A Paris Affair

There is more to this posting than just Paris- but that is where I will start. JP and I planned a trip way back in August for a quick Paris getaway this last weekend- and I can't believe it has come and gone. The last time we were in Paris we spent a very quick 24 hours on the back end of a trip to France and packed in all the big sights. Our purpose in returning (which, we try not to do since there is so much to see) was to just slow it down and be romantic and enjoy the experience of being there versus rushing from sight to sight. We did it the right way this time, nice long dinners, crepes and wine and cheese, fun sights but also with some rest in between. We chose a fun neighborhood yesterday to wander around- Monmarte- home of the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried, the cafe where Amelie worked in (great movie by the way) and Moulin Rouge. It was a really fun hood- lots of galleries and street vendors and kitshy shops. We took in a nice french romantic dinner at Le Tavestin http://www.letastevin-paris.com/ where I tried escargot (yum) and we had great steaks and delicious desserts.

I love France, and I love Paris. However, it is the only place where JP and I have felt 1. unsafe (i'll explain) and 2. the need to be a little vigilant against taxi drivers out to rip off tourists. Of all the trips and cities- Paris is the only place we've been approached and pursued by people hoping to rob us, and the only city where we've had to get out of taxi's due to meter problems. On Saturday while walking to the subway a group of guys approached us talking very fast and pulling at us and we had to look down and walk fast to get out of their way. It is a pretty common ploy I guess to distract tourists while stealing from them. Only, this happened to us on our first trip. We don't think we walk around looking like targets- but either way we thought for how gorgeous and fun Paris is- it definitely has it's drawbacks.

Drawback number 2? Oh yeah- 26 euro for ONE drink at our hotel bar. I guess on Sat. nights at the Le Meridian hotel bar they price their drinks accordingly: 26 euro for your first drink (ANY drink- fruit juice, water, whiskey, wine) and 12 euro for each subsequent drink. Imagine our surprise, we come back from a great dinner, it is sub-zero outside (it snowed on our way out of town, it was freezing) and we decided- hey, let's have a few at the hotel bar before going to bed... only to sit down and glance at the menu and be suitably SHOCKED by the prospect of paying 75 euro for 2 rounds. Give me a friggin break. Thankfully we looked- often at a hotel bar we'll just order a couple glasses of wine or beer and let that be. We retired early to watch some french TV and marvel at the audacity of a sub-par hotel bar for charging such prices. Oh, and BTW- the bar was pretty packed. Ridiculous. Am I a cheapo? Must be.

Enough bitching though- I'll put some pics up and show you what we saw, it was a great little getaway on our favorite mode of transportation- the Eurostar.

In the last couple weeks we also saw Dave & Ariel come and go and had a little overnight jaunt to the English countryside and saw the Cotswolds. Let me just say that we really enjoyed having the Gutierrez's visit- any friend from home is always a nice welcome break from the norm. Additionally, the Cotswolds and countryside is just gorgeous. We rented a car and JP drove us all around to various little villages and we stopped in pubs along the way. Very typical too- good food, fireplaces, friendly people. We stayed at a cute little inn over a pub/restaurant called The Kings Head http://thekingsheadinn.net/ and enjoyed a great dinner and played cards and drank with some locals. I highly recommend a trip out there, I would have liked to stay one more night . Of all the trips we've taken, it ranks high up there as one of the highlights.

As all of our US friends are getting ready for Thanksgiving- we expats are preparing for a feast of our own. We will be cooking a big dinner next Saturday to celebrate the best holiday of the year. No friends, we don't get Thanksgiving off here in England (and yes, we are asked that question from our friends and family) but we'll make up for it suitably with a turkey bowl and 20 expats gathering in a small flat to give thanks, eat turkey and drink beer.

Finally, the final immediate family member left in our small circle is making her way across the pond- Mandi lands on Tuesday! I'm beside myself in anticipation- both because we don't get to spend a lot of one on one time with Mandi, and also because I gave her a list of things to bring me the size of a short blog posting (I don't know how to do short blog postings, sorry!). She also knows how to cook a turkey, which is better than the other 19 of us Americans who are eating together next Sat. night. On the agenda for Mandi is the normal guest circuit along with a day trip on Friday to somewhere close and also the Jack the Ripper tour which we still haven't done and are looking forward to. With each of our guests we try to plan /organize something unique- whether it be oysters or a side trip or a play, with Mandi it is Jack the Ripper.

Well, since JP just asked me in his exasperated way- "are you still doing your blog posting??" I'll leave it here. As November is almost over, I must admit that I'm getting extremely anxious/excited/sad/happy about the coming 4-5 months. I can't believe our time here is almost over. I am just not ready to go home at the same time as being ready to get back to the sun and our friends/family. How can that be? I'll leave you all (my remaining 4 readers) with that thought.

Until next time, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'm grateful for so much- mostly for those of you who read this to the end. :)