Etap Hotel Saint Maurice Paris

Nothing too exciting. Decided to save my back since I went shopping and my bags weigh a ton--no shoes though but i did look and admire--so took a taxi to airport instead of usual bus. Realized midway there taxi doesn't take credit cards so tell him I might have a problem. Had to dump out all my coins to scrape up enough money. My wallet has about 20 different currencies in it so ready for next career as James Bond--make that Emma Peel.

... our coffees!

Unfortunately, the electric hookup that we have in the campervan is not working and we have blown two fuses attempting to plug in the kettle, so we have to get that sorted. The radio has blown so hopefully it is sorted soon as the sound of Fred’s diesel engine is not the nicest! I can’t complain though as the countryside is really beautiful…we decided to avoid the tolls again today until we are out of France since ...

... plaseerattaisiin kuulemma bisnesluokkaan, jos siella olisi tilaa. Ja oli kuulemma myos mahdollista, etta emme paasisi lennolle ollenkaan, mutta siina tapauksessa saisimme hotellivoucherit ja rahaa ja paikat jollekin tulevalle lennolle. Passijono oli hidas, mutta siita selvittyamme laitoimme juoksuksi ja paasimme jo koneeseen valuvan jonon hannille. Ja saimme kuin saimmekin lopulta paikat turistiluokkaan. Paikat vain olivat eri ...

... demais. Peguei novamente o cheiroso metrô pariense (ainda bem que estou gripado), e fui à Maison du Japon, um prédio bonito e bem grande. Visitei uma exposição sobre o design japonês atual, a qual não era lá divertida, mas havia objetos portentosos, tais como um piano que tocava sozinho e uma pilha que perdia 20% de sua carga com dois anos de uso!

It's Tour Eiffel day! I've been in replicas at King's Island, King's Dominion, and Las Vegas but it's time for the real thing. My good weather karma is iffy today. It wasn't raining when I got out of the metro at the Trocadero metro stop but by the time I got to the line for tickets it was spitting. :-( The view across the Seine River towards the Eiffel Tower is great. There are gardens and steps (of course, it wouldn't be Europe without steps) going down to ...

... in Paris, we had a waiter that was not only friendly but courteous as well. This is probably because he wasn't French. When we ordered wine, he brought the bottle to the table and poured a sample for me to taste before he poured our glasses. He brought our meals and asked how they were...twice. He brought parmesan cheese without even giving me a dirty look when I asked. And he smiled at me...three times! It was great. This morning when we left Paris, the sky was once again ...

... croissants, pastries and champagne. I made her a birthday omelet and we sipped on mimosas while we ate. The little kitty that we adopted during our stay also popped in for a visit and stayed for some breakfast of her own. When we went into Paris, we met up with some friends from Vancouver - Artemis and Andrew - whom we haven't seen in several months, due to them moving to Florida right before our wedding (she played violin in the song I recorded for Yvonne, but sadly turned the trio ...

... waiting to cross the street at the same time as us. The ones in the van and crossing the street were smiling at us more than other Parisians... We think it was because we both had french braided hair :) I didn't know which way the church was, neither did Agnes. I wanted to ask the policemen, but then we kind of drifted away before we could and stumbled into a pet bird market. A small street market full of everything you'd ever need to ...

... was available - though we still just checked our bags and headed out. Anyhow, the room was really large, with a separate living room and kitchenette. Half the lights were not working, but it was still a great one-night stand for us.] Upon our arrival, Norma and her son, Lesedi, picked us up at the hotel shortly after we arrived and we spent the rest of the day with them. The main stop was the Apartheid Museum, which opened 3-4 years ago and is wonderful. We spent more ...

... pop 1.40 euro, beer 5.00 to 8.00 Euro; etc etc.

4. Hostel has racist Americans and stole their way into my room(idiot girl let them in) last night at 3am and threatened to pour their wine on the Asian girls staying within. I told them to leave with their racist remarks with them, they wouldn't, had to get hostelier, despite my calmness but ever increasing anger was told by the hostelier to chill out. Needless to say they had to get out of my room, but I had to sleep with all ...