i hope that you don't suffer

Hello, Paris! As much fun as I had in Frankfurt, I'm v. glad to be on vacation, and even gladder to be in Paris. I managed to escape the book fair without picking up a cold, so I guess my suitcase full of holistic medicines protected me - I'm sure I'll get sick as soon as I get home, but as long as I'm able to enjoy Paris, I don't care. This morning was uneventful; I woke up, showered, finished packing, had one final amazing omelette, and got to the train station embarrassingly early for my trip to Paris. The train ride was uneventful, and I managed to do just a bit of writing when I wasn't inadvertently napping or staring out the window at the gorgeous countryside.

Upon arrival in Paris, I took a cab to my hotel, where I rendezvoused with Kathia, who had arrived yesterday. She was about to use the sauna, which I had no interest in, so I went out for a belated lunch of steak and red wine (lunch (and breakfast, and dinner) of champions) and did some totally awesome people watching. Then I came back to the hotel, found Kathia again, and then met up with Terry, who arrived from London this afternoon. The three of us wandered around for a few hours, including some time taking pictures of Notre Dame (yes, I'm researching the secret non-gargoyle young adult book), and more importantly including some time at a cute little wine bar, where we had red wine and charcuterie/cheese. Then we went for dinner at a restaurant we'd seen earlier, and it totally surprised us - the outside had purple patio furniture, leading me to believe the inside would be tres chic, but instead it was a throwback to a gothic mansion, with a lot of heavy wood furniture and crypt-like walls. This was topped off by a waiter who hummed to himself the entire night and a preternaturally young-looking couple in the corner who may have been vampires. Needless to say, I was in alt (which, perhaps is needful to say, is a Regency phrase for something along the lines of high-flyingly-ecstatic to the point of unseemly excitement).

After dinner, Terry went off to find her airbnb, and Kathia and I had cocktails and talked writing shop in the hotel bar. And now I'm all cozy and eager for bed - bonsoir!