Day Twenty-Three: The Voyage Home

I didn’t sleep well on my last night at the chateau. That was a shame, because I knew Tuesday would be a long day and the comfortable bed facilitated many excellent sleeps while I was there. On travel days, though, I tend not to sleep well, so I found myself up earlier than I needed to be, and thus packed and ready to go several hours before necessary.

Tilly was one of a three who was leaving on earlier train–she was headed to Lyon to meet her parents. I heard her moving around next door, so I came down to say goodbye and hang out with her until it was time for her to catch her early train. Then the rest of the residents filtered their way to down to our final breakfast and at about a quarter to nine we piled back into the vans for the trip to the train station.

We said goodbye to Flora, Lea, and Antoine (I made sure to say goodbye to Dusty the cat, although I have a suspicion it was more meaningful to me than to him).

The train ride back to Paris was very different from the ride in. On the way, were all excited, anticipating what was to come, but we didn’t really know each other, so conversation was less frequent, and perhaps more guarded. On the way back, we all now knew each other and chatted the entire way. Cate (who was determined to sketch all the residents) sketched my portrait on the train. Side note: I have learned that French trains run on something of an honor system. We had assigned seats, but at no point did anyone check our tickets. Perhaps the French decided that the cost of monitoring tickets was more expensive than the occasional free rider. Maybe they only check if the train is full.

Upon arriving at the station, our departure was chaotic. Many people were rushing to the airport, others to their hotels, others to the bathroom, others to catch additional trains. As a result, our goodbye at the station was a bit anticlimactic, but under the circumstances, probably unavoidable. After saying goodbye to as many people as I could, I stored my luggage at a nearby souvenir shop (which was harder to find than it should have been–my GPS seemed unable to determine my location) and then spent the day in the Paris sunshine, shopping for souvenirs, eating a Nutella crepe and enjoying some macaroons. I had also booked a river tour of the Siene.

After the cruise, I headed to my Vrbo in the town of Gonesse, which is a suburb I chose for a couple of reasons: one, the Vrbo was cheap, and two, it’s just a few miles from the airport. I learned later that Gonesse was the birthplace of King Philip II. The town was very quiet, which I appreciated after the bustle of Paris. And even though I checked in a bit late in the evening, there was still an open grocery store and two pizza places nearby (not to mention a 24-hour CDB shop). I opted for groceries: some Perrier, bread and cheese (of course) along with yogurt and fruit for breakfast tomorrow.

The Vrbo was fine, and relatively easy to enter–despite a rather anxious moment when I realized I was at the wrong door. As I sat that evening looking out on the Gonesse neighborhood, eating my last serving of French bread and cheese, I knew that my adventure in France had finally come to an end. Tomorrow would be an early flight, then a shuttle to my car, and a two-and-a-half-hour drive home. I took a moment to quietly savor this feeling, for tomorrow it was back to reality.