Sunday, 30 October, 2022 – Now that I have my days straight, and Elias is in a different city, I know that he has tonight, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night, and he leaves for Thailand on Thursday morning. He’s going to be on a different continent in less than a week!
He has a plan for each day in Paris, including washing clothes and going to the Musée d’Orsay.
Elias: It’s even nicer to be back in Paris than I thought it would be. As a city I’m sort of over it for now but I didn’t looked up food all day and knew where to eat and how to get everywhere which has been really nice.
Me: How nice! That feels good. It’s raining there, right? Are you at your hostel?
Elias: Not raining at all it’s a very nice night. I’m walking around a little bit then taking the metro to a restaurant I found with Ian and Kelsey, Cedars. It’s the best Lebanese food I’ve ever had and a feast for 10.50. I got in this afternoon and took a nap so it’s been an easier day than I expected.
I love his phrase, “As a city, I’m sort of over it for now” because there’s so much to what he said. He knows that he wants to return someday, and he knows it’s possible he’ll feel the awe and wonder of the city again, at some point. While he may be “over” the city itself, he’s also enjoying places he already visited, feeling like it’s familiar, and still looking forward to doing things – even visiting a museum. At the same time, he is SO ready to leave and move onto his next adventure.
I remember feeling something similar in the days leading up to leaving not only Hong Kong – I felt something like that leaving Colorado Springs, and Honolulu, and Madison. Even leaving Jackson, Mississippi, when I was both excited and scared about moving to Beckley, West Virginia, I remember feeling a sort of attachment to Jackson that just a few months before I would have sworn I’d never feel. There were painful memories associated with the place and yet, when I realized I might never return, I started feeling good about it, in preparation for leaving. I’m sure people have written beautiful poems and novels about that same sentiment, but that’s as eloquently as I can express it. I hated the place. Then, just as I was about to leave it, I realized a part of me loved it. There it is. It’s complicated.
Elias is staying in a part of the city I think he’s stayed before. At a place called Paris Nation. It appears to be close to the train station; with a transfer, Elias will be able to get to the airport easily. (I say “easily” because I think Elias thinks it is easy now. Not because I know anything about transferring trains in Paris, on the way to the airport.) Here’s the hostel on the map, and a screenshot of the street where he’s staying. It looks like there’s both a boulangerie and a market nearby.
I also looked up the restaurant where Elias had dinner. I cannot find a site that will allow me to download a good picture of the food; their website does not do a great job showcasing the food. On this site, though, you get a sense of how delicious it is: The Fork. Here’s a link to the Cedars Restaurant website. And here’s where it is, in the city.
