Easy like Sunday morning

As the French usually do on Sundays, I took it easy today. I got a little bit of a later start as opposed to the last few days and used my last métro ticket to go downtown to the Pont de l'Alma, (which is where there is a copy of the Statue of Liberty flame and where Princess Diana was in her car accident that ultimately ended her life).  I was a little early for the next thing on my list so I did my favorite thing to do in Paris: sit and soak. So I found a prime bench partially in the shade in view of the river and the Eiffel Tower, sat and read my book. 

I won't be seeing this next Sunday! :-/

Then after about an hour or so, I packed up and headed across the river to the American Church in Paris. It was a little weird to be in a building a stone's throw away from the Eiffel Tower and completely be speaking English. Typical church service, a few songs, a few Scriptures, offering and a message. There were probably about 100 people there by the end. And, by the way, it was so late in the afternoon because it was their third, maybe fourth, service of the day. I chose to go to the contemporary service at 1:30pm. 

After the service, I didn't stick around and I walked down the quai by the river all the way past Musée d'Orsay and crossed into the Tuileries and the Louvre. I treated myself to one last Nutella crêpe and kept walking toward the newly reopened shopping area, Les Halles. 

Now here's the sticking point: it's Sunday. Not everything is open. So the usually-busy Les Halles was almost a ghost town. But I did get to see the newly finished glass canopy and other than that, I didn't feel like going downstairs and shopping in the underground section. Better for my suitcase and better for my wallet. I was also a bit disappointed that the Doc Martens store was closed as well but I repeat, better for my wallet. I did take a quick walk through the Lego store simply to check out the Notre-Dame made out of Legos. 

So basically, with that, my Paris to-do list was pretty much complete. While walking, I had said "au revoir" to all the big sites, telling them that I'll see them next summer so I didn't feel the need to stay out just for the sake of staying out. So I came back, took a nap, tried not to scratch my annoying mosquito bites and waited for the apartment lady to come back with my security deposit. After she came, I went out to grab dinner and now, it's time to mentally prepare for a long day of airplane travel tomorrow. 

Honestly, after all my adventures and almost three weeks away, I'm ready to come home. It's been such fun; I've seen a lot and made so many new memories but: I want my cat. I want my car. I want screens in my windows and air conditioning. I want my bed and for goodness sake, I want a top sheet!

So friends and family, I'll see you soon. Students, I'll see you in a few weeks.