tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51559607525418399152024-03-13T07:11:58.232-07:00Paris 2009Juli and Will are celebrating 25 years of marriage with a week in Paris.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-80443858341774533712009-07-26T00:11:00.000-07:002009-07-26T00:16:11.648-07:00Last DayIt is our last morning in Paris. It has been so wonderful and we feel so much at home here. It is really difficult to leave. We will definitely be back and much sooner than we thought. We had discussed taking Kenny on an Alaskan cruise for his graduation present next summer, but we may try to finagle a way to bring the family here. The apartment is very cheap and we have learned how to eat cheap here too. The really big thing would be the airfare. Hmmm.... We cleaned up the apartment and walked through Buttes Chaumont, the beautiful park nearby and made a last stop at the boulanerie on the corner. Now we are sitting here waiting for the landlady to arrive.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-76654394854429326902009-07-25T14:56:00.001-07:002009-07-27T00:22:39.790-07:00A Strange and Interesting Walk<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuMTQeGGFI/AAAAAAAAA0E/9kJvWVAYb-A/s1600-h/P1010441.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuMTQeGGFI/AAAAAAAAA0E/9kJvWVAYb-A/s200/P1010441.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362534043781306450" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuMTGCbJzI/AAAAAAAAAz8/YRl20aG_ER4/s1600-h/P1010436.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuMTGCbJzI/AAAAAAAAAz8/YRl20aG_ER4/s200/P1010436.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362534040980891442" border="0" /></a>For our last full day *sniff* in Paris we decided to take the “strange and interesting walk #1” described in Tom’s Guide to Paris. On the way there we made it a point to ride line 14 – a fully automated (no driver) metro train. It was way cool. We also stopped at a McDonalds – to use the bathroom, sheesh what do you think we are? Americans? – But the McCafe in the front was pretty cool so I took a picture. And I soon found out the big bouncer looking goon in the expensive suit was actually a bouncer. A bouncer at McDonalds at 9 am? Weird! He was keeping a close eye on everyone that walked in and out of the place and its not like it was a bad neighborhood. The other cool thing there was the touch screen self-order kiosks. But back to our walk - Sorry Rick Steves’ fans – Tom has a much better idea about what truly is Parisian than Rick does. I like Rick Steves and I’ve learned a lot from him – his radio show on KVPR on Saturday mornings whets my appetite for travel – but Rue Cler left me cold. In contrast Tom starts you out at St. Eustache in the Les Halles district and sends you up Rue Montorgueil which has a much more authentic feel. It is a fascinating collection of fromageries, chocolatiers, boulangeries and patisseries, butchers, fishmongers, florists, and cafes. I could spend a week there – I may actually do that next time (in fact, Juli and I are desperately trying to figure out a way to move here). St. Eustache itself is a beautiful gothic church with flying buttresses and an awesome pipe organ. We stopped at a chocolatier and had a piece of chocorange – melt in your mouth dark chocolate studded with bits of candied orange – Heavenly! and I don’t particularly like chocolate. The fruit markets smelled wonderful. If I had thought to pack a knife with me, we would have got one of those Tuscan melons, but we settled for bloedbessen – a tart berry from the Netherlands that we have seen all over the place since we got here. The smell of rotisserie chicken was killing me, but I settled for a small Quiche Loraine from a boulangerie filled with tasty treats. We then walked down the grand avenues to the Opera Garnier – famed for being the opera house on which Phantom of the Opera was based. Juli almost talked herself out of going inside, but I insisted and it was worth it. Absolutely gorgeous. We didn’t see the Phantom, but we saw the chandelier and got some great pictures. When I was researching for this trip (I know, type A), on a whim I decided to look up the cost of opera tickets – how cool would that be? I found out that nosebleed tickets could be had for only 6 euros! I was so there – then I found out that the opera season ended the week before we arrived here. C’est la vie. We walked further to the church of the Madeleine. If I remember right Eva Longoria got married here the week before I arrived in Paris two years ago. We didn’t go inside, but we did try a nutella and banana crepe from a stand nearby – oh, so good! Next came Galleries Lafayette a department store that is so full of so much stuff and people it is hard to comprehend. This is big game shopping. Wow, very overwhelming! We backtracked some and found that an impromptu concert was going on in front of the Opera house. A lively group of young people on wind and percussion were playing some really good music, so we sat on the steps of the Opera and ate some sausage, bread, and cheese we had packed with us. Then we headed back to our walk. More great shops and more discussion on how we could move here. After a short sidetrip to do some last minute shopping - Julie got a skirt and I was going to settle for a Nepalese shirt (all these native costumes must have rubbed off) but I saw a Nepalese jacket that was simply awesome and made the mistake of trying it on…well you don’t need Paul Harvey to tell you the rest of the story (I’ll post a pic later, its packed up now). We finally stopped at a café halfway up Montmartre and sat and people watched for a few delightful hours sipping espresso and tea and sharing a bowl of the best onion soup I have ever tasted. We must be fitting in, despite all the tourists, the waiter addressed me in French (they’re usually pretty good at spotting the tourists) and a passerby asked me in broken French which was the way to the basilica – I answered in French of course and left him none the wiser. Sitting there watching the world go by was so relaxing, no wonder it’s the national pastime. 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float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuAyQIMcsI/AAAAAAAAAvk/u-cKf07MSPw/s200/P1010551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362521382125859522" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuAxzw5d4I/AAAAAAAAAvc/N7yEq5CF10M/s1600-h/P1010552.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuAxzw5d4I/AAAAAAAAAvc/N7yEq5CF10M/s200/P1010552.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362521374511953794" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuAxhvujHI/AAAAAAAAAvU/MDD7mfUfqYY/s1600-h/P1010553.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuAxGg77XI/AAAAAAAAAvM/lB_5878dDbA/s1600-h/P1010554.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmuAxGg77XI/AAAAAAAAAvM/lB_5878dDbA/s200/P1010554.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362521362365410674" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-66490250042622559362009-07-24T12:02:00.002-07:002012-04-03T23:18:59.068-07:00Versailles<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmoUOk0KdqI/AAAAAAAAAvE/6qslkpLLHYM/s1600-h/P1010269.JPG"></a>Today was our trip to the Chateau du Versailles built by the Sun King Louis XIV. It is an absolutely gorgeous palace – actually there are several palaces there. There is and an enormous set of gardens that are stunningly beautiful. I got to tour the main palace two years ago, but this is my first visit to the gardens, the Trianon palaces, and Marie Antoinette’s domain. We spent a couple hours touring the Chateau (the main palace) and the rest of the day getting lost in the gardens – with a few picnic stops along the way. The smaller Trianon palaces were beautiful too, but Marie Antoinette’s domain was surreal. It looked like some kind of Disney fantasy hamlet and I guess that was what it was. The story behind the Trianons and the domain was that they were retreating further away from public life. The Trianons are tucked way back in the gardens and the domain was where Marie Antoinette assumed the life of a simple peasant. Well, a peasant that could create a fantasy world protected from all the harsh realities of actual peasant life. I seriously have a hard time believing that the buildings I saw there were not created when they built Disneyland Paris. Even the rabbits had little houses – creepy. If I remember the story right she actually installed some peasants there and she and her children worked the land occasionally with them and it was where she got her eggs, butter, etc. It’s kind of sweet actually. Poor Marie Antoinette so oppressed by palace life that she had to escape to faux peasantry. I don’t mean it as harsh as it sounds, although I do have a hard time feeling too sorry for the wealthy and powerful. One part by the music pavilion looked like something out of Peter Pan. I expected the Lost Boys to pop out any time. We really enjoyed our day in the gardens though. The man-made lake and the Grand Canal (it’s a mile long) were gorgeous. It would have been really cool if the warship that Louis used to sail around the lake was still there. They also said that they stocked the Grand Canal with gondolas from Venice and brought over actual gondoliers to live on the grounds and take the nobles out on the water. You could rent rowboats there now, but we decided to pass. There was no way to explore everything. I think the entire estate covers some 64 square miles. We managed to escape the thunderstorm that hit about the time we hit the smaller Trianon palace, but got rained on some when we walked to the Temple of Love. (we got soaked yesterday in a thunderstorm too, but really the weather has been great. Mostly in the 70s) After we thoroughly wore ourselves out and finally found our way back to a part of the gardens we recognized, we headed “home” with a stop at a creperie for more crepes a la champignons aux fromage and a hot dog. A hot dog! you say? Oui, a French hot dog. They split open a baguette and lay down a couple of hot dogs and mound it thoroughly with cheese. They are really good. We made it an early night since tomorrow is our last day and we have ambitious plans to hike from Notre Dame all the way up to Montmartre following a Tom’s Paris guide recommendation.