Anduze Market Place

Arles

Rennes le Chateau chapel

Our farmhouse terrace

favorite street Montmartre

Favorite street Montmartre

Montmartre continued

Luxembourg Gardens

Queen, Luxembourg Gardens

View from the farmhouse

Uzes park

 At Ste. Marie de la Mer

View from Rennes le Chateau

 The Seine

Pont du Gard

Ile St. Louis - the Seine

from Sacre Coeur

Giverny

Giverny

Giverny

Ile St. Louis, Paris

 Indigenous site

La Baume Ste. Marie

La Baume Ste. Marie

Mary Magdalene and Christ- La Baume Ste. Marie

Mary Magdalene- L'Eglise Madeleine, Paris

Giverny

Puivert-Cathar Castle

Jardins Luxembourg

Jardins Luxembourg

Favorite Street - Montmartre

Jardins Luxembourg-November

Magical light in the woods

 Marie de Medici

Mary Magdalene cave shrine

Paris-19th C theatre

Farmhouse kitchen

Paris from my window

Chapel Peyrepetouse

Peyrepetouse

 Pont du gard

 from Rennes le Chateau

Black Madonna, Ste. Marie de la Mer

Ste. Marie de la Mer

Farmhouse L Hourne

The Rhone at Arles-Van Gogh painting site

The Seine-November

Uzes

Uzes

Our guardian peaks, La Hourne 

I can't resist a little P.S. I decided to take the train (RER B) to the airport, instead of the taxi-Air France bus combo, despite the impressive size of my luggage (confession). (A big difference in cost!) It meant a long uphill walk to the train and negotiating flights of stairs, hauling the suitcases on and off the train (which is NOT level with the platform), etc. I just counted and 7 different people came to my assistance, unasked, at different points of the journey. I love the French. They are so aware and so kind and social. Had a lovely conversation with one of my rescuers, a really nice young man from Provence, all the way to the airport station.  
Just ate more food at the buffet next door than I have eaten all month. I had a longing for potatoes and there they were. One more French breakfast tomorrow and then I am truly done.

Bonsoir, mes amis,
I am at a little hotel near the CDG airport, in order to simplify the departure process. It is a bit of a strange world, because there are many many huge hotels like this one all up and down the road. The energy of rootlessness, of things temporary.
It's hard to believe that I am leaving France. It is so perfectly natural to be here. But, at the same time, I feel very full and complete. It has been such a rich 2 months, inside and out, so overflowing with life's best gifts.
I had a little adventure with an unexpected and happy ending. Tuesday, it rained particularly hard, and the wind was strong. I went to the D'Orsay bright and early that morning, thinking it was a perfect day for the museum. When I got there, I saw that many people had had the same thought. I had to stand in line for around 40 minutes of drenching rain, so I broke down and brought an umbrella, something I had been avoiding, because they blow in and out. That night, I stopped at two food stores before heading home, and had an awkward moment with umbrella and purse and vegetable "sac." About two hours after I got home, I saw that my wallet with passport and credit cards had been stolen, I''m assumng during that time when I was fumbling. After a moment of panic about the passport, I went online and looked up how to get a new one. Then, I cancelled the credit cards. Wednesday AM I went to the embassy bright and early (not raining that AM, good walking). I am happy  to report that the embassy makes it extremely easy to get an emergency passport. I was out of there in 2 hours. It did not feel very Anerican, tho, because most of the employees were French. So, a little adventure and then on with my day.
Very early Thursday morning, I got an email from my former landlady in Santa Fe, who had received a call from someone who had found my passport! The phone number she had was incomplete, but, fortunately, he sent me an email as well. We made an appointment to meet later in the day so he could return the wallet, etc. He (Sid) came with his wife and they turned out to be kindred souls. We talked for well over two hours and are going to stay in touch. It turned out that he Googled my name to try and locate me. He found me on Buddha at the Gas Pump (!), which contained my website information, which in turn contained my contact info. Wild! A very happy ending, tho. Two new friends.  
Friday, I returned to a sunny Luxembourg Gardens, home base for me, and in love with every inch of the place. I also wandered through the Mouffetard, a very old part  Paris, with lots of small and charming shops and tons of food shops. Great street musicians as well. And a final visit to Notre Dame. I was goingto go up to Montmartre o Saturday, but it poured on and off all day, and this time the rain was turning cold. I live in such a good place, because I could take short journeys and return home in between. Went back to the Mouffetard for a wonderful lunch and then up to L'Eglise Madeleine. What a force Mary Magdalene was! What a powerful embodiment of the divine feminine! She was the one who really brought Christianity to Europe.
Today, a hard rain in the morning. I moved out of the house only slowly, waiting for the predicted sun, which did come, bright and beautiful. A cold but gorgeous autumn day. I went right back to the Luxembourg Gardens. I love that they are always full of people, engaged with life in their own way. Lots of people doing Tai Chi, meditators sitting on the grass, creating still places in the park, children playing, lots of runners, and then the strollers, like me, and those who just sit and enjoy what is.
Ate a delicious lunch, walked along the river and around the Ile-St.Louis, an area of great peace and beauty in the midst of the busycity. The Seine was looking its very best today, rushing along full of rainwater, reflecting the sky, catching golden leaves. The sky was alive with shifting clouds in a blue sky. The trees glowed in the sunshine. Everyone was out enjoying, which to me is the essence of Paris.
Look for photos in a few days, when I get my  computer out of storage. Bonsoir.

