Yes, it is our last day today and it is mainly filled with mundane things like packing and getting the apartment ready for turning over. Richard made the run to the Gosselin patisserie for breakfast bread and pastries. Donna is not feeling well enough to eat but her vertigo improves steadily throughout the day, possibly due to the phenothiazine medication that Richard gets from the drugstore. Jan goes out to do final shopping and I start packing and working on the blog. On her way to the Rue Montorgueil Jan stops in to say a final farewell to the Eglise Saint-Eustache at the Sunday Mass and is pleased that the soloists are the Debucher de Paris, a hunting horn ensemble who also perform after the service outside the church.
In mid-afternoon Richard and Jan and I go out for a final afternoon walk over the Pont Neuf Bridge. We have in mind to visit the little park beneath the bridge on the tip of the island. We had not done this before. The weather is blustery and turning colder. The park is lovely and nearly at the level of the river. There is a willow tree at the very end of the park and there is a crew filming actors who are making a movie. The actors and actresses are sitting around having a good time at a picnic. They are doing a great job at conveying pleasure in what they are doing but must be very cold. On the way back to the bridge we notice an ominous placard noting that this is the very spot where Jaques DeMolay, the leader of the Knights Templar was burned at the stake in 1314.
Now we cross the busy quai and walk partway around the Acadamie Francaise, the beautiful building serving as the home of the French institution that serves to coordinate all aspects of Gallic arts and scientific endeavors. The building is a handsome domed structure. The entry ways are all barred today so back we go to the apartment.
We have our final dinner of Quiche and left-overs with Richard and Donna and finish our packing.
Tomorrow our airport shuttle comes at 6:45 AM.
In the next blog I will have some final comments about our 5 weeks in France.