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmoGjgeB9bI/AAAAAAAAArE/7t2ZkTx8vjU/s1600-h/P1010434.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362105513419077042" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmoGjgeB9bI/AAAAAAAAArE/7t2ZkTx8vjU/s200/P1010434.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-51944181335221283632009-07-24T11:30:00.001-07:002012-04-03T23:10:53.071-07:00I don't want to be a touristI overheard a couple of comments by American tourists that are really mind numbing. Comment number one: overheard at the Eiffel Tower - "I guess we should climb that thing." Comment number two: overheard at one of the the Trianon Palaces at Versailles - "You really want to go in there?" The third is not so much a comment, but a long, drawn out conversation between two couples on the train to Versailles. The whole way there they opined about European travel and I noticed that they never seemed to really comment about the culture, history, or the people. It was like a trip to Disneyland. Their comment about the absolutely gorgeous and well-preserved medieval city of Bruges was they were going there for "chocolates and beer." No real connection to culture or history. Of course, Juli and I were guilty of feeling smug and self-satisfied that by immersing ourselves (as much as possible) in the culture and trying to "live local" and make some connection to what life here must be really like. Its not just about seeing the sights. I mean, we are here to see the sights, but we want it to be something more. Trying to learn some of the language and customs and remove ourselves from our comfort zone. We made some faux pas' and felt really silly more than once (you try using one of those fancy escargot holders) but it was coming through those moments having learned something new that we enjoyed the most. When you figure out the unstated rules of a culture, its kind of like being in a secret club. Its really cool and its hard not to brag a little. Not that we claim to be experts by any stretch of imagination - we just figured out that we don't want to be "tourists." Our goal is to not be "that guy" - the ugly American. Funny thing: one of the couples had done most of the talking (non-stop) on the 30 minute train ride and when everybody got off, the other couple couldn't get away from them fast enough. I can't say I blame them.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-5436946029639488202009-07-23T15:59:00.001-07:002009-07-27T00:43:12.378-07:00ThursdayAs previously reported we started our day (after sleeping in) with a trip to the Monoprix supermarket. Then we headed back to the Eiffel Tower for a photo shoot. Juli got gussied up as the suave French sophisticate (did you know French was her first language?) she was born to be and we got some really nice pics and had a great time just looking around again. We hopped on the Batobus (bateau means boat and bus, well, means bus) for a trip down the Seine. What's cool about the Batobus is you can hop on and off for one price at several stops up and down the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower down past Notre Dame. Its the same price as most of the other Seine cruises without the pesky guide narration. One of our stops was near the Tuillieres Garden, so we walked to Cleopatra's Needle and found a place where we could get a nice view of both the obelisk and the Eiffel Tower. Then we found a lovely spot in the garden over looking a beautiful flower bed and fountain and had another picnic. We did some shopping and got back on the Batobus and cruised around Notre Dame and walked over to the Les Halles area then back across Ile de Cite to the Latin Quarter where we actually ate a sit down dinner at a restaurant. We had French onion soup, escargot (snails cooked in garlic butter), beef bourguignon, mussels and fries, fromage (cheese), and creme brulee. The food was good and the atmosphere was even better. We sat at a small table outside watching the people walk by. Cafe sitting is a huge passtime in Paris and I'm sad to say we haven't engaged in it more. But tonight was wonderful. Tres romantique!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smj09hoOxPI/AAAAAAAAAq8/sgKrK5SHYZI/s1600-h/P1010084.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smj09hoOxPI/AAAAAAAAAq8/sgKrK5SHYZI/s200/P1010084.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804694220883186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smj09bqLh-I/AAAAAAAAAq0/MhVKuxrDF_w/s1600-h/P1010125.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smj09bqLh-I/AAAAAAAAAq0/MhVKuxrDF_w/s200/P1010125.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804692618446818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smj081L2JpI/AAAAAAAAAqs/SqVtNk5E4ro/s1600-h/P1010093.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjz0-lldyI/AAAAAAAAAqk/A6y9m6_k5xc/s1600-h/P1010140.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjz0-lldyI/AAAAAAAAAqk/A6y9m6_k5xc/s200/P1010140.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361803447863965474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjz0ddRUyI/AAAAAAAAAqc/2-jFZFkCRgE/s1600-h/P1010155.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjz0ddRUyI/AAAAAAAAAqc/2-jFZFkCRgE/s200/P1010155.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361803438970721058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjz0NgNznI/AAAAAAAAAqU/S0WCyE8MFN4/s1600-h/P1010159.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjz0NgNznI/AAAAAAAAAqU/S0WCyE8MFN4/s200/P1010159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361803434688106098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjzz2mhYDI/AAAAAAAAAqM/7OaH7c9tNGc/s1600-h/P1010168.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smjzz2mhYDI/AAAAAAAAAqM/7OaH7c9tNGc/s200/P1010168.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361803428540538930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjzzsJZmhI/AAAAAAAAAqE/U_IFfkfujKg/s1600-h/P1010172.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjySarXkqI/AAAAAAAAAp8/2d8AUSPgHGw/s1600-h/P1010186.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjySarXkqI/AAAAAAAAAp8/2d8AUSPgHGw/s200/P1010186.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361801754597364386" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjySM0XWmI/AAAAAAAAAp0/W9oSJJhBAIs/s1600-h/P1010195.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjySM0XWmI/AAAAAAAAAp0/W9oSJJhBAIs/s200/P1010195.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361801750877002338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjyRqW9ouI/AAAAAAAAAps/wP19vwtLcSI/s1600-h/P1010200.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjyRqW9ouI/AAAAAAAAAps/wP19vwtLcSI/s200/P1010200.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361801741626876642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjyRUyfCUI/AAAAAAAAApk/VVlf7wpZ6Bo/s1600-h/P1010207.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjyRUyfCUI/AAAAAAAAApk/VVlf7wpZ6Bo/s200/P1010207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361801735836731714" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjyRKvfDxI/AAAAAAAAApc/D1TGxoX33PA/s1600-h/P1010208.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjtWTD_f2I/AAAAAAAAAn0/-bR59mSAg10/s200/P1010259.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361796323714498402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjtWEOASwI/AAAAAAAAAns/3i4iUA0Pi_M/s1600-h/P1010260.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjtWEOASwI/AAAAAAAAAns/3i4iUA0Pi_M/s200/P1010260.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361796319729961730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjtV55PR2I/AAAAAAAAAnk/yiMBUJr2dJw/s1600-h/P1010261.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjtV55PR2I/AAAAAAAAAnk/yiMBUJr2dJw/s200/P1010261.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361796316958508898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjsNy4-BfI/AAAAAAAAAnU/tZfIXG1Ljak/s1600-h/P1010264.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjsNo1YJzI/AAAAAAAAAnM/3TfVpxM8dhU/s1600-h/P1010265.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjsNo1YJzI/AAAAAAAAAnM/3TfVpxM8dhU/s200/P1010265.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361795075428329266" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjsNKcOtPI/AAAAAAAAAnE/bfI22pxBsGY/s1600-h/P1010266.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjsNKcOtPI/AAAAAAAAAnE/bfI22pxBsGY/s200/P1010266.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361795067269788914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjsMwUPKlI/AAAAAAAAAm8/rWXDpa773jE/s1600-h/P1010267.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmjsMwUPKlI/AAAAAAAAAm8/rWXDpa773jE/s200/P1010267.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361795060256942674" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-5697979711010755402009-07-23T04:46:00.000-07:002009-07-23T05:06:18.931-07:00Food - part deux<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhQYSGjfgI/AAAAAAAAAm0/UIzKyF5H4Z0/s1600-h/P1010059.