The sun sleeps late here, and goes to bed early, which makes for short days.

I awoke at 6:00 a.m., and it was so dark I thought for sure it was the middle of the night. I texted with my son (the pilot) who was flying somewhere for work, now that his European vacation has ended. And then, I fell back asleep.

When I awoke AGAIN, I started to plan my day. I thought for sure I would visit the Arc de Triomphe, but the weather was poor. I checked the app, and it showed a lot of wind, which isn’t great for scaling high heights.

I started to research another store I very much want to visit, and was set to head out when I looked at their website and discovered they’re closed on Mondays. I decided to save that trip for Wednesday morning, since they’re closed on Tuesdays, too. Stay tuned. My plan is to go in the morning, before school.

Looking at the weather app, I thought maybe I could squeeze a visit to L’Arc de Triomphe after all, between the raindrops and wind. I readied myself and headed out. I was stunned by the bitter wind and cold and literally turned around to come home. Then, I turned around again. No, I told myself, stay out, keep going — just go to the Bon Marché area for some favorite items at La Grande Épicerie. So that’s what I did. I took a nice walk, think a nice glass of red or some hot cocoa might be nice later.

La Grande Épicerie is an event, and they still have me in their records, and honor my preferred customer card. Fresh fruit, fresh butcher shop, boulangerie, pâtisserie, cheese shop, and wines galore. It’s extraordinary. (Prices are a lot higher than last year.) I embarrassed myself by buying peanut butter in the small les États-Unis aisle. Lol! I had bought some apples, and I love them with pb as a snack. It’s not my usual favorite Skippy brand, but we shall see. I thought maybe I’d stop in the old neighborhood on the way home for dinner, but rain started and started hard, so I skipped it and decided to hurry home.

Hurry being relative. I’m still a slow walker compared to the French. I still need to up my game.

Christmas trees can still be found gently discarded on street corners now that la journée des rois has passed. That’s 3 kings day, the Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, Little Christmas, or just January 6, depending on your “religion.“ The season is officially over, though I still saw a few holiday lights.

The rain and wind really picked up as I walked down Rue Vaugirard. A restaurant sign blew from its post into the street. When the worker came out, looking left and right wondering what that sound was, I told her, « Je pense que le panneau est dans la rue! » She thanked me, and I stopped traffic as she retrieved it.

I was really glad for my coat of choice. Umbrellas are worthless here with the wind; you need a hood, and I had one. I was drenched on the outside only, and could hear the rain pelting my hood. A school crossing guard ushered me across the street near the Jardin du Luxembourg, and we both laughed. Bon soirée, Madame! he called. Up one spiral set of ancient stairs, key in the door, and I was in. The tiny apartment felt cozy as I dropped by coat and emptied mon sac.

I’d like to say my entire afternoon with French went that well, but it didn’t. I felt tongue-tied earlier. Couldn’t get the words out fast enough. It happens. But I finally came up with a way to make this work to my advantage. I just say, « Je suis ici pour apprendre le français, mais merci beaucoup d’en anglais pour moi. » Et voilà, after that, they only speak to me in French. You have to love that, right? They’re truly happy to help, either way, en anglais ou français. And we part with pleasantries.

I brought home a tasty little dish of sweet and sour meatballs and basmati rice, which seemed just right for this winter night. I have to remind myself when I’m shopping that I have a tiny refrigerator, a tiny stovetop, and no real oven, only a microwave. I’m not suffering.

And just like that, it’s 8:00 p.m. here.