what else did we do? paris

oh yes, paris. shine-y, sparkly land of the "formal shorts" paris.

eiffel tower - totally worth the absurdly long line to get to the elevators, and the even longer lines to go from level to level. i think we stood in line for at least two hours to get our tickets to go up the first elevator, but the line was friendly and chatty and there was a very tall lady wearing a dark brown fur leather bomber jacket with the word 'versace' bleached into the fur running up each arm - tres classy. there were two little boys in front of me debating whether the tower was as tall as whistler mountain (that's where they went last christmas holiday). there were a number of couples huddled up in line together - including us.

C and i had an ongoing Award system worked out in order to properly celebrate people, who in our minds, were the most French. For example, there was a man who walked by all of us in the line up, his dark french eyes filled with scorn, his eyebrows appropriately bushy, presumably made bushy by the scron emanating from the face. he sucked on his cigarette as he peered at me through his thick black-framed glasses (totally biting Sarte's style), his heavy dark hair, shine-y, and standing up in the wind. his deep grey belted trench nipping at his waist. he pulled his woman (with matching eyebrows) closer and snorted at the crowd. we thought he was very french. Please keep in mind that our ideas of 'most french' come from movies and literature and philosophy and all the stereotypes therein. Ohhhh another recipient of the most French award was the 'lady in grey'. A perfectly coiffed older woman with white-grey hair. Her make up minimal and flattering, except for the striking red lips. She wore a deep grey skirt below the knee, flat black boots and some sort of cape, scarf contraption draped across her shoulders and chest.

eiffel tower - the view of the city is stunning as it forms a circle around the great tower. i did have a wee freakout when the wind started hitting the enclosure up at the very top and rattling the windows. the display that runs the circumference of the top level interior are city names from around the world and their distance, in kilometeres, from the tower. most people look for their hometown.

louvre - holy christmas more lines but worth it. i suspect you could spend weeks, months and perhaps years to truly take this place in. it is intense and interesting and overwhelming. you must pace yourself. C and i, not knowing better, dove in whole hog and by the end of the day found ourselves deep into the renaissance making up our our titles for paintings like "ouch, christ that hurts". yes, after several hours things got very low-brow. but it was fun!

champs elysees - pretty and wide and too many people and the closer you get to the Arc de Triomphe the more insane the crowds become and the tacky yonge street lights. i'm sorry, but i am not a 'let's gather in mass quantities' kind of person. and the walk starts out very well (at the obelisk) and gets more and more mental as you progress towards the Arc. coo coo. lots of shops. the lights in the trees are very pretty. the lights from the shops are less so.

centre georges pompidou - so cool and the best street crepe man in all of paris is tucked up around the corner (not the mad little square directly opposite the pompidou, but head out to the quiet street - towards hotel de ville - in an alley. why were his crepes the best? because he would gently pat the little crepe with butter then sprinkle on the sugar and then squeeze an actual lemon on top (not the crappy 'real remon' from a bottle) the real deal. so he rules. i digress, the pompidou is a beautiful space and houses the room of rothko - a series of paintings m.r. did on commission for some nyc restaurant but upon completion thought better of it and donated the paintings on the condition that they would be displayed properly. they also have a media hall (more than a hall) of pieces done with colour, light, video, film etc.

also, there was a big pink room with gentle lighting AND a giant red patent-leather peep-toe heel. i mean giant, i could curl up in it comfortably and go to sleep in the toe while C stretched out in the heel area.

okay, more later...