Paree

Home at last! Well, sort of. Paris feels like home after so much wandering. It's extraordinary to be right back where I started, four and a half months ago. The same old me and yet, not.

The trip was absolutely painless, for once - the TGV train left on time, and though I didn't have an assigned seat, I just sat down somewhere and was able to stay put for the whole trip. We sailed through the entire length of France and arrived exactly on time. I walked with the giant suitcase (AND yes, both backpack and handbag) to the bus stop, the bus arrived, and I was at the apartment in no time.

The thing with travel is never to say, we'll be there at 6. Instead, say: the plan is that we'll be there at 6. The plan is ... In those words is the assumption that though you've come up with a schedule and a plan, the gods may decide differently. And the unforeseen things, the disasters, the delays, the mistakes - those are the stories you'll be telling for the rest of your life.

I went out to get groceries and saw that practically every store on the rue Claude Bernard is closed down for the whole month of August. These people take vacations seriously. However, the museums are open, and the streets are always there for walking and looking. But this time, after my arrival, I wasn't stumbling around with my mouth open, gawking at everything. I went out to get groceries and came right back, because I'm tired. I can really relax here, at last - spread out, sit around, make myself comfortable. This really does feel like home.

One more week, until my real home. I'm very glad of this last week to decompress and deprogram. Back in a city, back with a climate I recognise ... and no bugs here either. Bliss.