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhQYSGjfgI/AAAAAAAAAm0/UIzKyF5H4Z0/s200/P1010059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361623734490988034" border="0" /></a>Apparently my last food post was "lacking," so I'll try to 'spice it up' this time. We went to the Moniprix supermarket this morning (it was one of Juli's favorite events) and bought some staples (like Coke Light) and snacks. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but I do love the chips here. I had roast chicken flavor chips in England (Worcestershire sauce flavored too) last year, so I looked for them here, but I also found ham flavor and balsamic flavor! I love it - I really hope that they start importing them to the US. The bacon crackers look good too. They had Pringles, but these were Sweet BBQ Sparerib style with rice infusions. Notice the Coke Light (they don't call it diet) is in a 1.5 liter bottle. Shopping in the supermarket was pretty reasonable and an entirely fun adventure. Our stop at the post office was challenging. You don't just take a number or stand in line, you have to punch in one of three options about what you want to do - send, receive, or operations (whatever that is) just to get a number. I noticed last time in Paris that the least bilingual of anyone I met was a post office worker and it was true today, but with a little patience and sign language we got Juli's post card stamps.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhQX4lSXxI/AAAAAAAAAms/BqwRmoW02KI/s1600-h/P1010060.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhQX4lSXxI/AAAAAAAAAms/BqwRmoW02KI/s200/P1010060.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361623727640567570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhQXj2PooI/AAAAAAAAAmk/O7XqiKZblRk/s1600-h/P1010062.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhQXj2PooI/AAAAAAAAAmk/O7XqiKZblRk/s200/P1010062.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361623722074546818" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO2K8Ci-I/AAAAAAAAAmU/7EF3hE5ti0g/s1600-h/P1010063.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO2K8Ci-I/AAAAAAAAAmU/7EF3hE5ti0g/s200/P1010063.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361622048940657634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO1nv5YuI/AAAAAAAAAmM/DXyRnykkWMM/s1600-h/P1010064.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO1nv5YuI/AAAAAAAAAmM/DXyRnykkWMM/s200/P1010064.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361622039494484706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO1V4KZXI/AAAAAAAAAmE/ov_ZURTdvXU/s1600-h/P1010066.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO1V4KZXI/AAAAAAAAAmE/ov_ZURTdvXU/s200/P1010066.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361622034697315698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO06LrIOI/AAAAAAAAAl8/VppQJIQYq-0/s1600-h/P1010067.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO06LrIOI/AAAAAAAAAl8/VppQJIQYq-0/s200/P1010067.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361622027262959842" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO2RcYhVI/AAAAAAAAAmc/j_LoBFjV8FU/s1600-h/P1010061.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmhO2RcYhVI/AAAAAAAAAmc/j_LoBFjV8FU/s200/P1010061.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361622050686928210" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-89371091012888268722009-07-23T02:05:00.000-07:002009-07-28T12:01:27.057-07:00The LouvreSome of the highlights were: (Aphrodite) Venus de Milo, (La Joconde) Mona Lisa, Winged Nike (Victory) of Samothrace, the Code of Hammurabi, the Winged Bull from the palace of Sargon the Great, Seated Statue of Ramses II, Sarcophagus of a Married Couple, the Borghese Gladiator, Michaelangelo's Dying Slave, Psyche and Cupid, and many, many more. We also found some really cool math connections: a statue of a woman doing geometry and an Egyptian calculator. After the Louvre we wandered through the Tulieres Garden and saw Cleopatra's Needle - the Egyptian obelisk that once stood at the entrance to the Luxor Temple honoring Ramses II and now sits in the place where Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were guillotined. We then walked over to the Opera Garnier, famed for being the setting of Phantom of the Opera, and in an accidental sidetrip down a small street discovered the location of Harry's New York Bar (we still haven't remembered which movie that is famous from). Oh, I almost forgot, we ate lunch in the Louvre mall cafeteria overlooking the excavations of the medieval Louvre. Then took the opportunity of the mall to buy Juli some French perfume - two bottles no less!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3SmSBHfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/UIHFToENHn0/s1600-h/P1000666.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3SmSBHfI/AAAAAAAAAl0/UIHFToENHn0/s200/P1000666.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361596149037866482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3SXxOmMI/AAAAAAAAAls/APd1SoOEWeQ/s1600-h/P1000632.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3SXxOmMI/AAAAAAAAAls/APd1SoOEWeQ/s200/P1000632.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361596145142241474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3SGId5GI/AAAAAAAAAlk/o5o4VJU_kYQ/s1600-h/P1000629.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3SGId5GI/AAAAAAAAAlk/o5o4VJU_kYQ/s200/P1000629.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361596140407874658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3R2n7A3I/AAAAAAAAAlc/vVuHAb6r1Iw/s1600-h/P1000625.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3R2n7A3I/AAAAAAAAAlc/vVuHAb6r1Iw/s200/P1000625.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361596136244839282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3RbTcQPI/AAAAAAAAAlU/OZsYQQSR9gc/s1600-h/P1000616.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg3RbTcQPI/AAAAAAAAAlU/OZsYQQSR9gc/s200/P1000616.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361596128911180018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg1zhD1hPI/AAAAAAAAAlM/0WEAbePVREc/s1600-h/P1000638.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg1zhD1hPI/AAAAAAAAAlM/0WEAbePVREc/s200/P1000638.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361594515548636402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg1za1_-VI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Madm1Ckp3B8/s1600-h/P1000643.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg1za1_-VI/AAAAAAAAAlE/Madm1Ckp3B8/s200/P1000643.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361594513879988562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg1zOvIQ-I/AAAAAAAAAk8/sFZbPVBznNc/s1600-h/P1000652.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg1zOvIQ-I/AAAAAAAAAk8/sFZbPVBznNc/s200/P1000652.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361594510629946338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Smg1yfUxvFI/AAAAAAAAAk0/FF9ZZprt0BI/s1600-h/P1000654.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; 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float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgvW0s-EKI/AAAAAAAAAik/WFjlHvb13EE/s200/P1000961.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361587425535463586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgvWVWtcoI/AAAAAAAAAic/kWgB7puTRu4/s1600-h/P1000958.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgvWVWtcoI/AAAAAAAAAic/kWgB7puTRu4/s200/P1000958.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361587417120600706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgvWPcqooI/AAAAAAAAAiU/keqW3HrzEWI/s1600-h/P1000976.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgvWPcqooI/AAAAAAAAAiU/keqW3HrzEWI/s200/P1000976.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361587415534969474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgvV2IlhbI/AAAAAAAAAiM/r7DW7BjGpU4/s1600-h/P1010023.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgtTJf7XdI/AAAAAAAAAiE/39viKbo2hlY/s1600-h/P1010026.JPG"></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgtSjCBPbI/AAAAAAAAAh0/cYievz6OzOE/s1600-h/P1010051.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgtSjCBPbI/AAAAAAAAAh0/cYievz6OzOE/s200/P1010051.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361585153049181618" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgtSeEsCmI/AAAAAAAAAhs/-5-xD0M2NXY/s1600-h/P1010054.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgtSeEsCmI/AAAAAAAAAhs/-5-xD0M2NXY/s200/P1010054.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361585151718197858" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgtSEx7cyI/AAAAAAAAAhk/PfZBnrOZ1qo/s1600-h/P1010055.JPG"><br /><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmgtSEx7cyI/AAAAAAAAAhk/PfZBnrOZ1qo/s200/P1010055.