I HEART PARIS

Bonjour, Paris!

It's been two years since TravelingJules last stepped foot off of US soil. As you can imagine, I was feeling the itch to pack my bags and fly far away, even if it was only for a short week. TravelingJules has an office job now, and she hardly gets 6 weeks off like the lucky Europeans, let alone a PAID day off. There's little time to flee off to foreign countries and that is a shame.

The clock was ticking, and I had exactly 8 days to get from Denver - Chicago, Chicago - Paris, Paris - Nimes, Nimes - Marseille, Marseilles - London, London - Boston, Boston - Denver. (I guess it didn't hurt to fly first class the whole way to Paris. There were no regular class frequent flyer awards left!)

With what little time was left, I wanted to climb the Eiffel Tower, saunter down the Champs Elysee, munch on creme brulee, and gaze at the Mona Lisa before heading south to attend a very special wedding.

I had my week cut out for me, but in true hardcore traveler style, I got it done. And it was fun!

To my great surprise, my dear friend Chiara (my first friend from Vail) booked a ticket from Lugano, Switzerland to Paris with just two days notice (Even I had only booked my ticket three days in advance). It had been 4 years since our last travel excursion to Budapest (for the Best Hungarian Experience Ever) and Oktoberfest (for one hell of a blurry time), but it didn't feel like that much time had passed. She was still the same great Chiara and it was so cool to see her again! I wish we lived a little closer!

We covered a lot of ground, stopping at the Lourve, the Orsay, and the Pompidou for a quick look in and out (one can only handle so much museum at a time).

We sang the French lyrics of "Champs Elysees" while skipping down the Champs Elysee. These are the only French words I know, apart from an unnatural amount of French cuss words, both of which I credit to my friend Laurent, the groom to be!

We climbed up the Arc de Triumph and down the Eiffel Tower.


It was pretty spectacular to see the Eiffel Tower with my own two eyes. Sure, it's a world famous icon that everyone has seen a million times on TV and in books. But seeing it in person is nothing to be modest about. It was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic, especially on a warm summer's night.


And while I'm not a huge fan of French food, it was pretty wonderful to enjoy my meals sitting in open air cafes that spilled straight onto the streets of Paris.





Au revoir, Paris! It's time to head down South...