Anna Leaves; Ilana and Gabe Arrive

June 26th, 2018

Our children have been leaving one by one, turning our recently crowded and bustling apartment into something decidedly quieter.  Caroline left early Friday morning.  Kate flew to California for the week on Sunday, leaving for the airport early Sunday morning.  And Anna left yesterday morning to fly back to Boston.  So we decided to make the most of her last day here, Sunday.  First, we visited the Tintoretto exhibit at the Musée du Luxembourg.  (More on this exhibit later.)  

Lunch was crepes at a nearby cafe, sitting outside to enjoy the sunshine.  An accordion player stopped by to serenade us in the hopes, of course, of a couple of euros tossed his way.  One of our fellow diners had a dog with her, who apparently is not a fan of the accordion.  Every time the accordion player started up, the dog started barking.  After a couple of minutes, he gave up and left.

We stopped by Chapon to pick up some chocolate mousse for later in the evening.  They had five types.  Anna sampled all of them and declared the Peruvian 75% to be her favorite---rich and fruity---but also decided to get portions of two others as well.  The Madagascar was more classic but delicious.  The Venezuelan, dark and deep, was made with practically no sugar but had very little bitterness.

Then we headed to the Musée des Arts et Métiers.  Anna was especially interested in seeing Pascal's computing machine and the programmable looms.  They had many looms on display, dating from as early as the 17th Century, I believe, but the really cool ones could be given a weaving program on what were essentially computer punch cards connected in a loop.  They were complicated and impressive machines.  

Jacquard loom from 1810---yes, there was a guy named Jacquard

 Anna also was interested in walking up to the top of the three-story-high scaffolding that displayed early automobiles.  I was not interested in that activity and stayed below to take photographs.  

Ilana, one of Caroline's best friends and a important person to all of us, and her boyfriend Gabe, joined us for dinner.  (Ilana was a mainstay at our house during her high school years, and we have missed sharing dinners with her since.)  They are on a whirlwind trip to Italy, France, and Spain, spending just a couple short days in Paris.  We ordered take-out from a new wood-fired-oven pizza place right around the corner, and I made a salad (because Ilana has always liked my salads).  And, of course, we had the chocolate mousses for dessert, with strawberries and whipped cream.       

It was wonderful relaxing over a bottle of Graves, enjoying our last evening with Anna, and being regaled with stories of Ilana and Gabe's adventures so far.