It’s been two weeks since we returned to Toulouse from a month on the most fabled roads of California. It was an amazing vacation. I’m still not sleeping quite right, but I think I’m mostly adjusted to being back in France.
Trips back to the US have a restorative power. Although I love living here, it is essential to be back in one’s own country every now and then. The jet-lag upon returning east is usually compounded with a dash of homesickness, having usually just left behind friends and family.
But with time and activity, life resumes and keeping busy helps the far-from-home blues fade away.
And life on this side of the Atlantic has been pretty busy since my last update. Thesis writing and finishing my masters program. Working for a small contemporary art festival in Toulouse. Planning the trip to California nearly last-minute and then hopping on a plane to the Golden State.
We traveled with two friends, rented a car, stayed with friends or camped and mixed urban and nature. We looped down from San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway to Los Angeles, drove east to the desert and Joshua Tree, trekked north through the central valley to the grand parks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and then back to San Francisco. A trip full of changing landscapes and temperatures. I think we all could have stayed a few more weeks.
But alas, reality sets in, and all too soon we were back on a flight via London to our little Pink City, Toulouse. Back to work, back to nannying.
Ed and I learned just before we set off for California that we’ll be moving to Lyon. It’s an exciting new step for us, but we’re also quite sad to leave our home here. Returning to reality meant beginning the search for a new flat and all that comes with changing cities.
Will keep you all posted on the moving developments. Will try to post again soon!
Cool, I may be moving to Lyon too (if I can’t make it to Berlin)! I wish I could afford to visit the States, it’s been a while. Glad to hear your vaycay in California was fun. Your photos are beautiful. ~