Hotel Odeon Paris

... window about which the ladies didn’t know , and the former Comédie française just across the street where Molière used to perform with the king’s players during the reign of Louis XIV. I suppose we seemed like colorful characters to the ladies, they seemed interested, so we chatted off an on with them until they finished dinner and left.

The walk back to my hotel was a delight. It was a pleasant Parisian summer night: warm ...

... of money I'm not prepared to disclose for what I was certain would be a terrible portrait is unclear. I think it has a lot to do with being unable to say no to my brother. This is sort of a lifelong problem for me, and has been since the requests were things like, "don't you want to give me your ice-cream, Willa?" Which was, in retrospect, pretty easy on the system compared to "yes, I know you only slept five hours last night, and have to get up ...

... staircase depicts the age of the hotel. Set just a half block from the Seine where you can watch the parade of people into Notre Dame or catch a water bus for sightseeing. Bookstores abound in this area as well as fine eateries - just about any food - for any budget. We stayed here for a week and took day trips in every direction.

... and have been rewarded with discovering some truly great things, and also avoiding to some extent the hordes of tourists that are still plaguing Paris even in Sept. One of the slightly unusual things we had planned to do while in Paris was to take a stroll along the Promenade Plantee. It is an unused elevated railway line which has been converted into a walkway surrounded by trees. It is quite unusual for Paris as this city has a distinct lack of ...

... with two girls, one from Melbourne, the other living in Brighton, England. Was nice to have the company and someone to share dinners with. The food in France has been good and I haven't had a bad glass of wine. However, as expected, it is VERY expensive, especially in Paris. A trip to the Eiffel Tower by night was just amazing. It is lit and every hour on the hour there is a light show during which the entire structure comes alive with dazzling blinking lights. We went to the highest ...

... were slightly taken aback by the size. Europeans have a much different outlook on size then Americans do. Our room was the size of a small closet, and the rest of the room was probably the size of a large walk-in closet. We were just fine with it...considering we were students...with little money..backpacking across Paris...but there is no way my family of six could have stayed there! After freshening up...what decided to become offical "tourists" and go and see all of the sights. Our ...

... when we wouldn't have to wait. I took lots of photos, and we had one taken of us together by a gracious American tourist. We then took the metro to Trocadero Square and when we exited the station and came above ground we had yet another excellent, but unexpected, view of the Eiffel Tower which was just breathtaking! Crossing the busy street we opted to sit down at one of the sidewalk cafes to enjoy our now routine afternoon ...

... chicken with a mushroom and mustard sauce served on a bed of rice grace à Grace, and au gratin potatoes à la Josh, complete with salad, cheese, bread, wine, and several tarts. Dinner went on from 8pm until midnight - a sign of it's delicious decadence. Earlier on Sunday Sonia, Grace, and I went to la Marais, the 'jewish' quarter of Paris to eat world famous falafel at L'As du Falafel, a restaurant that is cited by Lenny Kravitz as the best falafel in the world. It ...

... Da Vinci Code" audioguide and listen to about 20 different artworks that appear in the book. The regular audioguide rental, btw, costs 4 euro. Now I have to read the book again. I don't remember anything, since it's a ****** book, but now I'm curious! Well. Now to the Mona Lisa, AKA La Gioconda. For me it's a very pesonal experience. She is not the most beautiful woman in the world. But she's there not for her outer beauty. I can just say that she makes ...

... was short lived. But Steve and Missy were nice enough to treat us to drinks and shots around the table until 4am until we finally made it to the club dance floor. Since the club closed at five, we got in free instead of for 20 euros a head. Let me tell you that this club experience was my first in Franc and probably the last. Now granted, I have been to clubs before and know how it gets down, but these guys were DIRTY. Thank god for Steve, because I was peeled on like white ...