Bonjour Paris!

 

Let's get the bad stuff over first.  I know, how can anything bad happen in Paris.  Let's start with the room.  Apparently they regulate temperate with summer and winter and the heat and cool comes on automatically.  We are still on winter time so the room was unbearably hot.  All the people in the tour group had hot rooms, some brought fans but said it didn't help.  We opened windows which made it bearable to sleep in.  Thankfully, we didn't spend a lot of time in the room.  The refrigerator didn't work, however, some people in the group said they had no refrigerator at all.  Just a hole where the refrigerator was supposed to be.  However, if that's the worst that can happen on the trip, I will take it.  

I am extremely sore all over from all the walking, so the off day is my paradise.  Guess I should have gotten more in shape for this trip.

Now let's get to the good stuff.  On the way over, Benny, our tour director decided to teach us some French.  She said when you see someone in the shop or restaurant always greet them first, don't just start talking like in the US.  So our first word she taught us was Bonjour, which is hello.  We have used that word a lot.  Other words she taught us and we have used a lot: Au Revoir (good bye), Merci (thank you), Merci BeaCoup (thank you very much), S'il Vous Plait (please). 

I am loving the food here.  Of course, I am a foodie.  I have had Crepes, Croissants, and Macroons, which Bennie said was a must when here.  I get so stuffed every day.  I don't know how much weight I have gained but at least with all the walking it's helping me walk it off.  Bennie said there is a place with chocolate so thick you can eat it with a spoon.  I was determined at the beginning of the trip to go there but now I am so stuffed, I just don't think it's as important anymore. 

Interesting things I have learned.  In Versailles, they have public "toilets".  But you can only stay 10 minutes because water comes on and showers the whole thing inside and you would get soaked if you were still in there.  If sitting in a cafe and ready to leave, you must make eye contact and let them know or they will let you sit there all day.  They don't work for tips.  On the tour, we saw the tunnel where Diana had her accident and died. Coffee shops are only open for breakfast and lunch.  We were able to watch the runners in the Marathon.  At dinner we ordered french lemonade and french cola.  In one restaurant they had homemade cola.  Which tasted to me like regular cola.  But I don't drink cola a lot. In New York, it's a subway, in London it's the tube and in Paris it's the Metro. The traffic is crazy.  I think it might be worse than Nashville.  There are no lanes to stay in, just drive and first come, first serve.  I guess they are counting on the politeness of people.  I could never drive in this traffic.

Today is a free day and we are going to head down to a bakery later and eat lunch at a cafe. Tonight is a scenic cruise down the Seine River.  Then tomorrow it's to Italy we go.  I am already stuffed, how can I eat in the most eatable place in the world.  I gotta get my stomach ready for all the pizza and pasta!

Au Revoir