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361585144928629538" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-45220113387341155162009-07-23T01:05:00.001-07:002012-04-03T22:57:12.365-07:00The Louvre - pre-posting ramblingsWe pretty much stayed in one place today - the Louvre. We spent over 9 hours there and saw over 3/4 of the place. The remaining portion, mostly paintings from the last 2-300 years are very low on my priority list. I tend towards more ancient history and, while I do enjoy art from those eras, you can't see everything - at least not in one day. In, fact we decided last night to scale back our (okay, my overachieving) ambitious schedule and spend more time just wandering around. Juli and I both noticed that the things we enjoyed the most were the accidental discoveries like a gorgeous little church I had never heard of tucked into the Latin Quarter we stumbled into or taking the time to enjoy the buskers and street performers, engaging locals in conversation. BTW if anyone ever tells you the French, particularly Parisians, are rude or snobs, burn their passport and never let them leave the US. Its absolutely not true. They have been consistently polite, kind, and helpful. All you have to do is greet them when you approach or enter their store, say please and thank you (it helps if you try it in French) and say goodbye. The French phrases for those tasks are easily mastered - although (in a reflex reaction) I occasionally find myself trying to mix in a little Spanish when I try to converse in French beyond that - it worked so well in Italy, why doesn't it help here :) While I have managed to survive pretty well in France and Italy (In Greece I had to rely solely on English - fortunately that wasn't hard to do there in the parts I was in), but I have set a goal (once I complete my masters in Educational Technology) to pursue learning other languages. I love travel and exploring other cultures. One of the best things for both Juli and I is the immersion into local life. We are not just at the tourist spots, we ride the subway with the commuters and shop in the same supermarkets. We try to eat at places favored by locals and look for places who don't cater to tourists. The best way to find a great boulangerie, creperie, or sandwich stand is look for the long line of locals. Those are the moments we have enjoyed the most. I love the way that trying to utilize a new language stretches the brain. Reading signs and billboards and even newspapers in French is a tremendous intellectual challenge. It really makes me appreciate my second language learner students even more than I already do. Yesterday, at the Louvre, I made it a point to not get one of the English audio guides and forced myself to rely solely on what I could figure out from the information plaques (they are only in French) and the context of the artifacts - of course I was also helped by my alter ego, Random Facts Man, with his weirdly arcane knowledge about many things. Juli and I also discovered this is fantastic way to push closer examination and appreciation of the art and artifacts themselves. The paintings and statues tell their own stories. It forced us to look at the details and appreciate the artist's representation. For example, one particular painting we, at first glance, presumed to be a depiction of the beheading of John the Baptist. After all there was the head of a bearded man being carried by a boy who might be a servant accompanied by a woman carrying a tamborine, dancing and singing. On closer examination, we saw the head had a wound in the center of the forehead partially obscured by the hair - Voila! it was David carrying the head of Goliath. Context clues! Well gentle reader I have teased you long enough I will this pre-post rambling and just upload the pictures.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-75121833339050124482009-07-21T15:26:00.000-07:002009-07-27T00:53:10.238-07:00Tuesday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOhoILaCI/AAAAAAAAAhc/zvkNZxE3sJI/s1600-h/P1000341.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOhoILaCI/AAAAAAAAAhc/zvkNZxE3sJI/s200/P1000341.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361058746045524002" border="0" /></a>Today was great. We started at Notre Dame. We went underground to the archeological crypt and looked at the remains of the Roman structures that were originally on the site. It really hammers home just how pervasive the Romans were when you are in England (like last summer) and France and see Roman artifacts (they sure liked hot tubs). Then we waited in an interminably long line for the chance to climb (there's no elevator) the towers of Notre Dame. My name is Quasimodo. It was cool seeing the great bell up close, but they wouldn't let me ring it. I wanted to swing on the clapper. Even cooler, was getting up close and personal with the gargoyles (Did you know their name is an onomonopaea? - It comes from the gargling sound they make. They are rain gutters after all) Then the climb back down and into the church. Have I mentioned I like churches? Well, I also adore rose windows and stained glass and Notre Dame has them aplenty. After we trotted over (after a brief pcnic stop in the catheral square) to Saint-Chapelle - a chapel built by St. Louis (a French king who actually made it all the way to sainthood - it wasn't Louis XIV) It is the penultimate of the gothic style. High walls allowing for lots (and I do mean lots - almost all of the walls appear to be stained glass) of stained glass. Absolutely breahtaking! - and it wasn't just the stairs we had to climb to get up there. We tried to make it to the Pantheon, with a slight detour through a French department store (did you know they were invented here - not the US) a shopping district and the Latin Quarter, (not to mention another crepe stop) but we missed the last entry time by 5 minutes. It is right near the Cluny Musem so we will tuck it into our visit there Friday. We passed the University of Paris and the Sorbonne. I wonder if I can do my masters here? After a pit stop at a pharmacy (their blinking, lighted green crosses make them easy to spot) to buy pads for my blisters and another pass through the Latin quarter, where we saw some Capoeira practioners (Capoeira is an acrobatic Brazilian martial art that is practiced with music and incorporates many handstands, cartwheels, and dance moves. It was developed by African slaves in Brazil and disguised as dance since they were forbidden to practice fighting - Random Facts Man strikes again) do some amazing flips. After grabing a panini and doing a little souvenir shopping (5 Euro Paris sweatshirts anyone?) we capped off our evening with another grueling stair climb (next time I'm planning the itinerary based on the number of stairs in each place - by the time this is over we are going to have bunions of steel) up to the roof of the Arc de Triomphe. It is so amazing looking at all the main boulevards converging on this central point. I was able to point out the Royal Perspective (just Google it I'm too tired to explain) to Juli from there. A quick stroll down the Champs Elysee with a peek in Sephora (the perfume store - no we didn't buy any - maybe later) then home. (We are calling the apartment home - Juli says she may not leave) And tomorrow (drum roll please) the Louvre.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOhJm-zvI/AAAAAAAAAhU/WseIG_JKQrU/s1600-h/P1000393.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOhJm-zvI/AAAAAAAAAhU/WseIG_JKQrU/s200/P1000393.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361058737853222642" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOg6LfNKI/AAAAAAAAAhM/fN2K3oCmmpU/s1600-h/P1000380.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOghVNDLI/AAAAAAAAAhE/Y7_BZbkKI_I/s1600-h/P1000405.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOghVNDLI/AAAAAAAAAhE/Y7_BZbkKI_I/s200/P1000405.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361058727041240242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOf8eSOyI/AAAAAAAAAg8/p1LLXp7Jp7Y/s1600-h/P1000417.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZOf8eSOyI/AAAAAAAAAg8/p1LLXp7Jp7Y/s200/P1000417.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361058717147216674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZMjVkHsNI/AAAAAAAAAg0/hOwd_nrR0sE/s1600-h/P1000418.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZMjVkHsNI/AAAAAAAAAg0/hOwd_nrR0sE/s200/P1000418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361056576398930130" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZMjO_ovuI/AAAAAAAAAgs/9z2ukM_NIK4/s1600-h/P1000429.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZMjO_ovuI/AAAAAAAAAgs/9z2ukM_NIK4/s200/P1000429.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361056574635294434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZMiw3ToHI/AAAAAAAAAgk/QdGBy3Df8ZM/s1600-h/P1000446.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZJKiUauSI/AAAAAAAAAfc/1lQ06Hhp-yg/s200/P1000519.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361052851791116578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZJKXmkN5I/AAAAAAAAAfU/mr35XO4HWiw/s1600-h/P1000520.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZJKXmkN5I/AAAAAAAAAfU/mr35XO4HWiw/s200/P1000520.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361052848914446226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZJJ1PoSVI/AAAAAAAAAfM/WR-OpvdMge0/s1600-h/P1000523.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZJJ1PoSVI/AAAAAAAAAfM/WR-OpvdMge0/s200/P1000523.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361052839691438418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZJJoXzSdI/AAAAAAAAAfE/425pFZhU2wA/s1600-h/P1000526.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZH2aGYZkI/AAAAAAAAAes/V8C-tjf7Vo8/s200/P1000531.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361051406475748930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZH2DWtl8I/AAAAAAAAAek/XCsvsx95W1Y/s1600-h/P1000551.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZH2DWtl8I/AAAAAAAAAek/XCsvsx95W1Y/s200/P1000551.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361051400370231234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZH1qf9RRI/AAAAAAAAAec/SaJvpK7TvgE/s1600-h/P1000554.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZH1qf9RRI/AAAAAAAAAec/SaJvpK7TvgE/s200/P1000554.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361051393698120978" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFaHC9KXI/AAAAAAAAAeU/9yuL10DTTRI/s1600-h/P1000561.