The Election
The election was a big event here. The day before, we were at lunch in Paris sitting next to a French woman and her adult granddaughter. We talked abut Obama and she insisted on sharing her bottle of champagne with us and toasting to the "Feast of America."

We watched the results at a party in Paris for about 1000 Americans and Parisians. It was held in the Aquarium in the Trocadero, from 10:30 pm to 6 am. (Since the party did not start until 10:30, we spent the evening at the movies - MamaMia on the Champs Elysee, a fun distraction).

Food, drinks, and breakfast were served and everyone was very cheerful. We saw the results on a bigscreen TV showing CNN (another room, less crowded, was broadcasting Fox News). At 5 am when CNN called it, everyone jumped to their feet, there were great cheers and shouts of joy, hugs, and tears. I left feeling proud of being an American, perhaps for the first time that I was actually aware of it. (Since I am not running for office, I guess I can say that.)