Paris Orly Airport Hilton

... have to wonder how this museum was founded. Was it something like this? I like to think so :)

'hey, Jean-Claude, you know that thar ol' railway station what's sitting empty?'
'oui oui, Pierre, what about it?'
'well, last night, I had this CRAZY idea, you'll never believe it...what's say we get a bunch of paintings from some of the biggest names in western art, and stick 'em in there and then charge admission?'
'oh, quelle bonne idee, Pierre ...

... does me old mate. The Apartment is on level 4 and the complex is a 6 story abode. Serge and his wife seemed nice people - very French and spoke great English - thank Christ. Serge has a French moustache and was a short bloke - a little on the eccentric side and was middle aged. He also owns an apartment in Rome - so I think he's doin OK. We settled the bill and agreed any damages - 'we ave a gentleman's agreement Monsier We!' We agreed earlier not to have ...

... probably one of the most beautiful ones we have been to. After that we navigated to the Pompidou Center, a well known modern art gallery. It is quite interesting because all the "guts" of the building are located on the outside, making the inside full of clean lines. From there, we spent ages looking for a tea room supposedly located ...

... counter.    Next stop was across the street to the Musee National de Moyen Age aka the Cluny. At the ticket purchase area, I made a GTD to buy a museum pass (which turned out to be a really bad idea - more on that later). While most people come to the Cluny to view the famous Lady With the Unicorn tapestries, I enjoyed the decapitated ...

... guys on the corner of our street, we ended up chatting with them over several large glasses of red doing a very enthusiastic job as ambassadors for Australian wine, although by that time in the evening we were having trouble remembering the winery names. We swapped email addresses and they kindly emailed some bars and restaurants in Marrakech - our next stop and we are going to email the names of the Australian wines we were raving about! When we remember them.

... lots of money as they purchase their designer items. The highlight was the 8th floor...outside, few people and incredible views of the city on the cold, cloudy day. We finally see the Eiffel Tower from afar...and catch a great view of the Opera Garnier. We leave the Galleries and head to Fauchon - Dave's kinda' shopping...gourmet foods, condiments, breads, you name it -they got it ...

Well, here goes!! Hopefully, I'm doing this right and you'll all know I've arrived safely after 33hrs travelling. It seemed an incredibly long time. Dubai Airport was unbelievable. I definitely felt like I was on the other side of the world! It's very foggy in Paris today but a warm 26 ...

... happened to sit next to a nice older couple and it turned out they were from Carlsbad, CA (which is also in San Diego county, our home). After lunch, our group got on a very crowded City bus and went to the Louvre. A local tour guide showed us the highlights (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, etc.) but it was very crowded and only a two hour tour. After the tour, everyone was on their ...

... works. I'm a Philistine and rather ashamed of the fact, but I'm afraid I could only look at so many paintings of flowers in vases or people sitting at tables Whistler's Mother was still there, though in a different spot. I reckon Whistler had her stuffed so that he could paint her sitting in her rocking chair. Even my more sophisticated wife found the gallery stifling and, after a few hours, suggested that we leave. I was somewhat less than ...

August 10th - Paris

This laptop idea finally seems like a good one. I am currently sat in our room on the third floor of a hotel in Paris' 11th Arrondisement. Michelle is stood at the open window watching a near-riot situation unfold between a group of young men, the police and some refuse collectors. It all began a couple of hours ago when the men started to race a motorbike up and down the road below, much to the annoyance of some of the local residents. Then suddenly the ...