I'm the "Super American!"... day 4

We are a rollin'! We are hot! We have this city DOWN! We know the metro like we were born on it! We wake up early, Mabelle and I wanted to check some stuff out that Emma had already seen. So we went and checked out the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower...minus the strong willed vendors (we saw a cute gaggle of little kids going on a field trip to the tower...very cute!)... Then we went on the hunt for the only scrapbook store in Paris and wouldn't you know it, I left the address in the hotel. Damn it. We couldn't find it from memory so we head back to the Louvre to do more shopping. then picked Emma up and went over to the Latin Quarter. We had breakfast from the supposed "best bakery in Paris", but my quiche was not noteworthy. Regardless, we had our breakfast and walked around, looking at the cute shops. Once we were spent there... we decided to go find the scrapbook store. This time I had the address. We found it and it was surprisingly huge. Most of the stuff in it was stuff you could get in the states, but I did manage to buy a few little stamps that were French.
Once we blew our nut there, we went back toward the hotek and stopped at the mall across the street. The one with the kick-ass gourmet grocery store. I pulled the "American Poster Child" move when I helped a French chick, only after her own people ignored her after she dropped a jar of chili's on the floor. Mabelle says George Bush was proud that day!

Back to the room to pack up all of our loot. As usual we stayed up talking, solving the world's problems and planning our next trip. Sleep is over-rated anyway... yeah right!

Montemartre Day 3

Day #3.
We slept in today. Learned our lesson from yesterday. We went to Montemarte...very cool. Had breakfast at a cafe/pub. Very coool. Saw Van Gough's house. Neat to see... but nothing special. Saw Moulin Rouge (the place, not the show). Got near "Pig Alley" or Pigalle... where the porn shops live.
Off to Notre Dam. Quite huge and very impressive. Lit some candles. Good jou jou. Did some shopping around there. Yes, even at church on a Sunday we can find ways to shop!
Back to the room... Emma and Mabelle went off to see Moulin Rouge (the show this time) and I hung back to chill. The girls had a near mugging experience but Emma was at the ready with her heel, ready to take action if the thugs got any closer. She is a crack up!
We went off to dinner, as late as usual. It was mediocre this time. I guess you CAN find a crappy meal in Paris.
We then chatted until 4 a.m. Had to be up at 7 a.m. the next day... our last full day in Paris.

c'est combien ca? Day 2

Day #2.
Up at 7 a.m. Off to marche dux puce (the flea market). We get there (the book said it opened at 7 a.m.) and the vendors are *barely* setting up. WTFO? We somehow decide to come back at about 11 or so... once things are set up and ready to go. Oh, by the way, it is still rainy and chilly.
We decide to go to the Louvre. It was totally better than what you saw on the "DaVinci Code." I even snuck in some illegal pictures of Mona. She didn't mind. She even thought it was quite mischievous of us! We then shopped some at the stores around the musee, had lunch, and then checked things out from the outside.
We headed back to the flea market. This time we were successful in finding the actual "flea market" part, away from the "swap meet" part. I think the French forgot that they were selling JUNK, because you'd think we were at Bloomingdale's with the prices we saw. Umm... yeah, we'll be heading out to the OB flea market when we get back to the US. We came, we saw, we left.
We headed back to the hotel, but first stopped at the market across the road from our hotel to get some water, Orangina, and snacks. We end up taking a 2 hour power nap. Once we woke, Emma said she felt ill, so we did what good people do... we left her in bed and went to check out the Eiffel Tower sans sunlight.
What a sight! Mabelle and I practically got attacked by two peddlers, trying to sell us some overpriced mini towers... but we survived... even after the "there is no George Bush here!" insult. Woooo... what a burn!
Once we got back to the hotel, Emma still didn't feel like going out, so Mabelle and I went on the hunt for food to bring back. Since we were out so late, 1 a.m. ish... some of the restaurants were already shutting down... so we landed at a Tabacci and got some... drumroll please... baguettes with meat and cheese. Oh, and some pomme frites for Em.
We watched some t.v. and actually went to bed at like 3 a.m. We deicided we would wake up at like 8 or 9 on Sunday... since we learned our lesson today.

J'taime Paris!! Day 1

I am back kids and bottom line is... I loved it. It was AMAZING! It was a great trip. I cannot say enough to describe how awesome it was. Instead of babbling about it... I will tell the story.

