.

I did the painting of Parched in Paris for my Tuesday post, and a couple of people from our window.

We are so blessed to have so many good friends and a relative here in France. We spent some time with Tricia’s cousin and partner, David and Nat, in Marseilles. Our time was too brief.

We actually have more friends here in France than we do in the US. It has been so good to spend time with them. We saw our neighbors Gayle and Mike from La Thebauderie last week. They were the ones who helped us adjust to the rural life of firewood and butane tanks.

Former Mukilteo friends, Shirley and Jim, came over again for lunch.

Their apartment in the 7th is just right for them, and they have decorated it perfectly, even the chairs which we remember from Mukilteo.

Last Sunday Pascal, Florence, and Arthur, along with Shirley and Jim, came to chez nous for Sunday Lunch. Pascal and Tricia both worked at Fred Hutchinson in Seattle. Pascal wanted a coffee maker and we were selling one, they met, and we ended up as friends. They moved back home to France a few years ago and live in a suburb of Paris, it was so good to get together.

Tuesday, we took the train from Gare Montparnasse to Chartres to have lunch with Nikki and Alun, and most importantly Rosco. After two years Rosco still gave us a wiggling, squealing welcome – Nikki says that is his family greeting so we feel blessed that he remembered us. We walked a bit, but it was so hot, 102F, so headed to their place – they drove from La Thebauderie just to meet us, we are so glad they did. Nikki made salmon for lunch and we had a good time getting caught up on more La Thebauderie gossip.

Yesterday, Wednesday, was Shirley’s birthday, Jim’s is in a few days. We went for lunch at Pierre Herme’s restaurant on rue de Grenelle in Paris. He is famous for his Macrons and pasteries. Vogue called him “the Picasso of Pastry,” he was also awarded the title of World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2016. We had a special booth in the back, and a wonderful time.

We are so blessed to travel, even more blessed to have such great friends. We will miss you all as we head back to The Pearl, but it is à bientôt not au revoir.

I hope your week has gone well, maybe a bit cooler than here, and that you are capturing moments as you can.