My last day!

Washed the towels and bedding, bought some coffee pods to replace those I enjoyed, and will leave a small gift and letter of gratitude to my dear friend, Nathalie.

I am beyond grateful and have no words.

As always, it was a privilege to take care of Luigi (and the apartment) for a couple of weeks this summer.

I have a ticket to the Louvre tonight for the fashion exhibit. Then, I’ll be meeting Jennifer for champagne. We were going to meet at La Tour Eiffel, however, not at 10pm – not the best idea. Alors, it doesn’t matter where we go as long as there’s bubbly for two!

My bags are 90% packed… and there’s room. Don’t tempt me! I did buy a little outfit for baby Henry. (It’s small!)

And I’ve packed the Haribo Orangina gummies, along with other souvenirs for my loves from my favorite places.

Une petite leçon française – notice the packaging:

« C’est BEAU la vie… »

Even though « la vie » is féminine, the French don’t ever say, « C’est BELLE » (BELLE is the féminine version of BEAU for beautiful). So, why not « C’est BELLE, la vie »? Because the phrase is structured with « C’est » mean une it is, and « it » is not gender specific, so the default is to use the masculine form of the adjective.

I remember telling a French friend,  …so the French never say « C’est belle… » and he was surprised and said, I never thought about it, but no, we don’t, c’est toujours « C’est beau. »

« La vie » is added to the sentence for clarification/emphasis.

HOWEVER…

It is correct to say: « La vie est belle » because in this case the adjective directly modifies the (féminine) noun.

End of class.

I had a lovely last day.

It started out rat her leisurely with household duties and chores and time with Luigi. I picked up some grocery items, and came home to finish packing/preparing.

It was early when I headed to the Louvre. I hoped they’d let me in early, and they did. There were no lines. Plenty of people were scattered around the square and I.M. Pei’s iconic pyramid. I found myself ducking here and there as everyone was taking selfies and photos. I always wonder how many photo albums I’m in!

I waltzed right into the museum, through security, up the escalator and there it was. WHAT A GREAT EXHIBIT! It was huge. Vast. Truly difficult to take in. Sprawling doesn’t’ begin to cover it. I mean, parts of it were in Napoleon’s apartments. WHAT? Opulent beyond belief.

I moved quickly, as I knew the museum would close before I finished if I lingered too much.

Take a look…

Breathtaking…

I dashed to the other gallery to see my namesake before closing…

What crazy luck! No lines, no ropes! That’s a first!

Hello, Mona! XOXO

A few others by Da Vinci…

And this beauty…

And, while initially blocked (due to closing) from gaining entry to another gallery I love, I asked the guard if I could possibly take a photo of my favorite piece. She smiled, and waved me in… I couldn’t believe it!

I thanked her, and dashed for the Métro!