So this didn’t exactly follow the “every day I post a thing” format I wanted, mostly because I was too busy doing the things (museums! cafes! gardens! things!) to post about them. I have a feeling this will be easier when I get an internet magic phone.

Anyway! I got my notebook back! Len spent many hours (really), scouring the city looking for it, and he found it at a creperie we had visited in Monmartre. They kept it safe and so faith in humanity is refreshed.

More friends from Ireland came on day three, and after our happy reunion, they frolicked in the Latin Quarter and Len and I headed over to the Louvre.

I have a sense that hearing someone else’s Louvre experience is almost as pointless as trying to sum up one’s own Louvre experience. There is simply too much. I read once that even if you went to the Louvre every day for a year and only looked at each artwork for 30 seconds, you still wouldn’t have seen everything. And that’s without factoring in the magic store in the basement! So we took the opportunity to experience France’s artistic heritage and I took notes on what was inspiring for whatever reason.

Major hitters: The ancient Egypt wing. No spoilers, but my novel draws a lot on mythology, though primarily Romani folklore and mythology and ancient Indian mythology (India being the origin of Romani or “Gypsy” people). But I am consistently amazed by the amount of cross-over there is between different cultures and religions… and enough justifying, I really love ancient Egypt. Who doesn’t? FOOLS! THAT’S WHO!

French sculpture: There were so many Dianas, so many hounds and bows and quivers,– I was ecstatic. I used to pray to her when I was a kid. It’s unsurprising that she’s helpful to me now, too.

Orientalism: It’s important to see how Romani and “Eastern” people are Romanticized, to remember what not to do, and also to swoon over the gorgeousness.

The evening kicked off with a lovely vegetarian/vegan restaurant near Notre Dame and many toasts to our friends, who, as it happens, are planning their wedding. Yay!