Versailles, Snails, B 52... Gotta Love It!

Finally! Haven't slept in to catch up on my sleep debt until this morning - was lovely to take it slow for a bit. Once we were ready to head out me an Kyle did the thing all must do when visiting Paris - eat some crepes! So the whole clan walked our way down to Rue Cler (busy market and cafe street) mum/dad/GM&P to buy some sandwiches, fresh (amazing) fruit and what no picnic should be without... some wine. Me and Kyle on the other hand sat down at a table on the street next to a cart that said "crepes" on it. There's a reason why I said everyone has to do it... the crepes were incredible - as I tried to tell, and sort of got across to the guy who made them. In the picture you can see the blanket of eggs over the crepes with salted ham and melted (Parmesan?) cheese... c'est delicu!

We were kinda bummed last night because my dad was telling us that when he tried to buy touring tickets to Versailles, the clerk behind the counter told us the tours were all close on Monday:( Eventually we came to our senses and just decided that it would be alright if we went just to see it on the outside without a tour... which is half the reason people go anyway - the gardens are stunning and vast! We also saved 85 euros per person by not doing the tour - so that works out:) It was just a 15 to 20 minute metro ride out there, and well worth whatever smells you come across in the subway on your way there. Gotta say... what's up with these french rulers and their houses?! First the Louvre, now Versailles! These former residences, now tourist attractions, are larger and more elaborate than any buildings I've ever seen... you could fit like 1,000 families in those things, but instead it was built for one person and all his servants?! Kyle saw Napoleon's quarters at the Louvre yesterday - the dude's bed had chairs encircling it for all his servants, so that if he woke up - they could attend to him?! Man crazy stuff! But tourists like me sure appreciate the greedy and selfish of times past ha! The gardens are pretty jaw dropping, but not in a way that I was expecting... first thing I pictured when told we were going to visit Marie Anne Toinette's gardens were a bunch of flowers - combination of the rose garden and the tulip festival kind of deal... this definitely had flowers, but was a lot more about grass, shrubbery, water and symmetry. You can kind of get an idea of the geometrical expanse from some of the pictures... pretty cool place - do recommend!

Got back to the hotel about five or six - Kyle took a nap while I watched a Tour de France replay... hate to be the pesimist - but I'm calling Mark Cavendish a dopper... but Lance?! 3rd place after not racing for 3 years!!! The guy's a stud... Afterwards we went to what so far has definitely been the best place for the evening meal. People eat late here - around 8 is when dinner starts. We got underway at about 7:30 and had a great time with great food, great scene, even a great waiter! He told us in his broken english that if we're leaving Paris tomorrow, then we have to see his favorite monument tonight - Sacre Coeur, even wrote down directions on how to get there for us! When we left i shook his hand and told em "C'ete manifique, et toi aussi - tres sympathique!" Hopefully I didn't offend him... Kasey?:) Great food! For the appitizer I had..... es cargo! Snails aren't bad people! And if you're going to Paris... you have to try it just to say you did. Kinda between a mushroom and a clam - very mild tasting - nothing to be afraid of:) Duck for dinner, very tender and rich tasting. For dessert - tiramissu with a B 52, which is Kalluah, Grand Marnier, and Baily's Irish Cream... pretty stinkin delicious. Put some hair on my chest... excuse moi... it put some more hair on my chest hehehe!

After dropping the senior citizens off at the hotel, we convinced mum to come with us on our late night journey through the metro to the Sacre Couer. Three metro rides on crowded, smelly, unsettlingly warm subways dropped us off in a more... loud... I guess... part of town. It was impressive though - the stark white of the cathedral against the clear night sky. Great view of the city too - got some cool night shots. On the way back mum was so so tired that she could only either look like she was about to cry... or laugh hysterically... was fun:) We were getting a kick out of how much she just wanted to be showered and sleeping at the hotel - when instead she was on a packed, screachy, bumpy, hot, sweaty, urinesque subway. Looked like it was the last place she wanted to be at 12:30 at night... but you get through the rough parts by laughing, and laugh we did!

Well, leave Paris tomorrow for Munich and the convention! But before I leave - (sorry in advance if this offends Phil Borycens) I had to try a french Starbucks! Just to see if their coffee here is way better than in the US. Pretty much every early morning service trip to Starbucks, I end up getting just a plain latte, so I figured that would make an accurate test. Gotta say (sorry in advance if I offend Morgan Courson) the Startbucks coffee in France is pretty close to being twice as good as the coffee in the US! Pretty yummy actually:)

Well, next post will be from Kyle in Munich - look forward to some great stuff at the convention and on the tours of Germany!

P.S. As much as I know Morgan would love something edible... a french wrap is not something you could eat:( Might be able to fit it in you mouth though...? haha! It's like an oversized scarf... maybe like a scarf/tablecloth... too large to wear it like a scarf, so I think you just "wrap" it around your shoulders. And Kasey, thanks for catching that misspelling! Is it Tu "es" ma fille? but you know... if you really thin'k about it... the other way could work out in the long run hahahaha! And who the heck is "TwinTowers?!"

The front door mum's been nagging dad about getting:)