Sunday, October 01, 2006 - Getting Caught Up on Amsterdam

I know I didn't write much about Amsterdam, but really, all we did was sleep in late, drink beer, walk around, take pictures, drink beer, shop, drink beer, and just generally enjoy being temporary residents as we kicked back and enjoyed the city. The only touristy thing we did was take the Segway tour, and even that was very laid back. So, I think I'll just wrap up this year's travel blog with pictures from Amsterdam, the best way to tell the story of this jewel of a city anyway.



the little sidewalk cafe where several relaxing hours were spent



amsterdam's primary mode of transport



at the Rijksmuseum



the front of our apartment building



watching Amsterdam go by, from our favorite cafe



an artist at work



you knew there would be cat photos, didn't you?
these are from our visit to the Poezenboot,
Amsterdam's floating cat shelter



another resident of the Poezenboot



Happy Hour, Amsterdam style

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

It's Wednesday afternoon now and we leave first thing Friday morning for home. Although I have some more left to tell (and pictures to post) I really can't do much until we get home. Plus, this internet cafe is smoky and with the heat here, it's unbearable to sit much more than one hour.

So ... hope you enjoyed the blogging, I know I enjoyed reading comments and emails from people back home. I'll be sure and sent out another email once I have the photos uploaded - we've taken some great ones of Amsterdam!

Monday, September 11, 2006

We woke up even before our 5:45am wakeup call, not wanting to miss our flight out of Gatwick. Our hired car picked us up promptly at 6:30am, and whisked us to Victoria Station, where we caught the Gatwick Express without incident. We got to Gatwick Airport very early – about 3 hours before our flight was to take off, and thank goodness we did! We endured the longest security lines I’ve ever been in, and carryon was very restricted – I couldn’t even take my lip balm! I also got a full pat down and extra thorough bag search – the woman who searched my bag was really checking out my half sack of Italian Roast ground coffee – I guess she thought maybe I had some drugs stashed in there or something.

Finally we made it through security and into the slowest line ever for breakfast at McDonald’s. Normally I turn my nose up at that stuff, but when you haven’t had anything to eat and no prospects of eating for several hours, a Sausage McMuffin sounds pretty damn good.

We were flying EasyJet to Amsterdam, and that meant that they boarded in “boarding groups”. Since we had gotten there so early, we were in the A boarding group and thus would have our pick of seats. Or so we thought. They wound up just opening the gate doors and everyone boarded at once, no order to it whatsoever. Fortunately, we reacted quickly and were able to snag two window seats near the front of the plane , me sitting just behind Michael. As the plane continued to board we were both happy that we had the middle seat free. However, at the very last minute, four very loud and very sweaty men got on the plane and guess where two of them decided to sit? Oh yes ... right next to Michael and I. Seems they just made the flight by the skin of their teeth. Lucky us.

During the 50 minute flight to Amsterdam these jerks never shut up. Not only did the dude next to me keep talking to the dude next to Michael, from time to time one of them would yell to another one of their mates sitting further back. But the icing on the cake was they spoke what we think was Gaelic, which was about the most grating language we’ve ever heard - except for maybe German.

After 50 minutes of hell, we landed at Schipol airport, made our way through Passport Control, and collected our luggage. We purchased our tickets for Amsterdam Centraal Station and got on board. Ahhhhhhh … Amsterdam and a canal-side meal were less than an hour away!

About 30 minutes into the train ride, we really started to get worried. Things just weren’t looking right, even though the monitor clearly stated Platform 2 for Amsterdam – which is where we boarded the train. I found a conductor and told him we were worried we were on the wrong train and he confirmed our fears – I had missed the “fine print” saying that the Amsterdam train on Platform 2 did not stop at Amsterdam Centraal! We were bound for the country – a town called Amersfoort to be exact! He told us that there were several others on the train that made the same mistake, and that we just needed to go to Platform 7 once we reached Amersfoort and it would take us back to Amsterdam.

