What makes a trip memorable?
Is it the destination?
The hotel?
The food?
Some crazy thing that happened?
How about all of the above?
The lucky confluence of a trade show,
enough air miles
and benevolent neighbors to watch the kids
allowed me the chance to see Paris for the first time...
And it was memorable...
First because of the destination...
I mean, if you can't have a good time in Paris,
you might as well stay put in Fargo and call it a day....
Tom left me to my own devices for two days
while he pounded the trade floor...
I found the Musee d'Orsay
for starters...
Such beauty, such huge paintings,
so many naked rubenesque beauties to admire...
Seurat, Van Gogh, Degas,
Gaugin to see up close....
It was a dream...
Navigating my way through the Metro, which was a little intimidating at first,
I found the Notre Dame...
Of course it was a sight to see, inside and out,
but the people watching was the real treat...
All sorts of people milled about...
There was some band of youngsters from Denmark
who were so cute...
That little kid looks like Ralphie
from "The Christmas Story",
don't you think?
They look so proud in their uniforms...
Why is it that some people like to attract pigeons,
otherwise known as flying rats?
Parents were giving kids food to feed the hoards of birds....
blech.
Then this toddler was feeding sparrows bread out of her hand....
It had a bit of a Hitchcock feel to it..... Sheesh!
Of course shopping, window shopping, that is,
was a must see and I walked for miles
to look at local shops as well as the famous retailers
along the Champs Elysees...
Over there are H&M, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, you name it,
along with throngs of tourists...
There was even Paris' version of the Jesse White Tumblers
performing on the street...
It was just like Michigan Avenue,
with more style and more smokers...
The best were the little shops on the side street,
like the boutique for ballerinas...
Look at that wall of toe shoes!
The tutus were so beautiful
and Kate's size cost about 80 Euros (apprx $110)...
So I looked, sighed and walked out...
I walked past champagne stores,
caviar stores, truffle shops,
the butcher, the pastry shop,
the multitudes of florists
and hundreds of chocolate shops...
Apparently, the French are into chocolate...
More about that later...
I mustered up the courage to make a few purchases;
gifts for those so kind to watch the kids...
Knowing not enough French (nil) caused me
to seize up in terror while waiting in line
at the C&A and buy a dress for Kate...
The cashier took pity on my panicked expression
as I waited for my debit card to approve...
Even though we called ahead to let the credit card company
know of our travels, those few seconds
while the computer decided my purchasing fate,
I could feel the sweat on my temples...
Apparently us Americans stand out...
Of course those embarrassing Yanks
who dress in white sneakers,
ill fitting jeans positioned high
and large cameras hanging from their necks
are a dead giveaway...
I tried to blend in, wearing black, a scarf and boots...
I drew the line at the unfiltered smokes,
but my fear and hesitation when asked to speak
was the clear ringer...
Around lunchtime, I stepped into a cafe
for a bite to eat, already trembling
about having to order food from a French waiter...
As I walked in, you would have thought
I was Eddie Murphy in the cowboy bar from "48 Hours."
I think I even heard the record player scratch...
I slunk into a corner table
and ordered water and a ham and cheese crepe...
The waitress was nice
and helped me through the ordering ordeal...
I quickly ate and slipped back into the masses...
Of course the best sight to see was the Eiffel Tower....
I purposely did not look for it until I was with Tom,
the next evening after his trade show.
We walked a side street, and then, BAM!
There it was, sparkling like diamonds...
Words cannot describe...
Tomorrow...Chocolates and Baguettes...
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