Breakfast of Champions

We dedicated our entire day to shopping. Highlights included Galeries Lafayette and Dehillerin. It was a good thing I had such a wholesome breakfast. It rained today, but no one messes up their ensemble by wearing a hood or a hat here...strictly umbrellas or nothing at all. This is our last night at the Westin and we were invited to a big party they are having here to celebrate the relaunch of The Westin Paris. The dress code = chic...I'm a lot of things, but "chic" isn't one of them so I decided to pass. Tomorrow we move to the George V!

Centre Georges Pompidou

Architecturally speaking, France's museum of modern art is one of the most interesting buildings I have ever seen! The designers' idea was to turn the building "inside out". It is truly unique in every way. I think I read the building inspired a Nike shoe. You might have to Google that... We also hit Sacre Coeur and the artsy Montmartre district. The views were breathtaking from winding streets of this "bohemian" community. We finished the night off at Harry's New York Bar which was supposedly a legendary watering hole for F Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. All I can say is that we had some great Whiskey!

The view from my room

It's pretty quiet on Sunday in the city of light. None of the shops or stores were open, so we spent most of the day wandering around the banks of the Seine, the Jardin des Tuileries, and Champs-Elysees. There is a scam that people run in the parks where they pretend they found a lost wedding ring, offer it to you, then ask for money. It's the most elaborate panhandling scheme I have ever seen, but it definitely catches people off guard. I've decided croque monsieurs were put on this earth especially for me. Jet lag is setting in...Au revoir

There are 2 types of people in the world

The people who like black licorice and the people who don't...its one of those clubs that you are either in or not, there is no gray area. I love the black licorice! You are either with me or you are against me. Sambuca is the same in Vancouver as it is anywhere- delicious, smooth, cold, puts its ugly step sister Jagermeister to shame! Go black licorice!

I have some work to do!

Clearly I have some work to do. 4% is pretty weak but I have some travel ideas in the hopper. I'm definitely thinking Asia is in my future, perhaps 2009. Currently I'm taking French in anticipation for my Paris trip this fall. Au revoir!

Opfuchueche

That is Swiss/German for apple flan. It was homemade by my stepmom's mother who is very Swiss...it was delicious! We made it back to England from Nice in one piece. My brother filled out his immigration card with his place of birth as "USA #1 !" and coincidentally the immigration officer totally messed with us. It sucked! Johnny claims his paperwork had nothing to do with the pissy attitude we got, but I kind of doubt it. We had dinner at The Raj, a tandoori restaurant. It was the best Indian food I have EVER had! The curry was amazing, and all of the other dishes had a "healthy" option which just meant that they added tons of garlic. I feel sorry for the people sitting next to us on the plane tomorrow!

Monaco

We decided to take the train to Monaco for lunch today. Its a unique place where if your car is worth less than 100k you are a total loser. The casinos in Monte-Carlo are surreal! The whole place is 1 1/4 square miles, the smallest state in europe after the Vatican. We headed back to Nice to join the locals for more soccer. The Spain vs. Russia match was pretty uneventful, but I was cheering for Spain and they killed it! I was able to scream "GOAL!" so the night was a success. I think its over...I'm turning into a "football" fan.