Reaching Platform 7 meant dragging our bags up a flight of stairs, over the tracks, and down another set, but we made the train with minutes to spare.

Arriving in Amsterdam an hour late, we purchased our tram passes and waited for one of three tram lines to take us to Spui – except the trams never came. There was a lot of construction, and I think the trams were getting backed up in the mess. After about 10 minutes of standing around with no tram in sight (and a huge backlog of people increasing by the minute) we hailed a taxi to take us home. It was the best 10 Euros we ever spent. After checking in and showering up, we had a bite to eat and then explored for awhile. Later that night, we had some fantastic pannekoeken, at our favourite pannekoeken place from prior visits, and then walked home and stared out our window, marvelling at our view.



ham and cheese pannekoeken for dinner



and a very naughty mixed nut version for dessert



the view from our living room window



looking from the living room, into the large kitchen

We turned in fairly early, exhausted from the stress of travel and the constant heat.

Sunday, September 10th

After sleeping in (we've been doing that lately, feels great - more like vacation and less like work) we decided to go over to the Trafalgar Square area AKA Tourist Central, take some pictures, and watch people. We enjoyed a simple but delicious lunch in a little pub on Charing Cross Road - I had cream of tomato soup and a beer, and Michael had some kind of pasta dish with a beer. The bartender was really friendly, and knew about Portland and our microbrew scene:



Garrick Arms - a suprisingly convivial pub in an overly touristed area



Steps in front of the National Gallery, at Trafalgar Square.

After lunch and Trafalgar, we hopped on the Tube to Knightsbridge - one of several snobby shopping areas in London, to hit the super pricey but oh so out-of-this-world Harrod's. We skipped right by the $3,000 handbags and $20,000 necklaces and headed straight for the food halls, where mere mortals can indulge in a reasonable splurge. There was an ice cream counter in the center and the two free stools were just begging us to sit down, and so we bellied up to the bar and ordered an 8 GBP strawberry sundae, which is about $15 USD! A $15 sundae!!! But, it was out of this world - it was more of an art exhibit than any sundae I had ever seen, but fortunately it was exquisitely delicious too. Shopped around a bit and picked up a few souvenirs and then decided we had ENOUGH of humans and headed back to our apartment to relax.

After a couple of hours, we got cleaned up and walked quite a long ways (not planned, but it worked out that way) to the Baker Street Station to catch the Bakerloo line to Maida Vale - an area not too far from St. John's Wood which is where Michael's former boss, Phil, lives. We met Phil at a Thai restaurant called Street Hawkers and the food wasn't bad, although not as delicious as the Thai restaurants in Portland. After dinner, Phil took us to a traditional English pub near his flat and we shared a beer and lots of secondhand smoke. Coughing, we walked out into the night and caught the Tube back home.

Saturday, September 9th

We finally left the apartment around 11:30am - it seems we are less ambitious with every passing day. But, we planned the trip that way by design - visit Paris (brand new to us) with fresh nerves and legs, then visit an old favorite (London) while we were still semi-fresh but waning, and finally, visit Amsterdam when we've just had enough and want to take it really slow. I think it's been brilliant and boy am I ready to chill out in Amsterdam!

But I digress. So we left the apartment at 11:30 and caught the #24 bus up to Hampstead Heath - a huge nature park about 20 minutes from our apartment. I had heard it was really beautiful with some good views of the city, and I was dying to get out into nature and away from the mobs of annoying humans for awhile. We got off the bus and found our way into the heath, where we walked around and explored for a couple of hours. It was very beautiful and relaxing, and from what I could tell we were the only tourists there.



Hampstead Heath



Hampstead Heath
















This sign unleashed our inner Beavis and Butthead

Afterwards, we were famished and walked back down the hill and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Hamburger Union where I enjoyed a spectacular chicken sandwich and M chowed down on a burger. Sated, we caught the bus back to our neighborhood where we shopped at Waterstone's book store, stopped for groceries at Tesco, and then went home and DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the rest of the afternoon. I finished The Devil Wears Prada and Michael got started reading yet another science fiction novel. Towards the evening, it occurred to me that I "should" go for a stroll and say a proper goodbye to London, but I was too lazy. Went to bed early, because our 5:45am wakeup call was going to come very very early ...

