Memoirs of a would-be-Parisian, vol. 1

Yes, Michaelangelo, that is the Mona Lisa.

I was in Paris for the second time in early May. After surviving the annual conference I coordinate, I headed to the City of Lights for four days of additional conference planning with our French office. The following post (and don’t forget to check back tomorrow for part deux) is my memoir of that whirlwind of a trip…


Bonjour et greetings from La France.

Je suis tres fatigue and my French sucks. I think I just said I’m very tired. Who knows! They speak so fast it’s ridiculous and I am an idiot with my meager attempts to assimilate to the language.

The biggest museum in the freaking world.

Anyway…went to the Louvre yesterday and boy oh boy is that museum huge. I hated it. It took me almost 2 hours just to find the Mona Lisa and then I found myself just trying to get back to the main entrance area and somehow ended up in the furthest part away from it that I could be. I had to go out, and literally like ½ mile to get back in through the pyramid. It was freaking ridiculous. It was a maze. Not AMAZING…a MAZE. ARGH! After my 6 mile walk at the Louvre I went to the Champs Elysees. Why? Don’t know because it’s like 2 miles long. Where I came out in Metro was not exactly “Champs Elysees.” It was at Charles de Gaulle Etoile, I think—which has to be the furthest point from wherever I wanted to be on the CE. So I walked up one side (2 miles, I’m sure) went to Arc de Triumphe, and walked back (another 2 miles). It was cool to go there—because I’m sure if you’ve watched CNN as much as I have in the last 24 hours you are aware that yesterday was the 60th anniversary of VE Day in Europe. CNN is really exciting when you’ve watched it, almost continuously for as long as I have. I’ve seen every story about 19 times. Funny thing is I haven’t really been in my room a lot, from my various 15 mile walks.

A few other points of interest: 1) Room is no bigger than my closet. And while that is a good size, it makes for an interesting living space. 2) You can see the top of the Eiffel Tower from my room which is cool. 3) Dining alone in Paris is not as glamorous as it should be. It really should be something more spectacular than it is. I went to a café last night and it was uneventful. I sat, by myself, and stared at this family eating dinner. Luckily, I did not order raw meat this time. It was actually cooked and quite good. (On my first trip to Paris I ordered something that sounded familiar, big mistake...it was raw) 4) I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again because I’m in France and by golly, I can. I love this country because French fries come with everything.

Au revoir et a bientot,
N