Paris thoughts...

the people:contrary to what i'd heard all my life, the french people were fine. we did witness any extrodinary rude behaviour. most people we dealt with were accomodating and pleasant. and i was super paranoid about that, it's very intimidating when everyone says "they hate americans". there was the usual odd a-hole, but not any more than usual. if you approach people with a smile, you usually get the same. i used whatever french language i know (very limited) and everything was cool.
in general, the women are very beautiful and the men very handsome....older people were as stylish as younger. it was great to sit and watch as people walked by about thier business. it was a positive expiriance all around.

our hotel room was so small, we had problems navigating around it unless some one was in bed. it was pretty funny to turn around and bump into each other. the bed was small, and the mattress worn, but housekeeping was good. the view out our window was a shaft, with a sliver of sky above. and it was up 2 flights of stairs, but we spent so little time there it really ws of no consequence.

oh yea, stairs....no one mentioned about all the stairs we came across. first of all we were in a very hilly neighborhood, we were always walking up some steep streets. then at the cathedral of sacre couer, there were hundreds of steps to reach the plaza...in the metro, when ever we changed lines, there were 6 to 10 staircase to climb or descend, stairs in the hotel and stairs in all the monuments if you want to go up to towers, domes, etc. stairs to the seine. just a lot of stairs, it was something we really noticed, especially in the metro. it was a running joke by the end of our trip.

the metro was great. very clean, and easy to navigate. the cars were smaller than what i'm used to, but ran much smoother on rubber wheels. they ran frequently, and there were signs in every station that let you know when the next 2 trains would arrive and they were accurate. you have to remember to open the door if your first to exit or enter, but they close automatically. no air conditioning in the trains, but lucky for us, it was never that hot. and like all subways, a good cross section of the citizens to see. and the sytem covers te whole city, very extensive. we were never more than 5-6 blocks away from a station.

it wasn't easy not drinking alcohol, in every cafe people were drinking wine. with lunch, dinner, after work...it all looked very tempting, especially if you, like me, love wine. gisi only had 2 glasses the time we were there, so that was helpful. but i made it through, and hey i'm still alive! (53 days!)

the boulangeries were awesome. fresh baguettes all day long, pastries of the highest quality, croissants that put all others to shame. wisely, they stick to what they do well...no bagels,or doughnuts, thankfully. there were several types of breads available, some with olives, cheese, lardon, chocholate, fruits, etc. all really good. i love the way they give you a baguette wrapped with a small paper in the niddle like a handle...no bags. people on the street or metro with thier baguettes on thier way home. usually they tear off a chunk as they walk . everyone eats breads, pastries...why so thin? must be all the stairs....

the french seem to be very nationalistic about thier cars. mostly peugots, renaults, citroens...some fiats, and mercedes... the citroens are great. check out the photos of the citroen showroom on the champs elysee...great design. a lot orf scooters, motobikes and motorcycles. not as many bikes as germany, but they are increasing daily. you can rent a bike on the street by the hour, via a automatic vending system. they just started installing these, and in tourist areas you can usually find tehm every few blocks...great idea. along with free public restrooms dotted around in strategic locations.

we were able to get to montmartre cemetary and pere lachaise...both very beautiful places. i did see jim morrisons grave at pere lachaise, and frecois truffauts in montmarte. we couldn't find adolph sax, the inventor of the saxaphone, or heinrich heine, a german poet. there are many famous or hisorically important people in both cemetaries, they are so beautiful and peaceful...a great place to walk for an hour or two.

next...the architecture and iconic monuments, the seine, aand more. going for a bike ride, get some breakfast...it's 7:15, i've been up since 5:30...