Farewell, Paris

I recognized Sabine and Heloise as soon as I saw them. They stood among a mass of french people holding a welcome sign with my name on it. They had parked on the parking deck, but in order to go down, they first had to wind all the way upwards to the top (the parking deck for terminal 1 was shaped like stacked donuts). Leaving Paris, instead of there being signs for fast-food restaurants and other similar attractions, there were big (picture) signs for castles and national conservation parks. The first song I heard in France was the new Maroon 5 song. I was not surprised that the French are up-to-date with American music, but I was surprised that there was a significantly larger amount of talk-radio than music. I was also surprised that I stayed awake the full two-and-a-half hours of the car ride.