Dinner at Le Secret

Lisa's birthday celebration dinner.

High School French

My investment in high school French has experienced a negative annual growth rate. But it still has enough value to be handy while traveling around Paris. The investment was worthwhile.

John laughs at me as I flip-flop between French, Spanish, and English. The locals are not as easily amused, but are tolerant.

Both John and Jason are picking up a little French. They are having a wonderful time. I don't think I would have been as appreciative of the experience at their age, as they are.

Jet Lag Kicks Our Butts

We thought we had avoided jet lag. Wrong. Went to sleep at 10:30 Monday night. Woke up 1:30 Tuesday afternoon. The steady rain made sleeping way too easy.

Made the best of a short day. Did a trial run to the Catacombs of Paris, on the subway. Turns out the subways are pretty easy to navigate.

Went to the top floor(56) of the tallest building in Paris. Great view; higher than the Eiffel Tower, and much easier to get to.

Back at our apartment and the rain has stopped.

Tomorrow it's the Catacombs and the d'Orsay, if we wake up.

We are having a blast.

Bicycle Tour

Today we took a bicycle tour of Paris. We saw a lot of the hidden areas of Paris and picked up some history. We walked down and back to the bicycle tour area; maybe 2.5 miles each way.

We also walked through the Notre Dame Cathedral.

First Day in Paris

The first day in Paris was short; mainly devoted to getting from the airport, to our apartment, and walking around a bit.

While the rest of my party tried to catch up on some of their lost sleep, I walked further down the Champs Élysées. That avenue is very busy on a Sunday afternoon. But if you walk just 100 feet off the street, everything slows down. It's like you're passing through a threshold of solitude.

My initial impression of Paris is that it is a very interesting city. I like it better than New York City. There seems to be a lot more to explore, and I think it's more beautiful.

Tomorrow is Lisa's birthday, and we're taking a bicycling tour of Paris.

The one place that the most people recommended we see, is the Catacombs of Paris. I am not convinced I even want to see it, let alone devoting a good part of the day to it. any suggestions?

Not So Quiet After All

In our little neighborhood, it's quiet. Two blocks over, on Champs Élysées, it's very busy. We're now back, snoozing.

Made it to Paris

The plane trip wasn't too bad. We arrived in Paris at 9:00am Sunday. We are now in our apartment, ready for the adventure to continue.



It is completely quiet on Sunday, in Paris. No stores or restaurants open, except one drug store.

Leaving San Diego

American Airlines can obviously spot riff-raff. They put us in the very last row.



The tensions are already beginning to subside.

Lost My TSA Virginity

At least I was in the company of my family. We actually made it through check in and security with little hassle, except for the previously alluded to foray.

We are on our way to Paris; landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport at 10:00 Sunday morning.


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Paris in Two Weeks

In two weeks we'll be in Paris; starting a four week trip to France and Italy.
Are we going to have fun? Yes.
Are we going to return? Yes.


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