This was supposed to be an entry yesterday, but my body just couldn’t stay awake long enough to make it happen. We were up by 5am, so along with coffee, I set about organizing the coat closet. Next, it was the yarn and books and paper piles. Laundry and unpacking. All this before 8am! I thought this jet lag thing was going to turn into a mighty productive thing.

We both took the day off from work, knowing that our minds wouldn’t be their sharpest. Besides, there was a very important appointment at 9—picking up Janie Sparkles! She stayed with a friend from my former job, so it turned into a bit of a how’s-it-going lovefest. Having only four days at the new job under my belt, I had little to report, so we talked about Paris. Thanks to the magic of the interwebs, anyone who wanted to could follow along, so there were lots of food questions.

After a very Bay-Areian breakfast of huevos rancheros, it was back across the thankfully-reopened Bay Bridge. Errands and a latte run, more loads of laundry and a peek into work email, catching up on TiVo trash tv and knitting—it was everything I couldn’t do in France. I valliantly struggled to stay awake through a simple dinner of penne, pesto and steamed brocolli, snuggling with the dearly-missed doggy.

Until 8-ish.

Which is why I’ve been up since 2:48am. I’m forcing myself to stay in bed until at least 5. Then it’s getting ready for work and finishing off the things I thought would all be completed yesterday.

At least I can hear two happy snorers next to me. I hope I can join them.

After being awake for the last 23+ hours, I don’t have much to offer than this cheese spaetzle from the Munich airport sports bar that pales in comparison to the American recreation that I eat at our local East German restaurant.

We woke up at 6am Paris time to be on the metro by 7:30 for the airport and our 11:35 flight home via the above lunch stop. The highlight of that three-hour layover was seeing Kris who’s planted a tiny little marathon seed in my head (but there remains the mystery of the sore foot).

The long flight back to San Francisco was made shorter by knitting and movies. I couldn’t have thought of better films to ease the transition back to reality and underline the Paris part of our honeymoon.

• First up, Coco Avant Chanel. A French language biopic with everyone’s favorite mignone, Audrey Tatou, aka Amélie. What’s Frencher than that?
• Next, Julie & Julia. Given that so much of my trip was food-centered and driven by blogger recommendations, this was a visual delicasy, even for this vegaquarian.
• Lastly, The Time Traveler’s Wife which was nowhere near as good as the book. Knowing the intensity of the love story from the original source, I sobbed nonetheless.

There was still more time for films, but neither The Soloist and The Taking of Pelham 123 speak to our time there, although I’d love to hear cello in Paris ans we did ride the subway—but that’s a bit of a stretch.

One thing we’ve talked about to keep this trip alive is weekly Paris movies. Not quite the same sentiment, but I’m thinking La Femme Nikita and Diva. Do you have any Frenchie favorites?

It’s closing in on 4pm on our last day in Paris. This time tomorrow we’ll be leaving Munich after a three-hour layover. Hopefully, we’ll have spent an hour or so of airport visiting with Kris, Fräulein Bockstark Knits and Victor, Herr Elemmaciltur.

After debating between being responsible and packing or heading down to the Seine and getting ice cream, we finally settled on having a beer in a café on rue Bretagne near the apartment. Ice cream wasn’t my first choice anyway, but before the hate email comes in, Berthillon is closed on Monday and Tuesdays. This beer (Belgian?) is a nice chill way to end a chilly week here.

Travelling always make me hungry for more on one hand, and appreciate what I have on the other. It goes without saying that I’m missing Janie Sparkles something fierce. You may be surprised that I’m eager to get back to work. Granted, I’ve only spent four days on the job there, so I don’t have anything I want to avoid! It’s all exciting and new. (Leaving Clif Bar & Company after nine years will have to be a post for another day.)

I’m hoping to hang onto some of my memories of wanderlust by learning how to cook some of the great food I’ve enjoyed here. There are also many a design kicking around my head that will need to be knit one day. Plus, I never give San Francisco its due, or perhaps I’m too set in my ways for my own good, and there’s plenty of city exploration and gems to find (and write about?). Why not be a tourists chez nous? Maybe I’ll even look up some Alliance Française events! (Sois gentil!)

It’s sad to end a trip, but so exciting to return home to the familiar. That’s why we call it home, eh? Refreshed, inspired, grateful, and alive. You can’t ask for anything more.

ETA: I finished writing this at 17:25, for full disclosure.

Just a little scribble from Paris, from our honeymoon (one year ex post facto). It’s been a wonderful trip of wandering, eating, happy happen-stance and only-in-Paris moments. If you follow me on Twitter or Flickr, I’ve been trying to share a taste of the trip. It’s like we’re all gay-married together!

I want to acknowledge and thank two bloggers (whom I’ve never met) who’ve been invaluable with their food recommendations that have made this trip perhaps the best of my life.

• David Lebovitz – we were given his book a few months ago, but spare reading time hasn’t existed for me for quite a while… You can bet your bottom dollar, Lil’ Orphan Annie, that I’ll be picking it up when I’m back in the states!
• 101 Cookbooks – Heidi is the wife of a guy I barely knew in high school, but always looked up to. We’ve threatened to catch up since the summer, but haven’t made it happen yet. She’s also an award-winning cookbook author on whom many foodie friends have culinary crushes.

If you’re ever planning on going to Paris, do check them out. Your tummy will not be disappointed! As writers and people creating great work around their passions, they’re rather inspirational as well.

à bientôt, mes amis!