Well - all good things must come to an end, I suppose. The sun disappeared today and it's very cold and rainy. I'm fighting a nasty cold (the cold is winning), so I'm not jumping at the chance to go romping around in the rain like my hardy kinfolk. I'll get to them in a minute - first, let me get you caught up on what's been going on the past couple of days.
On Sunday morning (yesterday) the girls went out and about on their own for a couple of hours. They fared much better than I did on my first solo adventure - at least they managed to not get lost! Anyhoo - after they got back, we walked over to Notre Dame to catch an 'on and off' tour bus that took us by quite a few of the major monuments and 'places to see' in Paris. I'd pretty much seen everything along the the tour last week with the exception of the Eiffel Tower.
I had thought we would do Eiffel another day and wasn't really prepared to deal with the throngs of tourists on the most gorgeous Sunday afternoon of the year so far - BUT - I was outnumbered! We were in line for about two hours before we got to the top platform and, even I - in my dour and diva-like mood - had to admit that it was absolutely worth it. My mom said that we wouldn't have another beautiful day like that so we should do it - she was right (damn!).
You don't have to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower; in fact, they have three different ticket prices depending how high up you want to go. I said, "There's no one who would go through all of this only to go to the first or second platform." Mom said, "Oh, I bet you'd be surprised." I say - not possible! It was clear and beautiful - a perfect day to have done this amazing monument. Whew! If I'd gotten my way to see it another day, it would have been dreadful in the cold and rain (which is all that's in the forecast for the rest of their visit).
We were out most of the day and came home to freshen up before taking a boat tour along the Seine (mostly to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night). But we found out, after walking about a half a mile down the Seine, that we needed to be all the way back up by the Eiffel Tower to catch this particular tour boat (3 1/2 miles back the other way). By then it was getting late and we weren't sure if we'd even be able to get to the boat before it took off (we didn't have a schedule), so we decided to go tonight instead.
This morning, the girls got up and took the same walk up the Champs Elysees that I'd done last Thursday. I stayed in, cleaned the apartment a bit and got ready to meet another friend for lunch.
I met Jacques at the Korean Barbeque off the Boulevard Saint Germain on Rue du Dragon. Jacques is a film director and was kind enough to gift me with a film of his (a 2005 documentary about another filmmaker, Henri Langlois) which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival (I know, cool, right?). We had a great conversation about film, wine, and Paris - my first friend meeting that didn't involve a conversation around politics! It was interesting to learn that Gustave Eiffel actually had an apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower (which would explain why we saw a creepy wax likeness of him and a buddy in a little room while we were up there yesterday). Then Jacques told me that he's only been to the Eiffel Tower once - and only to the second platform.
While I can't say that I've been partaking in the famed culinary delights that Paris has to offer (sorry, Josh!), I have certainly developed a taste for French wine. I learned today that the French do not drink Merlots or Cabernets - or really any of the red wines we drink in the States. Apparently, we buy wines based on the type of grape (Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah, Pinot Noir) while the French base their preference of wine on region (Bordeaux, Burgundy and a bunch of other places that are much more difficult to pronounce).
The thing that's completely freaking me out is how much French wine I can drink and not feel bad (no headaches or hangovers). I had a whole bottle yesterday - and at least half a bottle at lunch today and, while I had a nice buzz going, I certainly didn't feel drunk. At least not word-slurring-stumbling-around-must-do-karaoke-drunk. My mom thinks I'm going home an alcoholic. Silly girl. I am home. :)
Anyway...I was supposed to meet another friend, Aurelie at 4:00, but I couldn't find the meeting place (turns out we were right there and just needed to cross the street - d'oh!). I wasn't feeling so great because of this stupid cold, so I came back to the apartment and the girls went off on a grand adventure which, I believe, should culminate with the boat tour down the Seine. It's almost 9:30 PM now, so they'll be getting an eyeful in about a half an hour when the champagne and diamonds spill down the sides of the Tower.
I was able to connect with Aurelie over the internet and re-schedule for Thursday (it's a holiday here on Thursday, so I'm sure it's going to be completely chaotic around here!). We're meeting at Brasserie Lipp. Now, I just need to get to Les Deux Magots and I will have patronized the famed triumvirate of literary cafes in Saint Germain des Pres.
