Wednesday, July 30 and Thursday, July 31: Last class days

Today was final exams, marking the official end of the program. We have taken all the calendars, schedules, and maps off the office walls, and I left my key with Dr. Kirk. No more Institut Protestant de Théologie till next year. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone. Tomorrow we go to Giverny & Val d'Oise, Saturday is a free day, and Sunday we go home. I am really eager to get home and yet I will miss Paris so much.

Last night I had a great dinner with a colleague at a restaurant in the 14th called La Cagouille. If you like seafood, this is your place. I had mussels as a starter (very good) followed by grilled mackerel (strong-tasting; either you will like it or you won't; I liked it) followed by a clafoutis (bread pudding-ish thing that frankly I did not care for). Desserts are obviously a bit of an afterthought so you can save yourself a few € by getting the 2-course set menu rather than the 3-course one. We also had champagne, which I always like. I think Mireille Giuliano is right: Champagne goes with everything!

After a French dinner (starts late, lasts a while) it was a little hard to get up for classes this morning but fortunately I got to leave the office early and come back to Cité U. for a nap. Minou (the cat I know as Jambon) was in the courtyard when I left this afternoon so I got to give him a farewell petting.

In the evening we celebrated the end of the program with snacks and photos at the Eiffel Tower.

My illustrious colleague, Dr. Kirk

Is there a more iconic symbol of a city?

I was guarding the bags and snacks during the group photo.

Prof. Pukis took the photo.

3 of the 5 MGSC students with Dr. Wengier and me

Time for bed. We leave for Giverny at 9 tomorrow.