Driving down memory lane

Last weekend P and I decided last minute to jump in the car and drive to Paris. The reason was simple: plenty of friends happened to be in town at the same time – some of them we hadn’t seen in a very long time, others would soon be moving to further-away places, and still others were so kind to offer us a free place to sleep!
Trying to keep things a bit low-budget, we opted for car instead of Thalys. The last time we did that exact same trip was more than two years ago, with two overloaded cars – moving back from Barbizon to Brussels.

I can’t remember how many times I did that stretch of highway – driving back and forth during P’s INSEAD year. Suffice it to say that last Saturday I realized I still knew the road signs by heart. And of course we made the obligatory stop in “Assevillers”. Yesterday, while dozing off a few times on the way back, I wondered how in the hell I did it those 4 first months: driving for more than 4 hours on a Friday evening after a heavy work week, party all weekend, and drive 450 km back on Sunday night. Ah, the things we do for love :-) …

Anyway, we had a great time in Paris. My last visit was more than a year ago – and once again it felt a bit like coming home. The crispy autumn leaves reminded me of the romantic weekends I had there with P, many years ago, when he and a colleague had their own little flat near the Champs Elysées. The fact that I don’t need a city map anymore on every single street corner took me back to the lonely days I wandered through the city, whenever I needed to escape from Fontainebleau. The many friends we saw again this weekend made me realize that, however tough it was from time to time, it was worth it.

Paris was – and still is – the comforting city of Love.


Octobre (Francis Cabrel)

Le vent fera craquer les branches
La brume viendra dans sa robe blanche
Y'aura des feuilles partout
Couchées sur les cailloux
Octobre tiendra sa revanche
Le soleil sortira à peine
Nos corps se cacheront sous des bouts de laine

Perdue dans tes foulards
Tu croiseras le soir
Octobre endormi aux fontaines
Il y aura certainement,
Sur les tables en fer blanc
Quelques vases vides et qui traînent
Et des nuages pris aux antennes

Je t'offrirai des fleurs
Et des nappes en couleurs
Pour ne pas qu'Octobre nous prenne
On ira tout en haut des collines
Regarder tout ce qu'Octobre illumine
Mes mains sur tes cheveux
Des écharpes pour deux

Devant le monde qui s'incline
Certainement appuyés sur des bancs
Il y aura quelques hommes qui se souviennent
Et des nuages pris aux antennes
Je t'offrirai des fleurs
Et des nappes en couleurs
Pour ne pas qu'Octobre nous prenne

Et sans doute on verra apparaître
Quelques dessins sur la buée des fenêtres
Vous, vous jouerez dehors
Comme les enfants du nord
Octobre restera peut-être.
Vous, vous jouerez dehors
Comme les enfants du nord
Octobre restera peut-être.