London - love you lots, see you again soon!

September 08, 2006

 

We left our place around 9:45am and headed for Canary Wharf, the ultra-modern business district where Michael's company, HSBC, is located. One of his European colleauges, Gino, was meeting us to show us around the "mothership". Wow. This building was super modern, spotless, and amazing in every way. I guess it's to be expected from the largest bank in the world. Here's a shot of the lobby:



The HSBC mothership

After spending a couple of hours with Gino, we hopped on the DLR to go to Greenwich. Here I am waiting for the train modeling my new B with G dress from girlshop.com:



Our first ride on the Docklands Light Railway, which connects with the London Underground

Famished after disembarking, we headed for a little pub right next to the Cutty Sark for some beers, fish and chips, and bangers and mash:




Loving a sunshiny day and a great beer in London



The Cutty Sark

Afterwards, we walked around the Old Royal Naval College - from the grounds of the college there are some amazing photos of Canary Wharf. That's Michael's company's building on the far right:



Skyscrapers at Canary Wharf as seen from Old Royal Naval College

We never did make it up to the Greenwich Observatory, because we kept missing the little shuttle bus and our legs were just too shattered to walk up the hill.

After Greenwich, we kicked back for a few hours in the apartment, the headed down to SoHo for dinner at Pizza Express. Then we tubed it to the Tate Modern, and saw some amazing pieces - Michaels' favorites were Salvador Dali, mine were Henri Matisse. Quick Tube ride back to the apartment where we collapsed and had probably the best night's sleep we'd had since leaving home.

Ahhhh ... London. It's good to be home.

September 7, 2006 - Hello again London, I love you!

We arrived in London's Waterloo Station on Thursday afternoon after a three hour train ride through the Chunnel. Grabbed a taxi and headed for our apartment at Scala House - the same place where stayed when we visited London two years ago. Scala House wouldn't win any interior design awards (it looks rather like it hasn't been touched since the days of Beaver Cleaver) but it's super convenient, spacious, and has everything we need to be comfortable - washer/dryer, full kitchen, etc.



the best part of this apartment (aside from the location and price)
is the spacious kitchen



dig that gold bedspread!

Note: during our taxi ride, we noticed a sign on the back of a utility truck that said:

"This vehicle makes frequent stops. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause you."

Yep, we're back in England alright. So polite.

We were starved by the time we got in, so we went down to "our" corner pub, the Fitzrovia, where we had met our friends Mark and MaryAnn for dinner last time were we here. After a quick pint and some pub grub, we jumped on the Tube and headed down to Leicester Square and sat on a park bench for awhile, watching the world go by. Afterwards, we made our way down towards the Tower Bridge, where Michael took some amazing night photos of the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, and the rest of the city lights.



Hamming it up for Michael at Leiscester Square



Love on the Tower Bridge



The Tower Bridge - even MORE beautiful at night

After a long walk home we collapsed into bed, happy to be back in London!

Wednesday, September 6 - Our Last Full Day in Paris

Although we've been in Paris for several days now, I don't think I've yet published many photos of what we can see from our balcony (other than the wedding) so here's a look at our everyday view of Paris.



From our balcony, looking down Rue St. Honore



The church across the street where the wedding was held



Inside our Paris apartment

Being our last day in Paris, we are tired from running around. Although we have managed to visit quite a few sights there is a biggie practically next door that we hadn't yet explored - the Musee du Louvre. We got there shortly after 9am and immediately headed for the Mona Lisa. Well, what can I say except it was really small, covered by glass, and surrounded by a million tourists. Afterwards, we spent some time looking at some of the Italian and French paintings, and then headed over to see The Winged Victory of Samothrace (which we called "The Wing Thing") and the Venus de Milo. Although these "biggies" are probably at the top of everyone's list when they visit the Louvre, I was far more impressed with the vast collection of Etruscan, Roman, and Greek antiquities.

