6 weeks

(March 19, 2010)

"I bathed in the water at Lourdes today..

This place gives me the unusual desire to embrace the world...

I'm not sure if it was necessarily a life-changing experience, but it reminded me I have a spiritual side and need to cultivate it."

I spent two days in Lourdes & Toulouse with Meg and her dad this weekend. Lourdes, as you can see in the photo, has a cathedral that looks a little too much like the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland. Toulouse, the "rose-colored city," has a lot of old-school brick buildings but cannot compare to the picturesque beauty and charm of Lyon.

The trip made me realize just how much I'm in love with Lyon, and how little time I have left. 6 weeks to the day, in fact. It's a strange, strange existence that we live here. We play quiz night every Monday at Flannigan's, the new Irish pub, and every Thursday at The Wallace (our usual); we try a random bouchon Lyonnais every month with a French friend (and nearly gag every time); we're never in the same place for more than 3 weeks at a time (at most).

Going back to Santa Clara, CA? It's going to be insanely exciting to see everyone for the first few weeks. And then I'm going to cry for Lyon.