December 31

Brendan had to catch up on sleep after the night of partying with crazy Ginny & Sara. :)

We headed out around 2 PM and took the Metro to the base of the hill that leads up to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. The street was full of people and we stopped for a soda. We started up the many stairs to the basilica.

We were able to walk right in to see a mass in progress. A chorus of nuns were singing beautifully. We looked all around, then headed back down the hill. A group of men tried to stop us to give me some kind of bracelet, but we got by them. They were probably hustling for money...have to watch out for that sort of thing. We went into a really cute little design store, then kept walking back and shared a crepe with apricot jam. Yum! We walked by Moulin Rouge as well.

We headed back to the hotel and rested for a while. Somehow, we got a very late start on the evening. We went and ate a quick dinner at the corner bistro. I ordered lamb, and I think it would have been tasty, but I could barely eat it since my stomach was turned off to it. We quickly picked up some beer and vodka at the grocery, then jumped on the Metro to head to the Champs-Elysees. It was so late, we had to celebrate midnight on the Metro platform.

We exited the Concorde metro stop and the street was full of energy and tons of people. There were lots of novice fireworks being shot into the air. Almost everyone had a champagne bottle in hand. We headed up the street by the Grand Palais and continued by all the shops. Ginny & Sara really needed a pit stop, so we tried to get into a few clubs and bars, but they were all full. Eventually, we broke apart, and Brendan and I kept walking up to the Arc de Triomph.

From there, we hopped on the Metro and headed back to the hotel.

December 30

Not feeling too fabulous after last night's events, but we wanted to get out. Brendan and I had a little yogurt and a croissant on the road, then Metro'd to the Musee d'Orsay. We waited in a serpentine line outside for about an hour. I was feeling very weak, but we saw lots of fabulous stuff. I especially enjoyed level 5 which had Van Gogh, Monet, Seurat, Renoir and many more. The whole museum was really neat inside...naturally, it used to be a train station, but the way they converted it to a museum was very cool. There was a special exhibit of Maurice Denis which was interesting.

We got back, but I opted not to go to dinner, but just have some more yogurt. Brendan and the girls came back very late!

December 29

Feeling so much better today. We all decided to walk down to Île de la Cité to visit Cathedrale Notre-Dame. On the way, we passed Notre-Dame de Lorette and lots of shops and grcery stores. We stopped at a café and stood at the bar having a café-au-lait. Continuing on, we walked through Forum des Halles, where we saw the Bourse du Commerce dome & St. Eustache. Also, a big head.

We all stopped off for lunch at a little place that served gyros. We came to the island and got into a big line to go up Notre-Dame. We waited quite a while in the very cold weather when we realized they were only letting in 20 people every 10 minutes. It took about 2 1/2 hours and my feet were absolutely frozen! At least we had a nice view...

We walked up hundreds of stairs to the gargoyle level (the very top towers were closed) and we were rewarded with some great views of the city. We went into the belltower to see the largest bell on the cathedral.

We came back down and assumed we would be able to go right into the cahedral, but NO. We had to wait in another damn line for 30 minutes or so. Oh well, it was worth it when we got inside. Brendan and I got the audio tour which filled us in on some of the history, and also got us into the treaury which had lots of very ornate reliquaries & such on display. We lit a candle for a euro and put it with the thousands of others. Brendan also bought a couple rosaries.

From there, the group split up. Brendan and I tried to go to Sainte Chapelle, but it had just closed, so we walked over to the Musee Cluny instead (the museum is all about the Middle Ages). It was only open about 45 more minutes until 6 PM, but we decided to check it out. The museum had the collection of Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, which were gorgeous. There is a different panel for each of the senses...smell, sight, sound, touch, taste, and the final one is for something like the sense of faith. We also saw some of the original heads of the king statues off Notre-Dame, among other things.



We Metro'd back to the hotel and met up with Ginny & Sara to go get some dinner. We tried a couple of Zagat rated restaurants, but they we all full (apparently reservations were a must), so we ended up at a nice looking place displaying oysters on ice out front. We all had a couple bottles of wine and the prix fixe 3-course dinners. I went for duck terrine (feeling adventurous), salmon ravioli, and finely sliced pineapple with coconut sherbet for dessert. We were there probably 3 hours or so. My stomach started feeling pretty uncomfortable at the end of the meal, and we all headed back to the hotel. Poor me, I ended up throwing up my whole dinner. I have a hunch that the duck terrine did it...so much for being adventurous!

December 28

Came into Paris about 5:30 AM. Unfortunately, Brendan and I both had very upset stomachs...not sure if it was the airport food, or some sort of 24-hour bug. Very unpleasant at any rate. We all managed to get onto the Metro for the first train at 7:15 or so.
We transfered about 4 times to get to our stop, St. Georges in the 9th Arrondissement.

It was just about 8:30 when we got there, and naturally check-in was not until 2 PM. Brendan parked in a chair in the lobby, while Sara, Ginny, & I checked out a cafe on the corner of our street. We had the fixed price breakfast which was a croissant, some baguette, a yogurt, orange juice, and tea for 5€90. It was tasty, but I was so tired and sick to my stomach. I joined Brendan sitting in the lobby and napped in the chair. At around 11 AM, the hotel clerk helped us out by letting us into our room early, since Brendan had explained how alful he was feeling. (See the nice garden view?) We slept straight until 6:30 PM or so. That didn't really help us adjust to the right schedule, but it felt great. After awaking, we walked up to a phamacy in Pigalle and picked up some Maalox, then went to a quaint grocery for some yogurt and apples.