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFaHC9KXI/AAAAAAAAAeU/9yuL10DTTRI/s200/P1000561.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361048721301514610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFZyEHZ4I/AAAAAAAAAeM/YR7G9j07Yj8/s1600-h/P1000568.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFZyEHZ4I/AAAAAAAAAeM/YR7G9j07Yj8/s200/P1000568.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361048715669235586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFZRLy-1I/AAAAAAAAAeE/o2Ik128brwM/s1600-h/P1000575.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFZRLy-1I/AAAAAAAAAeE/o2Ik128brwM/s200/P1000575.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361048706843081554" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFY_56gdI/AAAAAAAAAd8/hc2qZ3NPuyE/s1600-h/P1000577.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFY_56gdI/AAAAAAAAAd8/hc2qZ3NPuyE/s200/P1000577.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361048702204674514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFYtf-40I/AAAAAAAAAd0/TmAHQzFd0fg/s1600-h/P1000581.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmZFYtf-40I/AAAAAAAAAd0/TmAHQzFd0fg/s200/P1000581.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361048697264071490" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-3569421193209086722009-07-21T15:05:00.002-07:002012-04-03T22:43:12.899-07:00FoodIf you know me at all, you know eating is my second favorite sport. I love trying new and exotic things. Avoiding the McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Subways has been very easy - I typically snub fast food anyway - although Starbucks has tugged and if there was a 7-11 with a chance to get a Big Gulp...well it wouldn't be pretty. As you have probably already figured out from my posts, we have done a lot of picnicking. Fresh baguettes from the bakeris is de riguer in Paris. I mean really, if you don't get fresh baguettes everyday they deport you as a lunatic. Its the best bread in the world. So bread, cheese and sausage have been our staples. However, Paris is filled with tons of ethnic foods. All of them great - and usually comparatively cheap. Creperies are awesome. Almost every corner has a spot with a couple of griddles where for 3-4 Euros they will cook you up a fresh crepe stuffed with jambon aux fromage, champignon au fromage (ham and cheese and mushroom and cheese) or Nutella (I'm still not sure what that is, peanut butter?) They also serve paninis to die for at about the same price. Today we got one with a diet Coke (usually a king's ransom on its own) for 3 Euros. Soft Italian bread with cheese, tomatoes, and ham or even chicken and grilled up on a panini press. Good stuff. Another thing you see a lot is gyros, but in numerous varieties. We shared one near the flea market filled with tender, flavorful slices of beef and chicken with tomatoes and onions served with fries. Instead of ketchup, we opted for the yogurt dip for our fries. A great choice. Another common dish here is mussels and fries. I can't wait to try it - maybe tomorrow. The 10 Euro prix fixe (fixed price) menus in the Latin Quarter offer it as a choice. I'm thinking the French onion soup for the starter and the cheese plate for dessert. I am also looking forward to hitting up a couscous place where they serve tagine, a North African beef stew over couscous. My mouth is so happy! I'll let Juli write about our supermarket experience. I have done European supermarkets a few times and am less sensitive to what is striking. so I'll let a fresh voice tell it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-21064617932783560002009-07-21T14:40:00.000-07:002009-07-21T15:04:55.224-07:00Monday part deuxOkay, before I got sidetracked on my ramblings I told you we went to the flea market. We also had a great lunch just outside the flea market (I'll talk more about the food in a separate post), then we headed for the Eiffel Tower again. It really is two different experiences to be at the Eiffel tower in the night and the day. We are overachievers (and cheap), so we climbed the steps instead of taking the elevator. Yep 700 stairs to the second level (you have to take an elevator to get to the very top) 0 Juli is pointing to the proof in the picture below. The second floor is plenty high enough to see everything in Paris. We had picked up some picnic stuff, so we had another picnic on the Eiffel Tower. Oh, BTW, before we got to the Eiffel Tower we went down Rue Cler - a street lauded by Rick Steves as the quintessential Paris experience. Not only was almost everything closed at noon on Monday, it seemd that the locals had been reading Rick Steves guides and turned it into an almost cheezy tourist trap. Meanwhile, back at the Eiffel Tower, we crossed the Seine and climbed to the plaza with a great view of the tower and snapped a few pics, then watched some skaters do some incredibly high jumps - at least 8 feet. We were going to take a Seine cruise but decided against it. We'll do it on a day when we have more time. We then headed up to the mountain of the martyrs - Montmartre - with a stop at Franpriz - a French supermarket for essentials. We got to the top of the hill - both of us huffing and puffing (Montmartre is the second highest point in all of France - free croisants if you can tell me what the highest is) and wandered around the twisting streets filled with throngs of people (unfortunately mostly tourists) enjoying the bohemian atmosphere. We wandered through and found our way to the Basilica Sacre Couer. and joined the throngs of people there sitting on the steps and grass picnicking and listening to musicians play Simon and Garfunkel songs. We sat on the grass with a gorgeous view of Paris and ate another picnic lunch while the sun went down. After another wander through Montmartre, we headed home. Another lovely day in paradise.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-4937823223416444502009-07-21T00:59:00.000-07:002009-07-21T01:21:20.109-07:00Monday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6R0bZTrI/AAAAAAAAAds/rB-AWeJL-h8/s1600-h/P1000244.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6R0bZTrI/AAAAAAAAAds/rB-AWeJL-h8/s200/P1000244.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360825378004356786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6RX5xBRI/AAAAAAAAAdk/x5NnwDlyYbI/s1600-h/P1000246.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6RX5xBRI/AAAAAAAAAdk/x5NnwDlyYbI/s200/P1000246.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360825370347111698" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6RCzun9I/AAAAAAAAAdc/uWlGNUHoVec/s1600-h/P1000249.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6RCzun9I/AAAAAAAAAdc/uWlGNUHoVec/s200/P1000249.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360825364684644306" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6Qy5S-tI/AAAAAAAAAdU/fILdzLMlTHQ/s1600-h/P1000250.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6Qy5S-tI/AAAAAAAAAdU/fILdzLMlTHQ/s200/P1000250.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360825360413031122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6QYC1QQI/AAAAAAAAAdM/DLtJIReEcQ8/s1600-h/P1000265.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV6QYC1QQI/AAAAAAAAAdM/DLtJIReEcQ8/s200/P1000265.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360825353205268738" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4a7GsDwI/AAAAAAAAAdE/zf2A5X84Dag/s1600-h/P1000285.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4a7GsDwI/AAAAAAAAAdE/zf2A5X84Dag/s200/P1000285.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360823335392120578" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4agNTLjI/AAAAAAAAAc8/JJe95aYh43A/s1600-h/P1000294.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4agNTLjI/AAAAAAAAAc8/JJe95aYh43A/s200/P1000294.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360823328172092978" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4aDZlROI/AAAAAAAAAc0/-0NKuscXhDI/s1600-h/P1000314.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4aDZlROI/AAAAAAAAAc0/-0NKuscXhDI/s200/P1000314.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360823320438981858" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4Z4YuI0I/AAAAAAAAAcs/7LPAFVzs8pE/s1600-h/P1000315.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4Z4YuI0I/AAAAAAAAAcs/7LPAFVzs8pE/s200/P1000315.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360823317482578754" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4Zof8edI/AAAAAAAAAck/_JHDuJLd8J0/s1600-h/P1000319.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV4Zof8edI/AAAAAAAAAck/_JHDuJLd8J0/s200/P1000319.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360823313217911250" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hulCtiI/AAAAAAAAAcc/iodCqxTiy3A/s1600-h/P1000324.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hulCtiI/AAAAAAAAAcc/iodCqxTiy3A/s200/P1000324.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360821253265602082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hnapl0I/AAAAAAAAAcU/vfS4W1dc_ws/s1600-h/P1000328.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hnapl0I/AAAAAAAAAcU/vfS4W1dc_ws/s200/P1000328.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360821251342964546" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hQrdM0I/AAAAAAAAAcM/PFUhZT8gnLU/s1600-h/P1000329.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hQrdM0I/AAAAAAAAAcM/PFUhZT8gnLU/s200/P1000329.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360821245239440194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hHBsHVI/AAAAAAAAAcE/uhALuWNx5x4/s1600-h/P1000330.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2hHBsHVI/AAAAAAAAAcE/uhALuWNx5x4/s200/P1000330.