My Travels - Paris (2006)

Paris. The City of Lights. The City of Love.

Notre Dame by the Seine:

Place Vendome:
The Louvre:

Champs-Elysees at night:

The Tour Eiffel at twilight:

Paris. Exactly as advertised!

(For more photos, check my Photo Blog)

As for the Un-advertised...

Yeah...they eat French bread. They really do.

People line up for the main Louis Vuitton store at the Champs-Elysees. Just like for museums. Damn keyboards! They're AZERTY, not QWERTY. Apparently, after 9/11 American protests of everything French, all new keyboards were changed in France. Messes the brain.

But there are "French" fries! In numerous Pomme de Pain sandwich bistros around the city, you can order "French" fries. In Leon de Bruxxells restaurants, there are "French" fries. Unlimited, with a bucket of mussells. Available with Heinz.

Place Vendome--wide square plaza lined with the Ritz and expensive shops---biggest plaza I've seen without pigeons.

There is no Bastille prison to see. Nope. Move on.

There can't be any new construction more than 4 stories high around the Eiffel tower as it needs to stay prominent in the Paris skyline. It is the skyline!

From the Orsay Museum...I present to you...Cosmo Kramer, Sr.

Also learned that Polo was in vogue in the 18th century:

From the Louvre...the Venus de Milo is taller than me. Contrary to what I thought.

The Mona Lisa is smaller than you think.

There is a Da Vinci Code tour at the Louvre. From the tour guides' experiences, American tourists give us a bad name. THE BOOK ISN'T REAL! Please...if you go, don't ever ask "Is this where the curator died?" or "How do you secure Mary Magdalene's sarcophagus now that everyone knows where it is?" Sounds smart. But...really.(Disclaimer: I don't like Dan Brown and his writing style. Brain drain).

And one more from the museum...the Eqyptians apparently inspired The Jetsons:

All the 'hoods I've gone to, I didn't see a gas station. Champs-Elysees. Notre-Dame. Tour Eiffel. Champ de Mars. Trocadero. Ecole Militaire. Les Invalides. Arc de Triomphe. Opera Garnier. Louvre. Musee d'Orsay. Quay d'Orsay. Madeliene. Place Vendome. St. Honore. Place de la Concorde. Tuileries Garden. Pompidou Center. St. Germain, Latin Quarter. Moulin Rouge. Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.

The French love crepes.

Know who else loves crepes? Tom-Kat (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, for the un-initiated). Check them out kissing and lining for the French taco:

In Paris, NBA star Tony Parker is huge.

You know who else is huge? Steven Segal. Hmm...