Hotel Mattle Paris, France

We made it!

What a week it has been, lot of ups and downs, many miles covered, lots of sore muscles.

We arrived in Paris just about a week ago and were welcomed by rainy weather and not many instructions. After getting off the plane we took a taxi to the school where we were to meet up with the housing director to get our rooms keys! We took a taxi since the three of us (Laura, Angela, and I) ad 4 large suitcases as well as carry ons, and backpacks and were advised ...

... her visits they had renovated them and so the trip up was pretty painless. Even so at the top it took me a couple of minutes to unstick myself from holding the side of the building before I would venture over to near the barrier to enjoy the view. After we had taken some snaps we decided to stretch our legs and head down the stairs rather than queue again for the lifts, by the time we reached the bottom we both owned a full set of sore leg muscles! We had ...

... and famous of Paris go after life. Jim Morrison, Edit Piaf, Balzac, Chopin and Oscar Wilde - all now call this place home. Of course a visit wouldn't be complete without placing a kiss on Oscar Wilde's grave for some luck! On a lighter note, we made some excellent French food one night in the lovely apartment Lindsay's family had rented near Notre Dame. We also dined at the famous Les Deux Magots café - once the haunt of the ...

... others too. Oh yeah, some of the artists were famous: Monet, Manet, Gaugin, Rodin, Van Gough and some more that I forget - to be truthful I started paying more attention to "living art" rather than the paintings on the wall. We left the D'Orsay and headed north to the Opera House. Enroute, Fiona wanted to sit down in the park for a beer. She ordered a medium beer and me a medium coke. This was the most expensive drink either of ...

... say is there would only be a few cars running and the cliche smashed like sardines hardly does the condition justice. We were so smashed into the train cars, riders had to hold their packages overhead. The South African and English revelers were the only ones who seemed to be taking the conditions in stride. I think the French are tired of this strike, and given the mood here, Sarkozy might just succeed. It will be an interesting, if painful process to watch.

... amazing piece of art). We then headed across to the statues to admire the Venus de Milo. With our remaining hour I dragged the group over and up a few floors to the Dutch and Belgian art section in the hopes of seeing some Rembrant and Van Gogh. Lots of Rembrant (he has his own room) but no Van Gogh. We then motored through the entire French art section in the hopes of seeing the 19th century French Impressionists ...

... in, which was a nice change from places like Prague. After visiting the quaint and quiet Places des Vosges, we headed for the Jewish Museum of Art and History. In certain ways it was similar to other Jewish museums, as it displayed artifacts from many holidays. But in other ways, it was completely different and added the importance of art into the mix, such as rare pieces from Chagall that portrayed Jewish subjects. We learned more about the long history of Jews in France ...

... we are missing out!), chocolate croissants, quiche, etc. Freaking awesome. The Louvre: a must for all first timers in Paris. It's a big place, and I'm a nerd, so we could get lost forever in there and only see a couple of rooms. Jenny suggested we do a "speed tour", which sounded stupid to me, but I sulkily agreed. When will I learn that my wife is brilliant? Ah, but she bears with me patiently as I slowly ...

... and damned loud but that's ok, they own the place. Had McDonald's again (again?!? No wonder I don't eat there anymore!). Just a Big Mac this time, and a chocolate crêpe as well (they have street vendors that make crêpes on the spot, with any topping you choose. That's where I discovered Nutella. Yum.) Very satisfying. Going walking again tomorrow, that's why we're crashing early tonight. Chris 9:12pm