“It comes so soon, the moment when there is nothing left to wait for.”
― Marcel Proust

Touching down into a new day, another country. We are in Paris, a little bleary eyed from an overnight flight, but quite happy. Our bags are in New York City for now, so be it. We are in Paris and the morning sun is bright in a blue and partly cloudy sky. Happy clouds, very white and cheerful. We make our way comfortably to where we are staying in the 7th arrondissement, near the Eiffel Tower. We must have coffee at a street cafe, omelettes and fresh squeezed orange juice, and then a nap. I am the shortest napper, and so I go for a walk in the later afternoon up the street to the Champs de Mars. This is Sunday, a family day in the park, and so many children happily playing. I hear some music coming from the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower, and turn in that direction. Aha! There are multitudes of Ukrainian flags flying and families and friends picnicking on the grass in front of an improvised stage. I have stumbled upon a Ukrainian festival/fund raiser at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. I find a spot on the grass for myself and listen to the music, the singers and musicians, one after the other, and watch the crowd. The songs in a language I don’t understand, and so many are singing along. Eventually, I wander the streets back home and meet up with the nappers who are ready for something delicious to eat, and we find it, at a favorite restaurant just over the Pont de l’Alma across the Seine.