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360821242648337746" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2g6zOOWI/AAAAAAAAAb8/8Dc-IQNZkaw/s1600-h/P1000332.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmV2g6zOOWI/AAAAAAAAAb8/8Dc-IQNZkaw/s200/P1000332.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360821239366433122" border="0" /></a><br />Its Tuesday and we're getting a late start so I'm just going to post some pics and comment later.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-24082209743580311782009-07-21T00:21:00.001-07:002012-04-03T22:31:14.245-07:00RamblingsToday was (like most our days will be) very busy. We started the day at Marches aux Puces de Saint-Ouen - thats St. Owen's flea market. Its been there since 1885 and has some 2000 vendors. Mondays must be slow, because it wasn't that crowded. It wasn't a lot different from our swap meets, I was a little disappointed that I didn't see alot of antiques and French cast-offs. Mostly knockoffs and African prints and incense along with France souvineers at half the price they are being sold by at the monuments. This is a good opportunity to comment on an observation I have made. Paris is a very multi-cultural city. It is filled with African, Asian (India, Pakistan- not so much Chinese - I guess that's West Asia?) and Mediterranean immigrants - not to mention the gypsy scam artists. It is interesting how much the African immigrants still retain their native (or native style) dress. Not a lot of assimilation. Everywhere you go, you see hordes of immigrant street hawkers selling Eiffel Tower keyrings, scarves, wine at the parks, etc. Usually you hear a whistle and they scoop up their merchandise and take off being chased by the gendarmerie. The gypsy scam artists are also pervasive. Usually young girls in long skirts who "find" a ring at your feet and try to give it to you or show you a postcard from their brother in Bosnia who is coming to get them, but they need food till he arrives. There is also a contingent of Africans who stop you and try to tie a string around your wrist and sell it to you as a bracelet. They really don't like taking "no" for an answer. For all those though, I can see while riding around the city on the subway, there are many more who are going and coming from their jobs, taking care of families and trying to adapt to this new land. I applaud their hopes and dreams - it is, after all, an American dream (of course, not uniquely so) to strive for a better life. As I look at the history of this country and recall the ties to our revlution and their revolution, I am struck, not by the differences, but the similarities. When I saw the statue of Thomas Jefferson (who was also an ambassador to Paris for my history challenged friends) or John F Kennedy Place, when I hear American music played everywhere I realize how much we have in common. Its actually pretty cool.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-65761904777647936732009-07-19T23:27:00.000-07:002009-07-27T00:56:32.983-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRlUcNhwI/AAAAAAAAAbs/aZ7V6Mk0d6s/s1600-h/P1000129.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRlUcNhwI/AAAAAAAAAbs/aZ7V6Mk0d6s/s200/P1000129.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360428789317601026" border="0" /></a>I'm letting Juli sleep in this morning. It was very long (but oh so wonderful day). After we left the apartment, We took the Metro to Place St Michel where we saw the fountain with the statue of the archangel Michale defeating Lucifer. From there we walked over to the Ile de Cite and Notre Dame and found Point Zero, a little brass plaque from which all distances in France are measured. You have to hunt around for it, but its right there in the pavement in front of the cathedral. Also in front of the cathedral is a very scary looking statue of Charles the Great (Carolus Magnus, mostly known as Charlemagne) Ile de Cite (City Island) was the original site of Paris where the Parisii tribe fished and hunted until the Romans came along (they called it Lutece). We also visited the Memorial for the Martyrs of the Deportation on Ile de Cite - a very somber place marking the 200,000 French citizens who were deported by the Nazis to die in the concentration camps. From there we crossed over to Ile St Louis and had a great time looking at the shops and buying some bread and cheese for our picnic on the banks of the Seine on Ile St Louis. We tried the world famous Berthillon ice cream - we had peach, which left me wondering - does French vanilla taste like French Vanilla? (think about it) We had a wonderful, romantic picnic (there is a pic of the bench we sat on) before setting out to the Eiffel Tower. I say to, not towards, because we went the wrong direction. No wonder they lost so many wars, their maps don't make sense! (The subway map didn't help, so I downloaded a street map app today - BTW if you go to Paris and have an iPhone, the subway app is awesome!). But we finally headed in the right direction and soon found out that it was a VERY long walk from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. But we really enjoyed the sites and got a better feel for the city. We finished the picnic on the grass of Parc du Champs de Mars at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Tres Romatique! The perfect end to the evening was a sleepy ride on the Metro back to the apartment at midnight - while a busker played a passable version of John Lennon's Imagine on the guitar in the car we were riding in.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRlNUcHmI/AAAAAAAAAbk/RiLBCiKsImA/s1600-h/P1000132.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRkns4aCI/AAAAAAAAAbc/tN6jwL5Se1U/s1600-h/P1000134.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRkns4aCI/AAAAAAAAAbc/tN6jwL5Se1U/s200/P1000134.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360428777307924514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRkYPvXEI/AAAAAAAAAbU/JC_teheL2jY/s1600-h/P1000137.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRkYPvXEI/AAAAAAAAAbU/JC_teheL2jY/s200/P1000137.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360428773159164994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRkEbkxfI/AAAAAAAAAbM/bYmofs0_7OA/s1600-h/P1000156.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQRkEbkxfI/AAAAAAAAAbM/bYmofs0_7OA/s200/P1000156.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360428767840093682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP8xL7IdI/AAAAAAAAAbE/ucwoFQ0nh48/s1600-h/P1000157.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP8xL7IdI/AAAAAAAAAbE/ucwoFQ0nh48/s200/P1000157.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360426993147650514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP8an0wXI/AAAAAAAAAa8/kGt8pd06zwg/s1600-h/P1000166.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP8an0wXI/AAAAAAAAAa8/kGt8pd06zwg/s200/P1000166.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360426987090657650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP8DaLdoI/AAAAAAAAAa0/doh_0jXXiHY/s1600-h/P1000185.JPG"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP7hsZk3I/AAAAAAAAAas/vaeiFCvi-5I/s1600-h/P1000187.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP7hsZk3I/AAAAAAAAAas/vaeiFCvi-5I/s200/P1000187.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360426971809026930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP7WEJ3zI/AAAAAAAAAak/kPRpY9VBV_8/s1600-h/P1000188.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQP7WEJ3zI/AAAAAAAAAak/kPRpY9VBV_8/s200/P1000188.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360426968687435570" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-68642295511240648482009-07-19T22:51:00.000-07:002009-07-19T23:26:51.179-07:00Notre Dame<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMzvvp61I/AAAAAAAAAac/QRZvPF2mg3w/s1600-h/P1000133.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMzvvp61I/AAAAAAAAAac/QRZvPF2mg3w/s200/P1000133.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360423539606940498" border="0" /></a>I love church buildings, particularly cathedrals especially since I read Ken Follet's Pilars of the Earth. (if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it - better yet, get his collaboration with the photographer, F. Stop Fitzgerald, called Pillars of the Almighty) They were built for a number of reasons - psycho-social unification, religious/political (they weren't seperate) power, instructional methodologies for illiterate peoples etc. But one of their purposes was to try to inspire a sense of the awesomeness and majesty of God just by the sheer physical impact and beauty of the structure itself. One can argue the theological merits of such a goal, but it is difficult to argue that they did not achieve it when you see Notre Dame. We just toured the outside today, later on we will climb the towers and explore the catacombs. In the meantime, here's a few pics.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMzDgDxuI/AAAAAAAAAaU/jqN9al4BISI/s1600-h/P1000138.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMzDgDxuI/AAAAAAAAAaU/jqN9al4BISI/s200/P1000138.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360423527730366178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMy_2rdmI/AAAAAAAAAaM/LyAwqzi3v6s/s1600-h/P1000143.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMy_2rdmI/AAAAAAAAAaM/LyAwqzi3v6s/s200/P1000143.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360423526751499874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMyaw1SZI/AAAAAAAAAaE/97Qe1NRCi6Q/s1600-h/P1000144.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMyaw1SZI/AAAAAAAAAaE/97Qe1NRCi6Q/s200/P1000144.