-Shannon
On Sunday morning (yesterday) the girls went out and about on their own for a couple of hours. They fared much better than I did on my first solo adventure - at least they managed to not get lost! Anyhoo - after they got back, we walked over to Notre Dame to catch an 'on and off' tour bus that took us by quite a few of the major monuments and 'places to see' in Paris. I'd pretty much seen everything along the the tour last week with the exception of the Eiffel Tower.
I had thought we would do Eiffel another day and wasn't really prepared to deal with the throngs of tourists on the most gorgeous Sunday afternoon of the year so far - BUT - I was outnumbered! We were in line for about two hours before we got to the top platform and, even I - in my dour and diva-like mood - had to admit that it was absolutely worth it. My mom said that we wouldn't have another beautiful day like that so we should do it - she was right (damn!).
You don't have to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower; in fact, they have three different ticket prices depending how high up you want to go. I said, "There's no one who would go through all of this only to go to the first or second platform." Mom said, "Oh, I bet you'd be surprised." I say - not possible! It was clear and beautiful - a perfect day to have done this amazing monument. Whew! If I'd gotten my way to see it another day, it would have been dreadful in the cold and rain (which is all that's in the forecast for the rest of their visit).
We were out most of the day and came home to freshen up before taking a boat tour along the Seine (mostly to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night). But we found out, after walking about a half a mile down the Seine, that we needed to be all the way back up by the Eiffel Tower to catch this particular tour boat (3 1/2 miles back the other way). By then it was getting late and we weren't sure if we'd even be able to get to the boat before it took off (we didn't have a schedule), so we decided to go tonight instead.
This morning, the girls got up and took the same walk up the Champs Elysees that I'd done last Thursday. I stayed in, cleaned the apartment a bit and got ready to meet another friend for lunch.
I met Jacques at the Korean Barbeque off the Boulevard Saint Germain on Rue du Dragon. Jacques is a film director and was kind enough to gift me with a film of his (a 2005 documentary about another filmmaker, Henri Langlois) which was presented at the Cannes Film Festival (I know, cool, right?). We had a great conversation about film, wine, and Paris - my first friend meeting that didn't involve a conversation around politics! It was interesting to learn that Gustave Eiffel actually had an apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower (which would explain why we saw a creepy wax likeness of him and a buddy in a little room while we were up there yesterday). Then Jacques told me that he's only been to the Eiffel Tower once - and only to the second platform.
While I can't say that I've been partaking in the famed culinary delights that Paris has to offer (sorry, Josh!), I have certainly developed a taste for French wine. I learned today that the French do not drink Merlots or Cabernets - or really any of the red wines we drink in the States. Apparently, we buy wines based on the type of grape (Merlot, Cabernet, Syrah, Pinot Noir) while the French base their preference of wine on region (Bordeaux, Burgundy and a bunch of other places that are much more difficult to pronounce).
The thing that's completely freaking me out is how much French wine I can drink and not feel bad (no headaches or hangovers). I had a whole bottle yesterday - and at least half a bottle at lunch today and, while I had a nice buzz going, I certainly didn't feel drunk. At least not word-slurring-stumbling-around-must-do-karaoke-drunk. My mom thinks I'm going home an alcoholic. Silly girl. I am home. :)
Anyway...I was supposed to meet another friend, Aurelie at 4:00, but I couldn't find the meeting place (turns out we were right there and just needed to cross the street - d'oh!). I wasn't feeling so great because of this stupid cold, so I came back to the apartment and the girls went off on a grand adventure which, I believe, should culminate with the boat tour down the Seine. It's almost 9:30 PM now, so they'll be getting an eyeful in about a half an hour when the champagne and diamonds spill down the sides of the Tower.
I was able to connect with Aurelie over the internet and re-schedule for Thursday (it's a holiday here on Thursday, so I'm sure it's going to be completely chaotic around here!). We're meeting at Brasserie Lipp. Now, I just need to get to Les Deux Magots and I will have patronized the famed triumvirate of literary cafes in Saint Germain des Pres.
-Shannon
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