Home for the holidays

The holidays went by so fast this year! I was fortunate to get to split my time between my two homes, back with family in the States *and* in Paris, with Nicolas and friends. Everything was smooth sailing on Day 1- literally- as clear skies across the south of England bid us adieu until 2017.

Au revoir, England! See you in 2017!

But it quickly got trickier when I had the pleasure (note- irony) of checking in with Air France the following day. They kindly waited until my checked luggage- 12 kg underweight- was taken away to insist that my carry-on also be weighed. And when it came in at 3 kg overweight, they informed me that I'd have to pay 80€ or find a way to rid myself of 3 kg. As the empty carry-on suitcase weighed 3 kg, they simply took it off my hands. This is how I got to experience how Santa would feel if he had to drag his bag of toys through security at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

This is how it would look if Air France got their hands on Santa before he passed through airport security. 

Luckily, more festive activities awaited. The crackers I brought home from England for the family went off with a bang. (Pardon the pun.)

Christmas crackers, straight from England to the Repak Family Christmas Eve dinner

And our annual cousins campout was a bloody success, with minimal bloodshed at that!

Cousins Campout 2016- check

The week home wasn't without a few tears shed, beyond those having to do with my current state of employment (or lack thereof!). This was to be our faithful Jay's last time donning Christmas paraphernalia for the cameras, an art he'd passively mastered over the years.

Goodbye, Baby Jay

Before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye, including to my pet tree, adopted as a sapling back in 1993- my, how my baby has grown!

My, what big branches you have! Wasn't it just yesterday you were my little sapling?

Soon enough I was Paris-bound, thrilled to have a chance to spend a few days in the city I hadn't properly seen since moving out in Spring 2015.

New York, from way up high

Nicolas and I were lucky enough to have the chance to see plenty of friends, both the old and the new: Oddly enough, we wound up ringing in the New Year with friends from Brighton who'd also crossed the Channel for the holidays.

Catching up with old friends in Paris ♡

I'd forgotten just how much I'd missed this city. No matter how many years I spent there, no matter the headaches and the heartbreaks and the rainy days, there will always be something magical to me about walking through the streets of Paris. The windows at BHV especially made me smile.

They may not be Saks 5th Ave, but I think the windows at BHV Marais hold their own.

And it was good to have something to smile about, with all the heavier issues bearing down on me now that I find myself ringing in the new year freshly unemployed in a foreign country where I'm about to become an illegal. But that's a topic for another post.