Ibis Bercy Expo Paris

... ate a feast. It really was great. We both set the goal of eating as much food as possible and gaining as much weight as possible while we're here!

So that was the first day. I suppose I neglected to mention the flight, but it was fairly uneventful and nothing really to tell except that it was 6.5 hours of Annie telling me everything was going to be ok.

Asleep by 11pm Paris.

All I can say is WOW! The Louvre alone is worth a trip to Paris. The exhibits are amazing, the building is so grand. We were able to view the Mona Lisa and other works by L. de Vinci, Venus de Milo, Coronation Crown of Louis XV, many Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities. We loved it so much that we are going back for a second look.

Attached are some photos documenting our visit to this amazing place. Enjoy!

... työpaikalla. Ensimmäisen viikon yritin ylläpitää jämptiä järjestystä työhuoneessani Monkin henkeen, mutta nyt olen jo vähitellen antanut periksi epäjärjestykselle. Järjestelmällisyys herätti kai lähinnä epäuskoisia katseita työtovereissani. Työaika pyörii siinä 45 tunnin tietämillä viikossa. Täkäläiseen tapaan kuuluu pitää pitkähkö lounastauko, jolloin töistä ei puhuta, vaan keskitytään oleelliseen eli syömiseen. Työpaikkaruokala on melkoinen keidas, jossa saa ...

... by whom. The place was enchanting. I was really moved by it. We stayed our second night with a guy named Marc who understands English better than the other guys. My French improved 10-fold while I was there. It was exciting to be able to understand better than I ever did in my 5 years of French in school! Like I said, the clubs are open until 6 so one night we didn't even go out until 1:30 and came back when they closed. I met some girls from London in that bar ...

... Antonie were fabulous and looked after us with much generosity. We felt very much at home. Our commiserations to Philippe over the sad loss of the French soccer game that night! Major drama at this point - got to the remote village to find M's backpack with EVERY photo from our trip on CD was MISSING!!! Plus lots of other good stuff. After a stressful night (for Michael mostly), I was very restrained and didn't kill him immediately, we returned to the tourist ...

Day 1 Our plane from Ireland arrived at Paris Beauvais, the furthest airport from the city, but also the cheapest to fly to. After taking a bus and the Metro to our hotel, getting lost once along the way, we arrived. Our hotel was located in the 5th Addirondismont. Paris is divided up into neighborhoods, each of which has a number. In the 5th are la Sorbonne (the university), the Latin Quarter and Notre Dame. After exploring the area we found ...

... settlement of the jewish population in Paris. Its all so yummy but alas, my favorite place closes just one day,alas, no spinach pastry for me. No matter, on my way back on rue de vieille du temple, I took a right on rue de sainte croix. Follow in my footsteps and you will find yourself at the best bargain clothing store. Imagine buying used clothing, fur coats, dresses in Paris! Its such a cool little spot and you will only find it ...

... Avenue Daumesnil to the Viaduc des Arts, a reclaimed railway viaduct with a mile of artisans shops set into the arches. Not just ordinary artists, no... The weaver who makes fabrics by hand for YSL, a leather embossing specialist (a passport holder? 130 euros, thank you,) a flute and a violin maker, a hand painted porcelain studio, gilded picture frames, antique lace and painting restorers ...

... the evening came to a close (much earlier than the last time I'd been to Riverside). The next day was my last in Paris. I had decided to spend it with my friend Pablo so, I dragged all my gear to Gare de Lyon, stowed it in a locker and back-tracked to the Musée Picasso. Without question, there were many terrific pieces there but, I think the show at the Albertina in Vienna had spoiled me. It all felt a bit confusing inside here. Often times it wasn't clear in which direction ...

... this is more like a boutique and it's quite expensive. Nevertheless Bryan exits with a military style shirt, possibly from the French Foreign Legion. By the time we arrive at the beautiful Place de Vosges http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Vosges/ in the heart of Le Marais, it is finally getting dark, and our feet are trying to point us towards our hotel. We wish we had more time to enjoy this lovely part of Paris, but we slog on ...