Although there are limits on what can be photographed in the Louvre, we did manage to take a few good photos:




Venus de Milo



Hermaphrodite has male parts and female parts



this is the bottom of the pyramid that you see outside the Louvre



spiral staircase inside the Louvre

After visiting the Louvre, we hopped over to the Latin Quarter again. We had visited there early Sunday morning and really liked it, but a lot of the shops and restaurants were closed. After some shopping, we stopped in for a really expensive beer and light bite at the legendary "Les Deux Magots" on Boulevard St. Germain - one of Hemingway's hang outs during his Paris period.



At Les Deux Magots. Price for two beers, one bottle of water, one croque monsieur, and
one cup of gazpacho? About $46 U.S. Ouch!

We strolled down Boulevard St. Germain, and came across a crepe stand where they make them fresh (so much better than the reheated crepes found at some of the super-touristy areas). I was still hungry - my $10 cup of gazpacho notwithstanding - and bought a sugar and banana crepe. This was the single most delicious thing I have eaten in Paris:



Mmmmmmm ... crepes ...

Michael had one with butter and sugar only, and agreed it was the best meal so far. Sometimes the simplest things are just the best.

After a quick stop back at the apartment to clean up, we walked all the way to Place des Vosges and sat on a park bench for a little while watching people. We then walked across the Seine to the quiet little island of Ile Saint- Louis and stopped at the legendary ice-creamery Berthillion for a scoop of their sinfully delicious glace'. Michael had pistachio and I had burnt sugar caramel - it was absolutely the most incredible ice cream I've ever had - it tasted just like the ice cream version of the crunchy part of Almond Roca.

We then walked back across the Seine to the Right Bank to go to a restaurant we had spotted on the way back from Le Marais the night before. It was called Au Bourgignon and was on a very scenic little corner. We sat at a table outside and Michael ordered Steak Au Poivre and Frites, and even though he ordered medium, the steak was still mooing - no way I would have eaten that but he managed to and proclaimed it the best meal in Paris. I had a penne pasta with chorizo and tomato creme fraiche - the flavors were so clean and bright, I felt like crying right there at the table! We lingered for a couple of hours enjoying the scene and then made our way back to our apartment to pack, clean up, and get ready for our train ride to London.

Goodbye Paris, I will miss you - you sexy, well-planned metropolis with friendly waiters (really!). See you again in a few years.  

Tuesday, September 5: Segwaying Through Paris

We rose around 8am to enjoy our breakfast of french press coffee, baguettes, and pastry from the nearby boulangerie. We left our apartment around 9:30 and caught the city bus over to Champs de Mars to meet our Segway tour guides at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Segway, it's sort of like a battery powered scooter that you stand on. You lean forward to go forward, lean backwards to go backwards, and twist a handle on the left handlebar to go left or right. Once you get the feel of it, it's really easy, a lot of fun and a great way to see a city like a walker would, but at a faster pace.



Why, oh why do they make us wear these #$%^&%* helmets?

Our Lunch Stop at the Tuileries

We had a great group - everybody was really fun and we had no major problems with operating the Segways. Our tour took nearly 4 hours (including our stop for lunch at Tuileries) and it was probably the most fun we've had so far in Paris.

Afterwards, we stopped for a quick bite at a nearby cafe, and then headed back towards the Eiffel Tower to pick up the L'Open Tour bus. Our legs were killing us from standing on the Segway all morning and so a sit-down activity seemed like the perfect thing to do. On our way there, we walked through Champs-de-Mars and watched some groups of men playing boules.




These guys take their boules very seriously.



Guess what this is?