Wow! It's already Thursday. I guess I have fallen down on the blog job for a few days. Due to the weather (lots of rain), the last few days have been filled with museums. Tried a few new ones,  historically oriented, and I cannot, alas, recommend them (except for the Pantheon, which is a wonderful structure, built according to the laws of sacred geometry.) Quite a bit of info (more than I wanted) on the horrors of the French Revolution, for one thing. But they did lead me to new neighborhoods, which I thoroughly enjoyed exploring. And the art museums, well, I could go on visiting them forever. Just finished my 2nd very long visit to the D'Orsay, where I discovered all kinds of new rooms. One special reward was a whole room full of Odillon Redon, a painter who surely had celestial dreams. I idolized him in high school, and suddenly a whole room of his glowing, visionary, infinitely gentle and brilliantly colored work. Also several rooms designed with art nouveau walls, carvings, furniture, blown glass, etc. All so light and flowing and graceful. If I ever had a house and freedom to decorate it, it would be art nouveau for me!    
Have been doing huge amounts of walking, having discovered that most of the places I love are not all that far away. Have gotten caught in pouring rain a couple of times, but today, patches of glorious sunshine. Paris has such exquisite parks and I am deeply enjoying the onset of autumn. The tree trunks are dark with rain, the leaves golden. Soft, warm winds. Some hardy flowers hanging in here and there. Trees, I think, are my favorite creatures on the planet and I feel so deeply nourished by the huge and ancient deciduous trees everywhere. I am filled with such a deep sense of beauty and perfection here, over and over again.  

Walking walking walking! And in the company of thousands of Parisians and tourists. Everyone out walking and chattering and enjoying the day, no matter the weather. I don't always get where I think I am going, due to a sense of direction which is dependably 180 degrees off, but I get somewhere wonderful and enjoy every step along the way. Today was gorgeous, a break from the rain and a nearly perfect autumn day. Walked along the river in the morning, then up to Montmartre in the afternoon. I completed the walking tour of Montmartre described in my guidebook ( a good one!) and wandered into what felt to me like the most beautiful streets in all of Paris, maybe in the whole world. I took a zillion photos, hoping to capture all that beauty and perfection. Steep, narrow, winding (always)  cobblestone streets. Trees, a vineyard, ivy-covered walls, gardens still full of flowers (after the long, warm autumn), artists' studios, walled-in pieces of heaven, French doors and balconies with flower pots, views over the whole city and magical light. No wonder the artists congregated in Montmartre. It was like stepping out of a dream and finding it had become reality. And what a great life those artists had, painting all day and eating, drinking and laughing with friends deep into the night. Sounds might good to me! The walk ended on Rue d'Abbesses, with, I think, a record-breaking number of cafes. Definitely a place to re-explore.
Tomorrow. . .museums. . .cos it will be raining raining raining.