Paris

Absolutely lovely.  I could definitely see myself living there for some time.  My goals are to take language classes in french, italian, and german.  Possibly others too but those are the biggies for me.  Wow, where to begin with Paris.  I can not believe I just spent four days there and each day was jam packed.

Here is some terrible advice that works really well-  the lines of people to museums can be a 30 minute wait and up and also cost about $15 dollars each.  So learn how to save money and time... I would walk to the front of the line and playing dumb, ask if that was the line for the museum.  Then like a true tourist- Id turn around  and smile as if John were taking a picture of me.   --Come on people, why would we want a picture in front of a line???-- so then I subtly turn around and merge in behind the people I just talked to.  The funny part is most of the time they do not speak english so they just stair at you, but the people that you just cut in line also do not speak english so they may think you just said hi to your friends that were saving your spot in line.  Then John steps in behind me and playing dumb, asks if this is the right museum also.  Then 5-10 minutes later we are supposed to pay for our tickets.  I pull out my british accent I got in London because anyone from the UK gets into museums free, but US has to pay.  They will ask to see ID or passport and simultaniously John and I look at each other with our professional baby faces and slop our shoulders.  We explain how we were told to not keep our ID or passport on us, then with sympathy they usually give us free tickets.  Only once did they reject us.  --Thanks dad for teaching me some of your little tricks. -- Another way to get in is when a guard is scanning the tickets, blend in with a big family and do not make eye contact as if you are a busy person.  I "blended in" with a Chinese family one time to get into a museum!  It was more of a hilarious thrill than anything.

By day two in Paris, we got too excited by thinking we were pros at the metro system from getting around london fine.  That night we ate our words... or should I say until 3am.  Everything takes much more time than you expect, 3 hours in the Eiffel Tower, 3 hours in the Louve, etc.  The unfortunate scene is that the underground trains stop running about midnight.  Then you are left to the buses that can be confusing along with a whole bunch of drunk peoples advice.  We got directions from a sober group of people (I think) and about 3 buses and an hour later we were out of Paris and in the middle of ghetto nowhere.  We walked up and down so many streets, claiming that every next one looked familiar... every street looks the same.  Keeping an eye on our backside, at one point we got freaked out from a guy that could have been following us and had the wonderful opportunity to run for our lives through the streets of France.  With my tazer in one hand and heavy purse in the other, there aint no stoppin me now.  Finally we met a wonderful couple riding bikes about 3 am that told us we were in a completely different town.  We safely got to the hotel by taxi. 

Paris is incredible because it does not get dark until 1030-11pm and by midnight it is still a completely happening city.  There were still so many people out eating, walking and shopping, or taking pictures of the most known post card images in the world. 

The Eiffel Tower is breath taking!  Incredible incredible incredible!  We rode an elevator to the top.  A fun fact is that Mr. Eiffel made a small apartment for his daughter at the top and there were wax figures of them meeting with Thomas Eddison to show him the eiffel tower building.