We stayed on the bus for over an hour which took us along the Seine and down to Bastille. We hopped off the bus and took the Metro back home, where we cleaned up and took the Metro over to Le Marais for dinner at Les Vins de Pyrenees - a small restaurant specializing in wines bought from small producers throughout France. We split a bottle of Domaine Les Demoiselles Rose' from Provence, and it wasn't terrible. Neither Michael nor I really get the whole wine thing, and it's a struggle to choke it down sometimes, so we feel we're doing well when we can actually drink it without gagging. Anyway, the rose' was actually pretty good and it complemented my salmon and his chicken cassoulet. After dinner, we decided to walk home instead of taking the Metro, and took in the Seine at night with a brief stop at Pont Neuf - a popular place for those young and young at heart. We made it home around 11:30pm and I went to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

Monday, September 4 - Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays

As usual, neither one of us was able to sleep very well.

We kicked off our day with a visit to the Palais Royal, which is just blocks from our apartment. The Palais Royal has been home to various luminaries over the centuries but now houses the Council of State and Ministry of culture:



Palais Royal



Michael takes a load off at Palais Royal



How Many Cheryle's Can You Spot?

Since we were still tired from the flight over and two days of playing tourist, we decided we'd take the "open top" bus tour - a great way to get an overview of a new city and see what you'd like to explore more in depth later on. But by the time we emerged from the OperaMetro station to pick up our tickets at the L'Open Tour office, it was raining. So much for that idea! We ducked into a nearby Starbucks - the nicest one I've ever seen - and talked about what to do next.

Poor Michael was suffering the most, as I think he got even less sleep than me. I had spied a Mango department store across the street (my radar for good shopping is spot-on) and I popped into the storeand found so many things I could have bought, if I was on an unlimited budget. However, even though everything was fitting well and looking really cute, I managed to restrain myself and got just a few choice items.

After my shopping spree I went back to the Starbucks and Michael was still not feeling very well. However, since we were in the area we decided to go check out the Galeries Lafayette - it felt a bit like Harrod's although the prices were more accessible.



Inside the Galeries Lafayette
  
By this time, we were starving and so enjoyed a nice meal in the Galeries Lafayette Cafe on the sixth floor, featuring a view of the Eiffel Tower. However, after lunch the effects of sleep deprivation were really starting to kick in, and so we headed back to the apartment for yet another three hour nap.

We woke up just in time to catch the last run of the L'Open Tour bus and rode it around until they kicked everyone off at the Champs-Elysees. We weren't that far from home though, so decided to just hoof it through the Tuileries - pretty, but not as nice as the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Later that evening, I wanted to catch up on blogging duties and do some ironing, and so Michael took the Metro out to La Defense - one of Paris'biggest business districts.He used a tripod to capture these absolutely amazing photos of the Grande Arche and surrounding area:






He then took some night photos of the Arc de Triomphe, and this is my favorite:



it's HUGE

I was still dead tired and so I think we both turned in by 1am. We were feeling kind of low at this point, like we didn't do much, but were excited for Tuesday's main activitiy - a Segway Tour of Paris!

Day 3 in Paris - Sunday, September 3

We were up again very early, still unable to sleep past 5am so we hung around the apartment a bit and then walked through one of the courtyards of the Louvre (which, so early on a Sunday morning, we had all to ourselves.) We crossed the Seine via the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge, and stopped for cappucinos at the Cafe des Beaux Arts looking out at the Seine.

We stopped briefly at a patisserie that I have forgotten the name of, where Michael got an absolutely evil eclair filled with creme du chocolat. I had two bites of it and was happy that I didn't have my own - I think those two bites put on two pounds! Although the shop was filled with some of the most incredible desserts I have ever seen, I didn't want to make a scene by taking pictures. I did, however, manage to sneak this photo off at an angle. That tower you see is made of all varieties of macaroons.



Mmmmm ... sweets ...

Our next stop was the Jardin du Luxembourg, which exceeded all of my expectations. This English-style garden is crammed full of chestnut trees, flowers just about every conceivable color, a gorgeous fountain with a bizarre feature (see below) and an ornamental lake which is apparently popular with sailing enthusiasts. We spent quite a bit of time here, taking everything in and taking lots of pictures.

