Paris, Days 4-7

(I will update this with pics when I get home)

Published from Paris, France, 17/10/2009

Wow, what a whirlwind trip. I think Mel and I have finally admitted that we're "Energizer Bunny" tourists. We keep going, and going, and going...Today, we feel like our feet are bloody stumps and that we've been on the Bataan Death March or something. But it's all been worth it. For two and 1/2 days we've walked or taken taxis, subways, and boats across the City of Light, and have really enjoyed our brief but packed stay.

Mel is the perfect tour guide and traveling companion - lot's of laughing and good times. I think our bodies are broken, but our spirits energized a little.

And we've seen it all. Here's the recap.

Day4
I spent most of day 4 working, but was happy to take a cab to meet Mel at the Musee D'Orsay. She's right, it's spectacular. We saw hundreds of priceless, stunning artwork from our favorite art periods. Really liked how it was laid out as well, especially after the Louvre.

We went to dinner that night at a little hole in a wall in the Latin Quarter, and yeah, it was ok.

We thought it would be fun from here to head over to Notre Dame. We saw a movie that they were running about the building of it, and it was kind of funny to see a movie projector in an ancient cathedral. You couldn't see much, so we left and planned to come back in the day.

Day 5
Imagine that, we decided to walk up the Eiffel Tower. Big mistake for a couple of reasons. For one, it was tiring. Two floors up I was feeling the burn, and we had another dozen to go. We walked up to the first platform and agreed that we could see everything from there that you could see from the top, and that it wasn't worth it to go any further. Plus, honestly Mel was pretty scared of walking up that thing, and I wasn't much better.

We walked from the Eiffel tower through neighborhoods to Napoleon's Tomb. Along the way we stopped at a Patessierie, and had the best treats - Mel had an Almond Crossaint and I had a Religous. We also had Ham and Cheese on baguettes, which were good as well. Loved walking through really high end neighborhoods and hearing the kids in the schools and seeing them running through the parks. Enjoyed sitting on the streets eating under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Napolean's Tomb was cool - made me want to learn more about him. I commented that it was awfully big for such a little dude, but that's mostly a joke about him physically and not the size of his ego. In general the scale and beauty of everything was simply beyond my ability to describe. It was all simply elegant and beautiful.

We briefly explored the Hotel Invaldes - a hospital for injured soldiers. Looked at some old WWII stuff about Nazis, and wondered how the poor people of Europe made it through that war.

Next we took the metro to Monmarte. Took the Funicular to Sacre Couer; of course Melanie put the "Fun" in our Funicular ride. The guy next to me smelled. Took a brief tour of Sacre Couer, and enjoyed the views of the city. Walked through the touristy area, and it was "eh". But then we got lost on the way down and saw some cool clock and paper shops. Saw kids coming home from school, called the girls from the street and were briefly sad cause Maddie was crying.

Finally we found Moulin Rouge - yeah, not that impressive. I saw the lamp from Christmas Story - long legs, sexy stockings - in one of the stores nearby. Kind of tells you what kind of area it was - kind of sleazy and gaudy.

We went to our hotel, and then ventured out to Arena's Lutece - an ancient Roman Arena where gladiators would fight to the death. We waked up and down for about 40 mins trying to find this place, and stumbled on it by the Grace of God. On Friday nights, it now acts as a soccer field for old and young. I tried to loosen one of the rocks to take home (it was a cheap souvenir, and old), but couldn't get it out.

Went to dinner on the street off Saint Michel - had Beef Burgundy and Mel had a steak. I'm sure we had crepes or something as well.

Day 6
Enjoyed a Jamboni (it's Jambon, but I called it Jamboni) Omelet and hot chocolate at the local cafe. Melanie ate a Jamboni sandwich and apricot pastry (they don't serve Quiche for breakfast, but they do serve sandwiches).

Today's first stop - Pantheon. Saw the final resting place of all of France's most important people. Reminded that even the smartest, most important people die. Melanie tried to lock me in a tomb. Spent a few minutes trying to interpret the signs...I dont think we learned alot.

Went to the Musee Cluny - saw 1,000s of years of history in in 1 hour. Saw cool unicorn tapestries (each one represents a sense), and ancient Roman bathes. Saw sculptures from the original Notre Dame facade.

Notre Dame - toured the inside. Very cool - reminded me of the cool Dwarf halls from Lord of the Rings. Saw the beautiful stained glass and rows of candles and such. Cool to look at, but didn't feel the spirit at all in that place.

