“Les poissons, les poissons, How I love les poissons!”
-Les Poissons, The Little Mermaid (one of the few French songs I could think of, not counting the Maurice Chevalier songs). On an amusing note, my spell check keeps changing it to “les poisons” which would make for an entirely different song indeed.

Okay, I am back from my Parisian odyssey. I’m going to try and give a day by day account here with pictures. But in summary to answer all your questions: Coldplay concert was great, didn’t meet the band because everything that was connected to the contest was so unorganized (see how I almost got charged $1230 Cdn for 3 nights in a hotel!) but everything else was great. Saw the major sites, got bored of Paris and went to London for the day, and our flight was delayed by a strike at Charles de Gaulle! Fun!

And close friends and acquaintances, you soon will be getting postcards. Ottawa and friends in other provinces, you’ll get yours sometime next week when I remember to write them and buy stamps. To my Spanish and Japanese inhibitors, yours will arrive in a few months probably, what with the excellent postal service (not the band, although they too are excellent in their own non-mail delivering way). Toronto friends, I’ll probably just see you and hand deliver the postcard to save the 50 cent stamp (by which I do not mean a stamp depicting our notorious friend 50 Cent). Either way, you’ll all know the details way before the snail mail arrives. And roommates, you get nothing, but to welcome me back into the household, thus relinquishing any rights to the DVD player you assumed in my absence.

So lets start with Saturday, November 26th & Sunday, November 29th.

Rusty and I left Toronto on the red eye (no, it wasn’t as fun as the movie) and to my extreme horror, the entertainment system was broken which meant no movies, and not even any music. Doubly bad was that the movie was to be Batman Begins. This is what sleeping pills were invented for. At least I had a book (Mondo Desperado by Patrick McCabe) and a Vogue (I only read them on planes) and Entertainment Weekly to read.

We arrived Sunday and took a cab to the Sofitel Paris Bercy, way the Hell out of the centre of Paris. Okay, not really, but it feels that way since the last time I was in Paris my Mom and I stayed right by the Opera Garnier, this was a 5 min metro ride or 30 minute walk to Notre Dame (love the way some people pronounce it- No-ter as in to notarize, but not quite neuter, and Dame, as in Edna, or Judi Dench).

We made the commonly fatal error of taking a “nap” which lasted 5 hours. Damn jetlag.

We walked along through an area near the hotel (and next to a giant cinema that with giant advertising for Harry Potter et la Coupe de Feu which started there last week) called Bercy Village which is an area of restaurants and shops that are in converted wine cellars. Very nice- not for tourists, but for the locals. We ate at this bizarre restaurant that was trying to be a Southern US Texan type place complete with old country music playing and other ridiculous things.

From there we walked along the Seine River to the St. Germain des pres area and to Ile de la Cite where Notre Dame and Ste. Chapelle are.

The Catholic in me decided to go into Notre Dame and walk around.

There was a nativity scene set up for Christmas with some amusing donkeys. At least, they amused me. Unfortunately, no pictures of the nativity or of the donkeys. Nor of the wisemen.

And no one yelled at me like the man did when I went into San Marco in Venice. I still don't know what that was about because it was in Italian. I think it was about my flip flops or something.

We walked from Notre Dame over to the Louvre and Rue de Rivoli to take a look at the Louvre pyramid at night and a view down the Tuleries garden to Place de la Concorde, the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe.

I love the Louvre and it's pyramid, designed by I.M. PEI ("You know I.M. Pei? I. M. Impressed."= randomly appropriate Simpsons quote o' the day, even more so because it's the episode where Lisa walks into the French class and they have to laugh "en francais." And, "La grenouille mange le pamplemousse." So off-topic now)

And I saw some cats that looked like my Tony, but they were French. We took the metro back to the hotel, and like and 90 year old woman, I went to bed at 9pm.


Off topic on things that are going on around here today: I’m so busy. That’s what I get for leaving for a week.

Caro saw U2 and the Arcade Fire in Montreal last Monday, and was right up against the outer ellipse (I know some of you know what I’m talking about). I’m waiting for her pictures. Hopefully they are better than my “Bono” picture from the Breakfast on Pluto premiere which is really just of the ceiling. She was on the Edge’s side, but Adam Clayton came over to her side and she touched him! She also confirmed his handsomeness up close. And her friend met who he thought was the faux Bono but turned out to really be Bono when he saw news clips of happenings after the concert.

OVERRATED: Les poissons
UNDERRATED: Les poisons

Tomorrow : Monday, or the day we went to the Eiffel Tower and ate hotdogs in a cup of French fries! Even worse than it sounds!