Paris

About a month ago, Jonathan was sent to Paris to "work" at the air show so I decided to tag along for a cheap trip. The airshow was pretty amazing, as far as airshows go. Lots of European fighters, jumbo airliners and missle displays. While Jonathan and the other air crew members worked at the show, I spent my time wondering around the streets of Paris...

Ah, Paris. A beautiful city full of charming side walk vendors, pastry shops, art...and Parisians. I have been to Paris 4 times in my life (and yes, I am a travel snob). Out of all the amazing places to see in Europe, I am a little sad and embarassed to admit how many times I have been to Paris. Don't get me wrong, Paris is pretty neat and probably on most peoples "must see" list of Europe. That being said, the atmosphere in Paris, in my own opinion, (read: the people) is snobby, condescending and a bit stick-up-the-rear-ish (for lack of a better term). Despite that, I had a great time wondering the city. I walked past almost all of the major sites including Notre Dame, The Louvre, Champs de Elysses, and the Arc de Triumph. One of the funnier moments of my trip occured when I was sitting at a cafe eavesdropping on an American couples' conversation. Like many Americans that travel Europe, this couple came equipped with two fanny packs, a large camera, and lack of an INSIDE voice (aka. they talk REAL loud). While discussing the sights they wanted to see during the day, the wife said to the husband "I really can wait to see the Louvre" (Pronounced LEW-VREY). Lucky for me, because I was watching this all unfold, the waiter had just walked over to the table to take their lunch order when this was said. His face crumpled when she asked him where the "LEW-VREY" was in relation to the cafe....pretty sure they got a free side of saliva with their French Onion soup. HA. Ah, Americans. Gotta love us.

One of the highlights of the trip was going to the Moulin Rouge for a show. Categorized as a Cabaret, the Moulin Rouge show is like a really bad version of a Broadway musical (in French). The dancing was a bit so-so, the costumes a bit, uh, lacking in material, and the Shetland ponies were just scary. BUT, it was really fun to sit inside the Moulin Rouge and it was an experience I will always remember.

All in all, our trip to Paris was pretty awesome. There is something to be said about being able to "hop on" a train from your town and arrive in Paris a couple of hours later.