Couldn't go in L'Opera, so we looked from the outside. I wondered if they ever performed Phantom in there.

Galeries Lafayette - shopped for cute kids clothes for the girls. Got Abby and Maddie cute European style dresses and a coat, plus pens with feathers and some puffy stickers. And bought Abby a cute hat too. Marched over to the grocery store where we picked up another couple of pastries, some chocolate bars for friends and family, and some Pate for Gigi.

Raced through Madeleine shopping area trying to find Paris' oldest toy store. Couldn't find it, so we stopped and ate one of the pastries.

Marched to the Place de la Concorde - saw the obelisk that Napoleon brought back from Egypt, and the plaza where the infamous guillitone was. Ever since reading about the French Revolution and having nightmares about the Guillotine, it was interesting to see where it all was and to imagine what it might have looked like back then. They considered it a fast, humane way to die but I can't think of many other ways I wouldn't want to go.

Walked to Champs Elyses from Concorde. Stopped at Laduree for the worlds best Macarons (not coconut but a type of elegant cookie) and a delicious Relgious (like a creme puff but with yummy chocolate creme pudding inside). The place was elegant, yes, efficient, no.

Took a cab to Cafe Rouquet. At this point, there was no price I wasn't willing to pay to not walk. We sipped Hot Chocolate in the cafe, looking out to the street and the activities. Off to the side was a dude doing fancy stuff with his umbrella for fun.

Came back here to Hotel Saint Jacques. Let the swelling in our feet subside - watched the only English TV channel for an hour, and headed out for Gyros down the busy tourist lane.

Raced to boat ride from Pont Neuf on the Seine. Barely made it. Enjoyed sitting for an hour - the most I think we've rested except for sleeping. Saw everything again, this time from the water. Admired this beautiful city, but we're both ready to go home.

A brief note about the food.

We've eaten our way through this city as well...had some good food and some not so good food. Enjoyed pastries at every turn, more than a couple of crepes, the best chocolates I've ever had, and fancy desserts. But the dinners were just so-so. The salad dressing tastes like fish vinegrette. Turns out that Melanie likes Foie Gras; me, not so much. I do enjoy hot goat cheese on salad though.

Today we broke down and had Big Macs. We were hungry and tired of French food. Those Macs tasted so good.

My favorite and only crepe we bought here was been Nutella and coconut. Yum.

The pastries and bread are stunning works of art. If I were here I would be HUGE from eating them - they're everywhere, and I never had anything bad to eat from one of them.

The Hot Chocolate is yum as well - tastes like Gigi's recipe from Christmas.

Hotel Saint Jacques
Loved the location of this hotel, most of the Latin Quarter was super accessible and lots of cool things to see and do. The room looks like it was from the 1800's - I think that's when this bed was made (kind of teasing). The doorframe is super small, and the key is one of those old school ones. You leave the key with the attendant when you leave, and he gives it to you when you arrive back. The downsides? Well, it's super loud from the street and we continually hear little scooters going by. Also, we can hear our neighbors, and they presumable can hear us. Last night it sounded like they were coming in our room - maybe they were. Finally, we think the place is haunted. It has to be, it's too old. However, it's so loud that there's no way we would hear anything spooky such as creaking of doors or chains. That's par for the course here.

Conclusion

I'm so glad we were able to do this. We had a great time, and although the timing wasn't what we would plan, it was simply a beautiful time to visit. Just a little rain, not too cold, and not crazy crowds of people. I don't think there's much more we would need to do, so we probably won't be back till the girls are ready.

Viva La France

Paris, Day 3

Look, this trip has been mostly work to this point. Which is fine, because that's why I came. But I've really wanted to start getting into being in Paris. So tonight I was fortunate enough to go out with my friends Vanessa, Tarick, and Cedric. We went to a restaurant off the beaten path, but one that Vanessa really loved and which she thought I would like as well.

The place must have been 200 years old or something...really old feel to it. Had a great atmosphere to it, lots of locals just doing the French thing - wine, laughter, food. They eat so late, but really savor each moment and morsel. Something to be learned there.

The food was quite interesting. First, appetizers. They brought out the yummiest bread ever, just perfect crunch and texture. They ordered a cheese and meats tray, which ended up having a lot of yummy and interesting food. I don't know all that I ate, but some of it tasted like organs. The sausage was super fatty, which I guess is good. The meats were salty but savory, and the cheese was melt-in-your-mouth good.

