I’m back in Munich, until tomorrow. Leaving Paris is always hard. Saying goodbye to Ader is always hard. And unless some miraculous opportunity wants to prevent itself very soon, this is going to be the longest stretch of time we’ve had to go without seeing each other. So there were some tears at the Gare de l’Est on Wednesday afternoon. The last few days before I left I managed to keep it together though. While I generally don’t think that ignoring reality is advisable, I made a conscious effort not to think any further than what we were having for dinner that night. Denial was surprisingly easy and allowed me to just enjoy much more of the two weeks than I would have otherwise.

I spent one day getting my mom her lentilles du Puy and searching every Celio in Paris for a jacket for Ader in the right size and color. It took me the entire day because there are a lot of Celios in Paris…and because I couldn’t resist poking around every fnac, H&M and Sephora that I passed. I didn’t buy a single thing for myself though because I’m out of money for things that aren’t completely essential and out of space in my suitcase. And out of space in my part of the closet in Ader’s apartment. And in my room in New Jersey.

Ader made me go through all my things at his place and decide what I could give/throw away. Some of the clothes I was hanging on to were unflattering on me or wouldn’t look good on anyone. They were easy to get rid of. But then there were all my bottles of unopened mouthwash and enough pairs of leggings and tank tops to suggest that I have some kind of disorder. I had to compromise and get rid of some of those. A few things I couldn’t get rid of even though they don’t serve any purpose, like my agenda from the spring semester of my sophomore year of college where I wrote down our first date.

On the train back to Munich I was sitting next to a family of very stereotypical Americans, so I don’t feel like I completely got to avoid all the fourth of July obnoxiousness. Side note: I am kind of proud of myself for staying out of the US on July fourth for four years in a row now (Stockholm, Paris, Paris, Paris and Munich). But then Johann and Delphine met me in the Hauptbahnhof and I’ve been too distracted to feel sorry for myself since then. They’ve been so incredibly nice letting me stay with them, that the least I can do is honor Johann’s request that I mention in my blog our traditional German crepes and cider. One drinks the cider out of a mug that looks (to me, a non-Bretonne) like a coffee mug but is not for coffee, only for cider.

Tomorrow I’m going to Salzburg, which I’m really looking forward to. Actually I have nothing but things to look forward to for the next few weeks.