For dinner, we four all ventured out towards Pigalle again, and ate at a little place called La Pied de Montmartre. My stomach was still really churning, so I just ate a soupe d'oignon and some bread...very tasty! I opted to stay in the hotel room for the evening, while everyone else ventured across the street for a nightcap.

I was sad we didn't do any sightseeing, but at least by the end of the day, I was feeling much better and so was Brendan.

December 27

Today, we began our journey with a 3:30 PM flight directly from Atlanta to Charles de Gaulle in Paris. We left about 12 PM for the airport...since ATL and O'Hare are neck in neck for the busiest airport in the US, you have to allow lots of time. We saw Ginny and Sara just a bit ahead of us in the line when we started towards the desk to check-in. Unfortunately, Brendan and I both ended up have overweight bags, and it was just too difficult to transfer a bunch of stuff over, so we paid the $50. After the security line, which wasn't too bad, we got a bite to eat at the food court in the International Terminal E.

From there, we four went to exchange some dollars for euros. The flight was delayed about twenty minutes for a security sweep, then we boarded. We were on a 767 with 3 seats in the center and 2 on either side. Brendan and I sat in one of the 2 seat sections with Ginny and Sara in front of us. As we started across the ocean, we faced south and I could just see a sharks fin shape of the very bright moon on the horizon. We watched Little Miss Sunshine, which I had seen in the theatre, but was glad to see again, especially the dancing bit at the end. I was totally vainly attempting to work those moves at Halloween!

Anyhow, tried to nap as much as possible, but Brendan and I both started feeling pretty crappy when we were coming into Paris. The sky was very cloudy, so all we could see coming in was a dim glowing blotch where the city lay below.

What's new...

Well, yesterday I bought a new coat for the trip. It is grey wool blend, trench style, mid length. I am a dork, so I actually reseached as best I could on the internet and found out that trench styles are popular in Paris at this time.

Other than that, I have been trying to work on the French a bit, but my dedication level is low. Now I have some CDs in the car, so hopefully that will make me be better!

I've just been searching the web a lot for info about Paris...definitely excited!

Oh look what I just found...
Hard Rock Cafe Paris
14 Boulevard Montmartre
Paris 75009, France
I know, HRC, so lame, but we might just need a taste of America one night.

Another Good Article

Affordable Europe: Paris

By ELAINE SCIOLINO
Published: April 23, 2006

Now that the French government has withdrawn a disputed youth labor law, tourists can visit Paris without worrying too much about the disruption of massive protests and strikes. And no matter how expensive Paris can seem — especially with the weak dollar — there are endlessly creative ways to save money.

Where to Eat Cheaply

Around every corner is another bistro, where all day, every day, one can find good food, good wine and good value (for Paris, that is). A jewel, hidden in an unremarkable part of the 15th Arrondissement, is Le Troquet (21, rue François Bonvin; 33-1-45-66-89-00). Lively, Basque-inspired, sometimes smoke-filled, it has a 38-euro ($47, at $1.24 to the euro) six-course — yes, six-course — tasting menu that changes every week. One sample menu includes cream of cauliflower soup, vegetable barigoule with bacon and country ham, shellfish ravioli, confit of lamb shoulder, madeleines with a pot of vanilla cream, and macaroons with praline-dusted mousse and roasted banana. A three-course menu is 30 euros ($37), without wine. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Lodging for Under 100 Euros

Damp in winter, stuffy in summer, dark all year round. That pretty much describes the world of cut-rate hotel rooms in Paris. An exception is the 30-room New Orient Hotel at 16, rue de Constantinople in the heart of the Eighth Arrondissement (33-1-45-22-21-64; www.hotel-paris-orient.com). A 10-minute walk from the Parc Monceau, the antiques-filled hotel feels, well, very French. The rooms are small but comfortable and clean, and 16 have small balconies. Rates: 82 euros for a single room (with shower), 105 euros for a double (with full bath).

Best Deal on a Cultural Event

Museums in Paris are expensive. The two-, four- or six-day museum passes (38, 55 and 72 euros, respectively) make it less pricey — but only if a lot of museums can be crammed in. However, a number of Paris museums are free, including the newly restored Musée du Petit Palais. Just off the Champs-Elysées, the museum, with its sweeping staircases and collection of ancient sculptures, medieval tapestries and paintings, reopened last year after a five-year renovation. The garden of the Musée Rodin, which has many of his sculptures, costs only one euro (a visit to the museum's permanent collection is six euros).

Visitors who have had enough of museums can go to the free, half-hour haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion show on the seventh floor of the Galeries Lafayette department store every Friday at 3 p.m. Both men's and women's fashions are featured. Reservations are a must (33-1-42-82-30-25; www.galerieslafayette.com ). Le Printemps department store across the street offers a similar free fashion show on Tuesdays at 10 a.m.

Best Things to Do Free

Every Friday night at 10, traffic is stopped for a three-hour in-line skating run through the capital. The 12-mile trip starts and ends at the Place Raoul Dautry, in the 14th Arrondissement. A gentler run that starts and ends at the Place de la Bastille takes place on Sunday afternoons. For the itineraries and more information, see www.pari-roller.com for Friday and www.rollers-coquillages.org for Sunday.

Best Money-Saving Tip

The cheapest way to see Paris is with a one-hour one-way ride on the No. 69 public bus (1.40 euros). The bus starts and ends at two tourist destinations — the Eiffel Tower in the west (at the Avenue Joseph Bouvard) and Père Lachaise Cemetery in the east. Along the eastward route, the bus passes Les Invalides, the Seine, the Louvre, the Hôtel de Ville, the Marais, the Place de la Bastille. And you mingle with French people, not tourists.