Paris in December!

I don't what Paris is like in Spring but in December it's magical. Christmas is the air. Lights are everywhere. And the people in Paris--beautiful--men and women (I felt so out of place). It was amazing to be in Paris for a week.

The Hotel la Bourdannis--was awesome. So charming, quaint, nice and comfortable. Breakfast is from 7 - 11--allowing us to sleep in, get up, get ready and take our time. The croissants--chocolate, apple, and regular--were all so good. The hot chocolate was delish. There were cereals, juice, other bread, jams, butter and cheese. We could not get enough of the chocolate croissants.
The bathroom was so big--double sinks! Hot water all the time. Clean, fresh towels--mmmmm.
The beds were comfortable--maybe that's why we slept in every morning. We never felt rushed to do something.
The hotel is in a neighborhood with a grocery store next to it, flower shops everywhere, and delish--yes delish--bakeries and restaurants around both corners.
You cannot go wrong staying at the Bourdannais.

Museums--loved them (even though I felt art overload after visiting the Louvre). So much art--and lots of it naked (hahaha--that was funny watching Timmie hide his eyes or better when he made comments about what he was looking at). We went to three museums and loved them--Louvre, D'oorsay and the Branly (Timmie really enjoyed the Branly the best--I liked the D'oorsay the best and Laurie liked the Louvre). There is so much art to see I think you could live forever in Paris and still not see it all.

The Metro--loved it! I'm a people watcher and the Metro is the place for that. We saw so many people--happy, tired, old, young, black, white, Arab and mixtures. It's incredible. I think a good writer could sit in the Metro for a week and have a novel.
One day we were sitting and waiting and a young black boy sat beside Timmie--the boy seemed so happy--dressed so nice. His Mother looked so tired and I wondered what she did for a living. She wasn't dressed as nice as her son--yet I'm sure she did everything to make sure he was getting the best education.
One day we were walking and there was an older woman being held up but two sympathetic policemen--she was sobbing and they seemed to be trying to help her through whatever she had just found out. I wanted to follow them and find out why she was sobbing--it was heart wrenching.
Distinguished older men and women dressed nicely reading papers, doing crosswords--just so elegant and chic.
Handsome young men that seemed no matter what they wore they would be look fashionable, cool and "Paris." Tall, slender and there was something about them.
Gorgeous tall young women seemed to be everywhere in the Metro. Kissing their boyfriends, talking on their mobiles, smiling, not smiling, wearing the latest fashion. Always looking so sexy, cool, warm, kind and aloof--all at the same time.

The food--loved it. Ok now I know most of you might be disappointed--we didn't eat any French food--I know I know. The first night we went to this Chinese restaurant and had sweet and sour pork--it was sooooo soooo good. Timmie even tried something new and liked it--didn't eat it all but made the attempt.
The next night we met up with Mark and Traci and Timmie wanted to eat at this cute pizza place. Wow! The pizza was so good and so were the pasta dishes. The restaurant was just so European--it was awesome.
We liked both restaurants so much that we ate 3 times each at them both. One night I did have the roasted duck--heaven. Laurie said she needed to get her pork consumption in since we can't get pork here in the Kingdom.
Each day for lunch--McDonald's. I know I know! But eating there with all those beautiful and handsome Parisians--priceless.
The desserts--there's a reason dessert has two S's--you want more--and we did. The chocolate melts in your mouth. The desserts are works of art that you feel guilty about eating--and then you feel guilty because you want more. The desserts the French create with chocolate--amazing. We ate as much as we could--sometimes more than we should have. I have never seen so much chocolate—and so many chocolate stores—ever.

The city--amazing! Every section of the city is different--from posh to gritty (we never went really gritty--Timmie might have found that as exciting as the art--haha--but we were in one area and there was a Sex shop--Timmie pointed it out to me).
The city is alive and on the go constantly. I don't think it ever shuts down. It has such an energy about it--makes you want to stay awake and go go go.
We stayed in a nice part of town--not super posh but definitely not gritty. We loved our neighborhood with all the restaurants, antique stores, flower shops--there was even a school on our block.
The buildings are incredible. Everywhere all these old beautiful buildings. The carvings, details, etc..are ..are...are...indescribable. I could have walked around Paris all week just looking at buildings, wandering down the little avenues, etc..

The weather--cold! But I loved that. The desert Kingdom is still warm--today it's in the low 70's. It felt good to wear a sweater, coat, scarf and gloves--all bundled up and warm. It felt good to come out of a museum and have all the cold hit you at once or to open up the French doors in our hotel room and walk out on our balcony late at night--freezing and watching the cars, the Eiffel Tower or see what was happening in the apartments across from us.

The people--loved them. They were all so beautiful. They all have this way about them--a confidence, swagger and yet not overly so. They wore their clothes with no thought of fashion--because they are fashion. I loved seeing the women wear their long fur coats with no cares. The men with the way they wore their scarves (we found out the Paris way on our next to last day).
They smoke, talk, laugh, walk--all at the same time. They seem passionate about life. You feel that passion and get caught up in it. I wanted so much to be able to understand what they were saying. I loved being around the people.

I don't know what else to day. I loved it. I want to go back again and again and again. I told Laurie that I want us to buy a house and live in Paris. Laurie sweetly smiled back and said "Tim, we don't have enough time to buy houses in all the places you want to live." And then she chuckled. I know--I'm a nomad--but Paris--wow!

On the way to the airport we met this wonderful Southern lady from Mississippi. She was such a Sothern lady. Her daughter had married a man from Paris. Grandma was visiting her grandchildren. She told us that she really loves Paris and loves visiting her grandbabies. I loved talking to this woman. I loved meeting other Americans that are visiting foreign countries. It sounds corny but we’re all ambassadors or our country—for good or bad (hopefully for good).
One night at the pizza place there was a young American couple--chatting and discussing what they were going to order. As we were leaving I asked if they were American--they smiled--Yes. I told them we were too and we were having a great time. They were in Paris for their honeymoon. Ahhh--love. They looked so happy--so in love. I hope they always remember Paris.

Paris was a great vacation. We loved it. It's sad that it's over already--and yet it was time for it to end. We were all happy to be home in our desert Kingdom. But Paris in December--awesome!