Paris

My first trip to Europe (not including England) was Paris.  I mean, really, what can I say besides I’m in Love?  Most people I know have been to Paris, so I’m not going to say much more about it. And for those who haven’t, you must experience it for yourself.  What I will add is a little background, a list of the places I/we visited, and two highlights.

Dom had an OIE conference (World Organization for Animal Health – in French, not a direct translation) for 3 days at end of February.  For 1.5 days before and 2.5 days after, we enjoyed Paris together, and for the 3 days while he was working, I was spoiled and given the chance to enjoy more of it on my own.  Not in order of enjoyment I/we visited: Hotel des Invalides, Pantheon, Notre Dame, Palais du Luxembourg, Musee Rodin, Petit Palais, Louvre, Eiffle Tower, Musee d’Orsay, Chateau de Versailles, St. Germain des Pres, Cimentiere du Pere LaChaise, Arc de Triumphe, Basilique du Sacre-Couer, Hotel de Ville, Moulin Rouge. 

I sure was busy working Paris!  Especially on the day I decided to walk from Hotel des Invalides, near where our Hotel St. Dominique was located, to Cimetiere Du Pere LaChaise to see Jim Morrison’s grave.  None of the tourist maps I had have the distance key, but if I were to guesstimate using tiredness of legs, soreness of feet, and experience jogging 3 miles every day, I would say it was about 4-5 miles, in heels. But I knew what I was getting myself into, and Paris is the place to walk, and more importantly, Jim was worth it.  The highlight of that day was when I patiently waited 3 hours to eat my fresh deli sandwich in the cemetery on a bench surrounded by hungry black crows watching my every move.   Just like a bad girl “feeding the wildlife”, I placed a small piece of bread on each side of my bench to see who had the courage to jump up and get it.  The female won in the end.

Of course everything was amazing, but Moulin Rouge must be one of the top 5 best events in the world.  We bit our lips paying for it, but have no regrets.  Four- course meal, tasty and perfect, the service perfect, and the show extraordinary.  I won’t go on about the women’s and men’s perfect naked bodies or the talent and skill it must take to do their work, the detail of their costumes, and the side acts during costume breaks, like the juggler, vantriloquist, and contortionist couple that were the best I’ve ever seen, but for four hours of pure bliss, we had not one complaint. 

Thank you Dominic! Smooooooooooooch!