Monthly Archives: January 2010

Dear Rick Steves: You have been much maligned in this blog in the past (mostly by Andy but I usually agreed with him) but in your Paris guide book you seem to have gotten it right. I found your suggestion to head to the Marais for shopping on Sunday to be right on the money. […]

I am waiting at the airport, I am waiting at the airport, I am waiting at the airport. The first security check happens when you get in line to check in. For some reason these people decide to ignore me so I ignore them. Then when I get to the counter to check in a ruckus […]

I have posted some photos from today which, while not great, are fairly interesting to look at. Next time I go away I will be bringing a photographer with me!

It is 11:30 which is way past my bed time, but I just wanted to say a couple of things. First, last night on my way home from the ballet I bought a crepe and tried to eat it while walking. I ended up throwing most of it away because it was very difficult to […]

I spent all day looking at churches and shopping, two of my favorite things! Repetto make point shoes and apparently regular shoes for the people who live in France. It seemed like a shame not to support their efforts, so I may have been forced to buy a pair of red, patent leather pumps! I assure […]

The ballet company that I went to see tonight performs works by Maurice Bejart who I have heard of before, but know nothing about. I suspected that it would be more interpretive than classical and I was right. There were four unrelated pieces comprising the show. The first piece was fairly easy to understand: two girls […]

First thing today I sent off walking to the Opera Garnier (the Phantom’s Opera) to see if I could get tickets for the ballet. It is a very long way and it is very cold, but I digress. My walk took me past Cartier so I went in to have my ring cleaned because you might […]

I wasn’t planning on starving to death while I was here but I was very intimidated to go into a brasserie with its stereotypical waiters and French menu. There is a promising place in the block next to my hotel but I couldn’t quite bring myself to go inside. I walked a couple of blocks […]

There are two platforms together at the airport train station for the trains to Paris. Everyone is waiting at platform 1 because the sign says that the train is due. After about five minutes of waiting a train comes at platform 2 so everyone gets on that train including me, but then the train just sits there […]