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360423516794866066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMyDqXFWI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/Ox7M2dZa8GY/s1600-h/P1000145.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQMyDqXFWI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/Ox7M2dZa8GY/s200/P1000145.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360423510593705314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLe5w9XQI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/Risb5eqbXDc/s1600-h/P1000150.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLe5w9XQI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/Risb5eqbXDc/s200/P1000150.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360422082007883010" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLeXwHuGI/AAAAAAAAAZs/di0TJnBm6Cs/s1600-h/P1000151.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLeXwHuGI/AAAAAAAAAZs/di0TJnBm6Cs/s200/P1000151.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360422072877561954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLeAZRfKI/AAAAAAAAAZk/Ok-3DRe0fo8/s1600-h/P1000152.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLeAZRfKI/AAAAAAAAAZk/Ok-3DRe0fo8/s200/P1000152.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360422066607717538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLdxJ2ozI/AAAAAAAAAZc/7TngFW3QJEY/s1600-h/P1000153.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQLdxJ2ozI/AAAAAAAAAZc/7TngFW3QJEY/s200/P1000153.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360422062516511538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIz9Jbz9I/AAAAAAAAAZU/XtShEezvmyg/s1600-h/P1000198.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIz9Jbz9I/AAAAAAAAAZU/XtShEezvmyg/s200/P1000198.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360419145158217682" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIztqgipI/AAAAAAAAAZM/ZLKG5Z2nwoQ/s1600-h/P1000192.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIztqgipI/AAAAAAAAAZM/ZLKG5Z2nwoQ/s200/P1000192.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360419141001972370" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIzQHOTtI/AAAAAAAAAZE/ZTGzfq9Hc8A/s1600-h/P1000161.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIzQHOTtI/AAAAAAAAAZE/ZTGzfq9Hc8A/s200/P1000161.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360419133069348562" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIy4yDoOI/AAAAAAAAAY8/dXXCqFugTm4/s1600-h/P1000160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIy4yDoOI/AAAAAAAAAY8/dXXCqFugTm4/s200/P1000160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360419126806552802" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIyrKxY_I/AAAAAAAAAY0/21ihSn0WBSE/s1600-h/P1000159.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQIyrKxY_I/AAAAAAAAAY0/21ihSn0WBSE/s200/P1000159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360419123152118770" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-51360040460318100602009-07-19T22:29:00.001-07:002012-04-03T22:19:36.083-07:00Interesting Buildings<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE9HSXgrI/AAAAAAAAAYs/3UuA8a7oFBI/s1600-h/P1000169.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360414904452350642" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE9HSXgrI/AAAAAAAAAYs/3UuA8a7oFBI/s200/P1000169.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a>Its no surprise to anyone who has seen pohotos of my previous trips, but I love buildings. Here's a few from yesterdays journey...and if Juli tells you we waited a half hour just so I could get a clear shot of the one with the flower shop, don't believe her. It just felt like that long.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE8kYXYqI/AAAAAAAAAYk/KTafJFK_m0M/s1600-h/P1000171.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360414895082267298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE8kYXYqI/AAAAAAAAAYk/KTafJFK_m0M/s200/P1000171.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE8V2wBVI/AAAAAAAAAYc/hRzt10Kk2CA/s1600-h/P1000174.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360414891183179090" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE8V2wBVI/AAAAAAAAAYc/hRzt10Kk2CA/s200/P1000174.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE7wjKWAI/AAAAAAAAAYU/tQirvIBRlvM/s1600-h/P1000177.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360414881168906242" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE7wjKWAI/AAAAAAAAAYU/tQirvIBRlvM/s200/P1000177.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE7WaBIII/AAAAAAAAAYM/43YU3nUdfYQ/s1600-h/P1000179.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360414874151231618" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQE7WaBIII/AAAAAAAAAYM/43YU3nUdfYQ/s200/P1000179.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCKLwY9OI/AAAAAAAAAYE/0IT8xJqcvAk/s1600-h/P1000175.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360411830455432418" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCKLwY9OI/AAAAAAAAAYE/0IT8xJqcvAk/s200/P1000175.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCJf6nQSI/AAAAAAAAAX8/NQCCdebPjC8/s1600-h/P1000183.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360411818687152418" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCJf6nQSI/AAAAAAAAAX8/NQCCdebPjC8/s200/P1000183.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCI8byz1I/AAAAAAAAAX0/PdQeLFBONXs/s1600-h/P1000182.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360411809162645330" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCI8byz1I/AAAAAAAAAX0/PdQeLFBONXs/s200/P1000182.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCIh-11iI/AAAAAAAAAXs/2xJtE3gFjQg/s1600-h/P1000194.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360411802061887010" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCIh-11iI/AAAAAAAAAXs/2xJtE3gFjQg/s200/P1000194.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCIFKU9lI/AAAAAAAAAXk/oCOtAusRMJA/s1600-h/P1000202.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360411794325435986" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmQCIFKU9lI/AAAAAAAAAXk/oCOtAusRMJA/s200/P1000202.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-31259946904038995522009-07-19T21:58:00.000-07:002009-07-19T22:29:22.574-07:00Eiffel Tower<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_5wb7ITI/AAAAAAAAAXc/nH1L28RcjUI/s1600-h/P1000207.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_5wb7ITI/AAAAAAAAAXc/nH1L28RcjUI/s200/P1000207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360409349220671794" border="0" /></a>This was my first trip to the Eiffel Tower at night. We didn't go up the tower last night. We were too tired after our long walk from Notre Dame. But it was very beautiful and tres romantique.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_5XFcvpI/AAAAAAAAAXU/WeQlXBsEhzc/s1600-h/P1000211.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_5XFcvpI/AAAAAAAAAXU/WeQlXBsEhzc/s200/P1000211.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360409342415519378" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_5HVRcuI/AAAAAAAAAXM/Xtl0LPZH9O8/s1600-h/P1000214.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_5HVRcuI/AAAAAAAAAXM/Xtl0LPZH9O8/s200/P1000214.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360409338186920674" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_43S34TI/AAAAAAAAAXE/h7O8tstnojs/s1600-h/P1000223.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_43S34TI/AAAAAAAAAXE/h7O8tstnojs/s200/P1000223.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360409333881889074" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_4nY2p2I/AAAAAAAAAW8/i6kKg0gTy94/s1600-h/P1000226.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP_4nY2p2I/AAAAAAAAAW8/i6kKg0gTy94/s200/P1000226.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360409329612007266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP7VVfHClI/AAAAAAAAAWs/JudinutWpkA/s1600-h/P1000219.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP7VVfHClI/AAAAAAAAAWs/JudinutWpkA/s200/P1000219.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360404325464476242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP7VkoRZBI/AAAAAAAAAW0/_GXhnLr3zPI/s1600-h/P1000235.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP7VkoRZBI/AAAAAAAAAW0/_GXhnLr3zPI/s200/P1000235.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360404329529435154" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP7VITccoI/AAAAAAAAAWk/2X7m6-zN7do/s1600-h/P1000207.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/SmP7VITccoI/AAAAAAAAAWk/2X7m6-zN7do/s200/P1000207.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360404321925886594" border="0" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-67733317147137655722009-07-19T21:40:00.000-07:002009-07-19T21:56:45.155-07:00Eiffel Tower Light ShowWe sat on the lawn of the Champs de Mars at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and finished up the picnic that we started earlier on the banks of the Seine in Ile St. Louis and watched the lights of the Eiffel Tower. Every half hour or so they had a light show of flashing lights up and down the tower. Very beautiful and a lovely end to a wonderful day. The video is sideways, because I held the camera sideways. I'll have to figure out later how to reorient it.