We land in Paris at 8:00 a.m. We are in the 7th Arrondissement at our friends’ flat on Rue St. Dominique by 9:30. And we have a few hours to walk around sunny, hot Paris before boarding the fast train to Ardeche at 5:00 p.m. at Gare de Lyon. First, breakfast. We walk a few short blocks to one of our favorite streets, Rue Cler, where we find seats in the sun at a cafe for coffee and croissants. It’s Sunday morning in Paris and people watching, the families and marketers, is wholly delightful. Then, a short walk to the Seine, where all the scooters and bikes and strollers and walkers are––and we find a shaded patch of grass where we nap off our jet lag for 45 minutes. Why not? It’s summer in Paris. Frank wants another coffee, another cafe, and so we choose one with a river view. And lazily the day passes. Then, we are swept off in a taxi by our friend to the fast train––two hours to their home in Ardeche, our first visit to their new dwelling. And a sweet dinner of conversation and casual food. Tonight, we have the windows swung open wide and a charming thunderstorm and light rain will lull us to sleep, and how sweet to sleep in a bed instead of on a plane or the grass or a train. I only wish I could show the special one the magical frog pond. Some day.