Day #1.
Arrive in Paris at about 7 a.m. My passport does NOT get stamped. I was pissed. Not a great start to my awesome weekend. Whatever. Get on the train. Get off the train, at the wrong stop. As I try to exit the station, my ticket doesn't seem to work (apparently you have to run your ticket through the machine again to get out). So this grampa guy tries to do me a favor by letting me "piggyback" off of his exit and although I follow him out the gate quite closely, my backpack gets stuck in the closing doors. Great... all I need is to get stuck in some French jail. Low and behold, the man helps me rescue my backpack... I know he was regretting helping me. Close call.
Once I find my way back to the hotel...or should I say, by the time I find my way back to the hotel, it is about 10:30 a.m. I told you I got off at the wrong stop! Anyway... I go to check in and the room won't be ready until 2 p.m. I check in my luggage and scurry off into the city to explore and do general recon. It it chilly and rainy in *gay Paree*. I didn't wander off too far before I decided to try to get lunch. They didn't start serving lunch at most restaurants until 11:45 a.m. So I went about trying to get some good pictures. The architecture alone could use up most of my 2 gig memory chip. 11:45, time to eat. So I did. By the time that meal was over, it was about 1 p.m. and I decided to go wait in the hotel lobby. I was cold and very tired. So I sit. I don't realize it, but I doze off... that is until mr. hotel manager guy wakes me up telling me that I can't be sleeping in the hotel and that I must move on. I realize that this dude thinks I'm some gypsy or something... trying to catch some z's before hitting the streets at night... Hah! I tell him that it is HIM I am waiting on, to get my freaking room ready. He apologizes and goes to check on my room.
I get to the room. Drop my stuff on the ground and immediately jump in the shower. I can't figure out how to turn the heater on, so instead use the hair dryer to warm the room up. I try to take a nap but keep having nightmares about cheese? That I believe is a "work" issue that I have. Anyway, Tony told me that Mabelle and Emma were running late. Well... by 9:30 p.m. I was getting worried enough to call Tony back when they walk through the door! Yay! Our adventure can officially begin! After they take a few minutes to decompress and wind down, we head off to dinner. It is now 11 p.m. We go to a local restaurant, and although we were basically ignored at the door for a good 15 minutes, we get seated. Let's not forget that smoking is allowed, practically condoned in ALL public places. I feel this is their way of weeding out the Americans. Gross! We are sitting at the table for about 20 minutes, no lie, before the waiter comes to greet us. No shit. Then he hands us menus, in French of course. Now, the menu outside was also in English, so why does he have to mess with us like this? Mabelle and I go back outside to decide what we want to eat for dinner. We memorize the menu so that we can also advise Emma. We order. For 34 euros we get a starter, a main dish, dessert, coffee, a glass of champagne and a bottle of wine. Not a bad deal if you ask me. Well... our starter gets there at about 12:30 a.m. I got escargot. Very good. Then our main dish comes at about 1:15 a.m. I got a rack of lamb. Delish! Dessert came at about 2:30 a.m. I got some sort of pistachio ice cream... it was ok. All the mean while, Emma and I are drinking all the alcohol on the table. Emma is cracking me up and poor Mabelle is close to sliding under the table from embarrassment. We didn't get outta there until about 3 a.m. Oi vey, the foreshadowing of our entire weekend! Off to bed, we have a 7 a.m. wake-up call!

Jesus Camp

Tony and I are off to Jesus Camp this weekend. We are not looking forward to it, mainly because we expect no less than to have to pray all day and talk about our feelings. It's not that I don't love Jesus or anything. To be perfectly honest, and selfish, we don't like the idea of giving up an entire weekend to a bunch of strangers. We even have to share rooms with other people. It's this thing called the Engagement Encounter. Something we have to do in order to get married in the church. It's part of the *process* . We also have to bring snacks. Home baked goods are especially appreciated. I bought cookies from Vons.

Welcome Truman!

This liitle guy was born on Thursday morning at 1:48-ish a.m. So cute! His mom's got him all hooked up with the preppy clothes... so cute! Congratulations Tess!

Paris or bust

Yesssssssssssssssss.......... Tony just hooked me up with the tickets to Paris. Isn't he the best? Wooo hooo... four awesome days checking out WHATEVER suits my fancy... OMG!!! Oh, I might mention that it's only thanks to Mabelle and Emma for letting me tag along... I can't wait! The only sucky part is that I travel to and from by myself... but really that's ok too... I can just chill and listen to the ipod or whatever... maybe bring some movies??? I will FINALLY get a stamp in my passport!

March 22nd- 26.

Chrissy tip #1

don't eat ANYTHING before being a judge at the next Jesse Jerome BBQ contest