For dinner they suggested I order a dish with white beans, meat, some veggies. I don't know if I loved it, but I will say this...I felt like I was in an authentic kitchen somewhere in the middle of France. It just tasted like home - like a big bowl your mom might give you on a cold night. I ate as much as I could, which wasn't much, and enjoyed the fact that there were huge bones and stuff in it. Very authentic.

Dessert was simply divine. They ordered a medley of dishes, and the chocolate was maybe the best I've had. The apple pie had a light and flaky crust, but super rich apples with spices and sugar. The chocolate cake...well, it was warm and soft and rich. The creme brulee was good as well, but compared to the others, child's play.

My friends were interesting and engaging. I really appreciated their speaking in Engligh. Sure, it would have been rude to not include me at all, but they went out of the way to ensure I had a good time, that I learned about their culture, and that we enjoyed the company. They also made sure that I got home safely via a taxi, which was nice.

I saw the Eiffel tower, and look forward to going up it. We ate near the Parthenon, which is where national heros are buried and where I actually want to go. They drove me past the Louvre, and a bunch of other buildings that I couldn't pronounce but which simply looked majestic.

Tonight was a great night. I took some photos of the restaurant, and will post them when I get home so I remember this night for a long time.

Glee

One of my new favorite TV shows this year is Glee. The pilot really rocked, and it's been tough for the season to compete. But the music and performances are really super, and there are enough funny moments to keep me going.

During the pilot the Glee cast performed "Don't Stop Believin". It was one of the best moments of TV for me in a long time - super catchy and fun, especially given the context.

I showed the girls the performance, and they loved it too and we've all been listening to it since. In fact, Maddie totally cranks that song and sings. We've done duets to it, and when we play it in the car she totally sings the girl part and I sing the boy part. It's super funny to hear her singing the words "Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere."

Paris, Day 1

I arrived in Paris today after a grueling 10 hour flight (over the North Pole). Soren, my manager, said not to take a rest but to hit the streets and get to bed early - it's the only way to combat jet lag. So I heeded his wise cousel and had my first day in Paris.

I arrived at my hotel room, dropped off my stuff, packed my man purse and jumped on the metro. I was nervous to be doing this on my own. I'm not adventerous, or well travelled internationally. And other than a brief, 1 year stint with French in High School I really really don't know French at all (in fact, the only thing I remember about that class is my French name - Xavier!). Plus, traveling by yourself is a real stinker - even if I had a buddy to hang with it would have been better. All that aside, I conquered a fear today by heading out myself, and that's a good thing.

My destination was the Louvre. That place was freakin' amazing. I've never seen such a museum, and the size, scale, and grandeur blew my mind. I saw all of the biggies - Mona Lisa, Venus Di Milo, the Egyptian antiquities, the Greek and Roman statutes. I think it's comforting to see the past, because it helps us see our place in something bigger. And going through that museum was like taking a walk through time. Really, really cool.

I messed up on one of my train stops and ended at the Arc De Triumph which was cool. From there I looked down the Champs Elysse and a glimpse of the Eiffle Tower. Oh, and I saw a Mime (I wanted to kick him in the Chotch, but I restrained myself and just watched) and was hit up by a teenager from Bosnia for money (sorry girl, but all I had was 50 Euros, which is like $100 US dollars, and I couldn't part with it. And by the way, you were mean - asking me if I spoke English, watching me get excited to talk with someone, and then all you're doing is asking me for money...shame on you!).

All in all, I felt like I had a good start to my Paris adventure.

While laying in bed...

I decided to sleep in a little today, a gift to myself. I have no meetings, it's Friday, I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow, and I have been working my butt off lately.

While lying there, I listened to my family getting ready. I love to hear the hustle and bustle, and even with my eyes closed I can visualize what everyone's doing.

As I listened to Maddie I realized two things.

1) She talks about every 20 seconds. She's always talking, asking questions, interacting, making stuff up, being creative. She's a huge talker and has a serious gift of gab. And honestly she has a lot to say for being so small. She's very excited about her world, and that's really really fun to witness.

2) She laughs a lot. That makes me happy, because it means she's got a great sense of humor - a must have in this world. It's also one of the things that I like about myself (that is, that little things make me giggle). I try to take a lighter look at the world, and I really hope she is able to maintain a great, silly, up beat outlook on life too.

Thanks Maddie, for reminding me that there's a lot to laugh at and many reasons for us to be happy.