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzz3yoz-aDsY4UynAl7EC2HogTXTT302HVKJb_YL9UJ2JmQtdVsS1QC-lXGGAcQlyCJMrvDdNTcPl-cyeCP7Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-75266777339103714842009-07-19T07:33:00.000-07:002009-07-20T00:35:14.542-07:00Shopping TripWell, grocery shopping was a bust. We hiked over to the Monoprix (local supermarket chain), Juli huffing and puffing uphill and found it was closed. We stopped in a patisserie on the way back for a pain au raisin (raisin danish) and a slice of pizza which I ordered in clear enough French (at least we got what we ordered) until she repeated my order back to me and I said "si!" Wrong country, genius lad. Oh well, c'est la vie. We came back to the apt to grab rain gear just in case it does start up like the report said it might and are now heading out for Le Tour Eiffel.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-86246577869476533542009-07-19T05:53:00.000-07:002009-07-19T06:05:59.031-07:00Arrival in Paris<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OjxmzwxWkag/SmMZwDj0p1I/AAAAAAAAAYw/2ux39Ky2PkI/s1600-h/P1000127.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OjxmzwxWkag/SmMZwDj0p1I/AAAAAAAAAYw/2ux39Ky2PkI/s320/P1000127.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360156294880995154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OjxmzwxWkag/SmMXoe6ca9I/AAAAAAAAAYo/8u55MW6YPkU/s1600-h/P1000126.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_OjxmzwxWkag/SmMXoe6ca9I/AAAAAAAAAYo/8u55MW6YPkU/s320/P1000126.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360153965761424338" border="0" /></a>We have arrived in Paris. Long plane ride, but uneventful other than a few moments of sweat when we heard we might be late into Salt Lake. With only a 53 minute window to make the connection it was a little unneerving, but it only turned out to be about 5 minutes and we made our flight with time for a cup of coffee. We arrived in Paris and took the RER train to Le Metro and the Metro to the apartment. The iPhone app I downloaded really helped. It walked us right through it step by step. The $5 for the app was absolutely worth it. We are having some problem with our cell phones. Despite letting AT&T know we would be out of the country, the phones at=ren't connecting to the network here. We are at the apartment and trying to contact them to straighten it out. Juli needed to take a little nap so she is snoozing on the futon bed. In a little while we will find a grocery store and stock up then head for Rick Steves'historic Paris walk. I hope to be on the Eiffel Tower when the sun sets. Paris is, after all, for lovers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-86981689801174624962009-07-15T23:56:00.000-07:002009-07-16T00:24:38.164-07:00Our apartment - part deux<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7VqGnF8eI/AAAAAAAAAV8/rWzbLjMshN8/s1600-h/2009-07-16_0007.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 168px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7VqGnF8eI/AAAAAAAAAV8/rWzbLjMshN8/s200/2009-07-16_0007.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358955525923271138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7VpxrNo3I/AAAAAAAAAV0/aLMtka2lH7E/s1600-h/2009-07-16_0009.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 130px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7VpxrNo3I/AAAAAAAAAV0/aLMtka2lH7E/s200/2009-07-16_0009.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358955520303407986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7VcphnsWI/AAAAAAAAAVs/14gHvZSLEpA/s1600-h/2009-07-16_0010.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 186px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7VcphnsWI/AAAAAAAAAVs/14gHvZSLEpA/s200/2009-07-16_0010.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358955294777389410" /></a><br />I posted pics in the last post and thought it was too crowded to put in the maps, so here they are. As a point of reference the <a href="http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/">Eiffel Tower</a>, the <a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Louvre</a>, and the <a href="http://arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr/">Arc de Triomphe</a> are more or less in the center of the larger map. We are out in the 19th arronidisemont, as they call their neigborhoods. But you can see we are very close to <a href="http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cv_en/carteparis.php">Le Metro</a> and right next to a lovely park. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_des_Buttes_Chaumont">Parc des Buttes Chaumont</a> is supposedly "<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 19px; font-family:-webkit-sans-serif;font-size:medium;"><i>one of the largest in Paris, and it is a favourite of Parisians; they flock to its grassy slopes to relax, picnic, and stroll along the five kilometres of trails found there.</i>"</span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-34167012197052510772009-07-15T23:29:00.000-07:002009-07-16T06:18:58.573-07:00Our apartment<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7Oz51L2mI/AAAAAAAAAVk/3Ms2Bs7rxZA/s1600-h/F11.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7Oz51L2mI/AAAAAAAAAVk/3Ms2Bs7rxZA/s200/F11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358947997710015074" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7OmdBnC0I/AAAAAAAAAVc/x0Li8r8WDak/s1600-h/F11.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7OdjJAs_I/AAAAAAAAAVU/K9zrD-akuyk/s1600-h/B11.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7OdjJAs_I/AAAAAAAAAVU/K9zrD-akuyk/s200/B11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358947613662032882" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7ODnbZRtI/AAAAAAAAAVM/hV8LpvN2Bpo/s1600-h/G12.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7ODnbZRtI/AAAAAAAAAVM/hV8LpvN2Bpo/s200/G12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358947168136283858" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7Nc_Yi6GI/AAAAAAAAAVE/ImdTtWyet6M/s1600-h/G12.jpg"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7MulDaaEI/AAAAAAAAAU8/KdapkqgpoQY/s1600-h/R12.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7MulDaaEI/AAAAAAAAAU8/KdapkqgpoQY/s200/R12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358945707209943106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7Mi6CFWVI/AAAAAAAAAU0/wJfEWd1bX8o/s1600-h/P11.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7Mi6CFWVI/AAAAAAAAAU0/wJfEWd1bX8o/s200/P11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358945506683083090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7MO93AY1I/AAAAAAAAAUs/yYr3fGI3uo0/s1600-h/G14.jpg"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7MEZgynoI/AAAAAAAAAUk/xkLHFjutfvM/s1600-h/G13.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7MEZgynoI/AAAAAAAAAUk/xkLHFjutfvM/s200/G13.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358944982557433474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7L3TC42_I/AAAAAAAAAUc/JcrzphCMAGU/s1600-h/G12.jpg"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7LhQj4LrI/AAAAAAAAAUU/K1jqGwnE374/s1600-h/G12.jpg"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_StrDa7C54sU/Sl7LT6J6FdI/AAAAAAAAAUM/TLi5wc_UpWY/s1600-h/F11.jpg"></a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Well, I mentioned we rented an apartment in Paris and I thought I would share some pictures and maps so you can see where we are staying. Our apartment is on the second floor (that's the 3rd floor to us Americans) and it has a balcony. The bathroom even has a bidet - <i>tres </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i>Français</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i> </i></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5155960752541839915.post-73599845885692476712009-07-15T22:57:00.001-07:002009-07-15T23:28:27.214-07:00Getting ready to go!Saturday is looming ever closer. It has been so hectic the past two weeks that it has been hard to plan. But Juli and I finished our Middle School Math Methods class tonight, so that is out of the way. Two more days of the Robotics class for me and we fly out. So packing has to get done tomorrow night! <div><br /></div><div>If you are reading this you probably already know that Juli and I rented an apartment in Paris for a week to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this year. It's hard to believe that April 14, 1984 (wow, typing that date does make it seem like so long ago) was 25 years ago. Time has flown by so fast. I love her now more than ever and I can't think of anything I'd rather do than spend time with her. We will definitely have more than Paris! </div><div><br /></div><div>As much as I have enjoyed traveling the world the past couple of years with People to People, I am so much happier that Juli and I get to travel together. All the wonderful things I saw and did were always slightly tainted by how much I missed sharing them with her. I thought she would never agree to travel, so I am really excited about this trip!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Juli has wanted to travel to Paris for many years. She lived in France for the first few years of her life. French was her first language! Too bad she forgot it. She has many fond memories of her "petit maman" in Royan and delights in telling how she ran away when she was just three years old to avoid returning to the US. While I was longing for Tuscany and another delightful stay in Pontremoli, I deferred. So, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 31px; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Paris, je t'aime</span></i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">!</span></i><br /><div><br /></div><div>We hope to be able to update this blog with anecdotes and photos while we are there, but we don't know how much internet availiability we will have. But check back often and say "bonjour!"</div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03949813811253056260noreply@blogger.com3