Weird fountain in Jardin du Luxembourg



Lots of gorgeous flowers everywhere in Jardin du Luxembourg



Adorable Mama Duck, Keeping Her Babies Warm

Next up on the agenda was a visit to the Pantheon, just a short walk from the Jardin. We arrived just in time for a guided tour up to the dome, where we took some great photos.



view from the Pantheon



inside the Pantheon

After we descended the 200-some steps of the Pantheon, we were hungry. I wanted something fast and cheap, and told Michael I would be willing to eat at McDonald's, just so I could say that I had a "Royale With Cheese". (Those who have seen the movie "Pulp Fiction" will understand that reference.)

Hardly believing that I was going to eat McDonald's (let alone McDonald's in Paris), I was blown away by the ultra-contemporary interior of the restaurant - it didn't look like any McD's I had ever seen. I asked for the Royale with Cheese, but was told that there were no Royale with Cheeses available. For some reason though, they didn't have a problem with the Royale with Bacon - which is just a Royale with Cheese with bacon on it. I have no idea why they would have Royale with Bacon but not Royale with Cheese, but when in France ... anyway, here's what our lunch looked like:

Micky Dee's ... Parisian style

Perhaps it was lack of sleep or the after-effects of fast food, but we were exhausted and went back to the apartment for an afternoon nap.

After a long rest, we took the Metro over to Montmartre to see the Sacre-Couer. After riding the funicular up the steep hill (too tired to tackle yet more steps) we sat on the steps in front of Sacre-Couer and drank in the view along with about a gazillion other people from all over the world. While there, we saw some interesting wildlife:



Sexy senior citizens! 

Paris as seen from the steps of Sacre Coeur

While we were cooling our heels, we and everybody else were serenaded by a one man band, singing pop songs spanning the decades in a heavily accented voice of unknown origin. He gets an A for effort and a D for execution:



"Californee Dreamin', On Such De Weenters Dayeeeeeeeeee!"

We went inside the Sacre-Couer, where mass was being held. It was beautiful inside, but they didn't allow photographs or videos. After stopping at a couple of shops we made our way back to the train station. We enjoyed a quick pasta dinner and then headed for our final activity of the day, a cruise up and down the Seine. It was absolute magic, the weather was perfect, and proved to be a fitting end to another memorable day.

September 3, 2006 - Paris

It's 5:30am on Sunday and guess who's been awake for the past hour? Guess that means it's time to get y'all caught up on what we've been up to since I last wrote.

We left our apartment around 10 or 10:30, and immediately headed for a neighborhood patisserie where M had a pain au chocolat and I had something that I can't remember the name of, but it was almond pastry filled with chocolate, and equally delicious. We took our pastry to go and strolled up to an area very close to our apartment called Les Halles of which the most prominent fixture is the Eglise Saint-Eustache - an enormous gothic church built in the 16th century. We wandered around the church for awhile and through the surrounding gardens, and then stopped for a beer nearby.

We then walked around the area some more, and M was hungry so he bought his first crepe - a savory version loaded with ham and cheese. We then headed south towards Notre Dame on the Boulevard de Palais. By this time, I was getting pretty hungry as well so we went to a small cafe called La Rosace (I think) and I enjoyed a delicious Salad Nicoise and some baguette. We had planned to climb Notre Dame so we could hang out with the gargoyles, but the line to get to the top was long and we didn't feel like we had the legs for the climb, both of us still being very short on sleep.



outside Notre Dame

(An aside here only meaningful to those who have watched the show "Trading Spouses" - Michael and I couldn't help but giggle every time we said the word "gargoyle" - the word could only be said in true Marguerite Perrin style - GARGOYLES!!!)

