44 Nights in Paris: Harry and Tessa

A couple of months before I landed in Paris, I spent a long weekend in Seattle where my nephew Harry and his girlfriend Tessa live. When we met up for a glorious Sunday together, I told them about my travels across the pond coming up. Tessa was all too excited to say hmmm, we know some people who will also be in Paris in December!

Once we were all in Paris, we set a date for them to be dinner guests at my apartment. By that time, I had also confirmed a last-minute reservation for them to stay at my place a few nights that coming weekend as well. Their original plans went tilt at the last minute, and I had space for company.

When they came for dinner, they told me of their tiny, not-so-heated, not-so-comfy place in town. Tessa looked around at my space and exclaimed, this place will be like staying in a palace compared to where we are now!

I was so happy when they arrived on the Saturday afternoon, in just enough time to all get ready to go out for the evening. They had made reservations for dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant in the Latin Quarter. They’d also miraculously secured 3 – albeit not together – seats for us to see Swan Lake at a concert venue in Bastille.

We had such a glorious evening together! Harry is an extreme gentleman and made sure Tessa and I were safe and comfortable for the duration. I really loved having company for an evening out since I rarely went out at night alone. Paris is so beautiful after dark at Christmastime!

On Sunday they left early to attend mass at Sacre Coeur, and I slept in. I spent the day making a little feast for the World Cup Final that night. When they came in that afternoon, Harry was sick and only well enough to figure out how to turn on the TV so we could watch the match; he didn’t eat. France lost to Argentina, we all went to bed, but Paris apparently partied well into the night in the pouring rain.

Harry felt better in the morning; he and Tessa went out all day on Monday to catch last glimpses of Paris. It was extremely cold out and now I started feeling sick myself.

My loves left early on Tuesday morning, and were very grateful for our time together, and so was I. I promised them that their stay was my favorite Christmas present so far. Even though I didn’t miss Tessa’s huge fluffy coat I affectionately named Miss Cheetah, I did miss my guests and their sweet company once they safely departed for London.

We all promised that we really must do this again. I can’t wait.