Current location: Still "stuck" in Paris

We are still in enjoying Paris. Going on our second week here and still no visa for the DRC. Our passports have now officially logged more flight miles than we have as we had sent them to WA DC to try to get our visas (unsuccesfully) and then our friend Dan sent them back to us. In the mean time, we decided being stuck in Paris for two weeks sans passport wasn't so bad.

So what did we do? The luxury of staying two weeks in Paris (well, any place really) means that we weren't under pressure to see the "sights" and wander around like zombie tourists. Every morning, we would get fresh croissants from the bakery downstairs and some fresh fruit. Then we would just eat at our apartment and decide what we were going to do for the day. Our rule was that we would only do one site or museum per day. That would leave plenty of time for us to just walk around the neighborhoods, sit at a cafe, and ponder what delectable food items we would be eating that evening for dinner (well, I did the pondering, Brian mostly did the eating). Then of course, the big question was always "what's for dessert?" I have to say we have done a good job sampling a good majority of the pastries from our local bakery. So far the pistachio macarons and creme brulee keep popping up at our table.

Why people come to Paris:

We saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Some people think it's overrated. We actually really enjoyed it and appreciated all the intricacies of the painting that Leonardo Da Vinci was trying to achieve. The Pyramid at the Louvre is also very cool and so beautiful the night we went to see it. It was a glorious night in Paris as we left the museum and walked along the Seine (pronounced Sen) River. The Louvre was Brian's favorite spot in Paris.

The Eiffel Tower was another one of those tourist things where you feel that you should see it although the idea of being crammed in a small elevator full of noisy tourists and then trying to jostle for a view sounded about as much fun as getting our visas. So we procrastinated........and procrastinated and finally made our way to it the other day. As could be expected there were long lines of people waiting to take the elevator up.  But there was an incredibly short line to walk up the thing. Perfect. Not only would we get our excercise for the day (to lessen our guilt and allow us to indulge in more pastries) but it was also cheaper and we like cheap (almost more than we like eating pastries....almost). The hike up was actually rather painless and I think gave us a better view and appreciation of the tower and its construction. You can't hike all the way to the top, only to the 2nd level and then you have to ride the elevator. By then though, the elevator lines were shorter and all was good.

Notre Dame: My favorite site in all of Paris.  Not only is the church a beautiful piece of architecture from all angles, the area surrounding Notre Dame is just as amazingly beautiful. Situated on an island in the Seine river, there are bridges that you can cross and get fantastic views of the church. It was truly one of our favorite sites.

Why people SHOULD come to Paris:

People fall in love with Paris everyday. People swoon when talking about Paris. We did not expect to join this club. We were very excited to come visit and eat all the wonderful food but fall in love with a city? Well we did......and it's hard pinpoint what it is that we fell in love with. Is it the people who are so wonderful and friendly? Who are so patient with us when we masticate their language and instead of being annoyed giggle and try to help us with the pronunciation of words. Brian did a lot better than I did in this category as he did take French in high school and I took German. Converting a German accent into a French one is not pretty.

Perhaps people fall in love with all the farmer's markets in every part of the city where fresh vegetables, fromage (cheese), boulangeries (bakeries), charcuterie (meat), and patisseries (pastry shops) overflow onto the street with their fresh bounties of food? Or maybe it's the fact that there are cafes on every corner where people wile away the day writing as if they were the next Hemingway, painting as if they were the next Picasso, or simply just letting time past idly by sipping a cafe creme, beer, or a glass of Champagne.

Or perhaps it's all the wonderful little neighborhoods that beckon for exploration. All the cute store fronts meticuously showcasing each store's specialties. Each neighborhood with it's own unique ambiance and flavor. Perhaps it is everything combined that make Paris such a wonderful city to visit. I'm sure we'll be back.

Tomorrow we start back up on the road and head for Budapest, Hungary. From there we will make our way south through Eastern Europe including Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Greece, and Turkey (that's the plan anyways).

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