After we left Notre Dame we hopped on the Metro at the Cite' station and headed back to the Les Halles area, where we stopped at the Franprix market and bought a few more groceries. Stopped at a boulangerie a few doors down for a fresh-baked baguette, then headed home for what we thought was to be a short nap. However, as we approached our apartment, we saw a crowd of people all dressed to the nines, and it hit me that there was about to be a wedding at the church that our little balcony overlooks. Tres bien!



The bride arrives at the church ... in a Bentley



We Have Been Spotted!

We whipped out the digital camera and the video camera and immediately starting documenting the occasion - which did not go unnoticed by some of the attendees, who smiled and waved to us. From the looks of the attendees, it appeared that the bride and/or groom were from a prominent, very well-to-do family - the bride arrived in a Bentley and many of the women were sporting outrageous-looking hats that looked straight out of Gone With The Wind! I was hoping that the church doors would remain open so we could observe the proceedings, however, they soon closed the church doors and street life on the Rue St. Honore returned to normal.

After 45 minutes or so, the videographer saw Michael and I on our balcony and asked us if he could come up to our balcony so he'd have a better vantage point for filming the newly married couple as they came out of the church! We were both in our "jammies" by then but still decent, so we figured what the heck - it's not every day that you get to witness a wedding of the French "aristocracy"! I ran down to the front door and let the videographer in. We all chatted for about 10-15 minutes as we waited for the church doors to open, us speaking just enough French and Jean-Marie speaking just enough English to carry on a conversation. I found myself pulling words out of my brain that I hadn't used since college French, and Jean-Marie seemed tickled that we had made the effort to try and speak to him in his native tongue. After he was finished filming, he gave us his business card and offered to have us over for dinner, next time we were in Paris. I cannot express in words how much this experience meant to me - as Americans in Paris we naturally experience everything through the filter of being a tourist - an "etranger" - and feel a bit like we're on the outside looking in. But yesterday, we were honorary Parisians - if only for an hour - and Jean-Marie was our newest friend.



The Newlyweds Emerge! That's Jean-Marie on the Left.

Our much-needed nap having been sidetracked for over an hour, we then took a nap - a THREE HOUR nap! Oops. I guess we needed it though, because I felt much better than I had earlier in the day. After cleaning up we hopped on the Metro at one of our two nearby stations, and headed for the Arc de Triomphe ). We emerged from the Charles de Gaulle and there it was - even more massive than I imagined.

We made our way through the pedestrian tunnel to the other side of the Champs-Elysees and climbed the 200+ stairs to the top. The views from the top were amazing, like a dream - Paris was showing herself off yet again like some tempting banquet.



From the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Back down on the Champs-Elysees, we entertained the idea of grabbing a bite to eat but soon realized that everything was either going to be too expensive, too touristy, or both. It was also starting to sprinkle, so after I snapped a couple of photos of some brilliant window displays we hopped back on the Metro back to our little neighborhood in search of a more reasonable restaurant.



Tres Metrosexual Hugo Boss Window Display

We came across a Lebanese restaurant called Venus on the alley that runs diagonally behind our street, and were welcomed heartily by the proprietor, "Simple Simon" - his name for himself. Simple Simon and his American lady-friend, Annette, were the only ones in the restaurant at the time and he seemed excited to have his first customers of the evening.

Annette was a true pretty Southern Belle of indeterminate age, but I would guess she was between 45-50 years old. She had been in Paris for a month to celebrate her birthday. We chatted periodically throughout the evening, but towards the end of our meal the conversation turned to college sports. She made it very clear that she was an enthusiastic "Tarheels" fan (note, I'm not sure how to spell it, that's how interested *I* am in college sports) and Michael piped up about his beloved Jayhawks. Some good-natured ribbing ensued but we were exhausted and so we soon asked for our check. As we were getting ready to leave, however, Simon insisted that we have another 1/4 liter of rose' "on the house" - so, not wanting to be rude we stayed for another glass of wine and wound up leaving there around 10:30pm or so.

We walked around the corner to our place, did a little planning, and crashed. Wow - our first full day in Paris is one we will never forget.