Pictures Are Posted!

255 pictures are now posted for your enjoyment. Although the French postal system appears to be slow, my camera did finally arrive yesterday. Enjoy the show - for best viewing - click on slide slow.

One thing to note- I forgot that when you post the pictures, it shows the most recent first.... sorry - you'll be seeing my trip backwards. (it took 3 hours to post them... not likely to re-post in the right order!).

Some of the photos are a little blurry - don't know why, but they are... .sigh... Enjoy!

FOUND!

Heard from Raphael today - he's got my camera.... phew! will be here in about a week Since I'm feeling better, now the trip did a reversal... ka is not well.... hope you have a speedy recovery ka!

Pictures will hopefully be up next week, or the week after that......

AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Well folks, it turns out that you may have to wait a bit for pictures. ka may have hers posted soon though. I can't find my camera, and I'm hoping and praying that I left it at the flat, and Raphael will return it to me. Otherwise, it was stolen, and I'd have to cry.

It is great to be home, however, I miss Paris already.... *sigh* Being home also means getting used to the QWERTY keyboard again. I don't know if I posted or not (but I know ka did) but the keyboard is slightly different over there, with strategic keys (such as a, w, z and the punctuation marks) are located at different places on the keyboard we were using (AZERTY)... as such, you may have noticed little typos that we may not have caught... or left as a little joke (re: Zeird, Zonderful Zorks on ka's blog).

Trip home was uneventful... after almost 20 hours of moving, it was nice to be in one spot. Found myself up at 2:30 this morning (8:30 Paris time... the time ka and I started getting ready and plotting our day) and could not get back to sleep.... guess this will take a couple of days to get used to....

Hope you all are haveing a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend....

Home Sweet Home

We have made it home, in 1 piece after 20 hours of travelling. It's time to go to bed,,, more stories to follow, I'm sure,,,

La Belle Dame & La Rive Seine

So it our last day in Paris, and I really wanted to do atleast 1 more thing.... Notre-Dame Cathredreal.

After getting up this morning, feeling a little better, ka and I discussed our plans for the day. It as ka's mother that suggested we take a boat ride on the Seine, just to see all the sights from the river. We had talked about it, and if there was time in the end, we would do it. Today was the day - and thank you very much to ka's mother for making the suggestion.

We head to the infamous Point D'Alma again ( this was where we were on our first day in Paris, near the site of Princess Diana's car crash). This was also where ka and got a little lost lookin for the Palais Toyko.... sigh.. anyway, as we are about to cross the street to get to Bateaux Mouches, lo and behold, the guy beside us stops down to pick up a ring. It's not the same guy I ran into in Les Tulleries gardens, but it was the EXACT same thing... pretends to find the ring on the road.. bends down, picks it up, tries it on, tries to put it on his finger, it does not fit.. and offers it to us as a gift. We simply said "No Merci" (ka says, we've seen that one before!) and walked away. It amazed me that these pickpockets are obviously trained by 1 person.. Anyway, we get to the Bateaux Mouches, have a lovely ride on the Seine... but did we sit down to enjoy it? Who could when we were snapping so many pictures. It was a lovely ride... the name of our boat was "La Flute".

After the boat ride, I was going to come back to the flat, take a nap, then head out again to Notre-Dame. I was feeling good still, so I decided to head to La Grande Dame, while things were still good. Hopped on the métro, and headed over the cathrédral. It was an amazing sight to see. You can not imagine the Notre-Dame cathredral unless you've seen it. Tall, tall, tall gothic columns, beautiful stain glass windows and lovely prayer sanctuaries. I was going to push my luck and do the gargoyle tour, but decided against it, as I would not have time to get back and meet ka... and push it too much my first day out (and last) day in Paris.

I hope you all have enjoyed taking this journey with me. This will be my last post before I get home.. and d - I will probably be planting myself at your place to up load the pictures... (hope that's ok).

Cartes Téléphoniques & Night Walk in Paris

I'm getting behind!! Go figure on the last day we are in Paris!

d - this one is especially for you - the phone cards... you know what it is like to travel with me... and sometiemes... things just happen...

2 days ago, after we got the list of doctors from the consulate, I was trying to decide if I should call. ka was so kind, even though her feet must be killing her, ran down to the tabaccaniste to get a phone card. We have a phone in the apartment, but we can not make outbound phone calls with out one of these specializd cards... kind of like the long distance cards at home. So the cheapest denomination we could get for LOCAL calls was 7€50 - and that gave us 23 minutes of local calling (didn't realize how spoiled we are at home... pick up the phone and dial). Unfortunately, the card that ka bought was not good for a home phone, only ones at a payphone. It was then that I decided not to make an appointment as I was feeling better, but we kept the phone card anyway... just in case. So the next day, that was when I decided to go to the doctor's. Could not find the phone card that we had purchased yesterday, so we grab all our change, and head to the nearest phone booth. Once we get to the phone booth, of course, it only takes those cartes téléphoniques. Poor ka, she ran back to the tabaccaniste, bought another card.. only this one, we can use from the home phone... sigh.. welcome to Jilly's world.. the irony is not lost on me! Since we were at the phone booth, we went ahead and made the call. I still have that phone card... I still don't know where the other one is!

After a long day yesterday... we decided to head out for a walk around St. Honoré. We truly are in the ritzy section of town. Cartier, Tiffany's, Rolex, Van Cleef's..etc are just around the corner from us. So after a bit of window shopping, we decided to head into a life café so ka could eat (I'm still on clear foods for a couple more days.. no last soupe à l'oignon for me!) - I had a tea. We sat and chatted, in a little corner café, looked like the theatre crowd was there, as we were right around the corner from Opéra. It as a wonderful night.

La Tourista - Thy Name is Foul!!!!

Ok, so I woke up this morning, feeling better than I had in the past few days, but after an hour of being up, it started all over again. There is nothing worse than being sick, and being so far from home, family and friends who give you love and support.

So, after thinking about it.... I decided not to chance it anymore, especially since this was the third day of this happening. Using the list that wa provided to me from the Canadian Conslate (thanks again ODG), I called a local Canadian doctor and made an appointment (more on the phone card later). ka went out to see a church (La Chapelle - she went after reassurances that I was ok for a couple of hours), and came back and met me, we then tried to flag down a taxi. After heading to Rue de L'Opèra, ka was succesful in flagging down a cab (a little scary on a blind corner).

Dr. Nancy Salzman has her offices right next to Les Champs Elysées, in a beautiful section of town. Thankfully, the consulate had provided some English speaking doctors, as I was afraid I was not able to communicate everything that had been happening. The doctor was absolutely wonderful, talked to me a little, took my temperature, felt my tummy, and said everything will be ok - I probably had something called "La Tourista" - something very common for North American visiters to France. I can't tell you enough how wonderful she was. Since Immodium is not available over the counter here, she gave me a prescription, and an antibiotic if needed. She says I am safe to travel home. No tests were required, as I was coming home shortly, and to follow up with my doctor once I get home.

So now that I'm re-assured that things will be ok, and I don't have to panic, I need to take a little time and thank 2 people in particular.

Dad - thank you for listening, and your reassurances - thank you for always being there for me.

ka - I could not have asked for a better travelling companion on this journey. You have been so wonderful to me - patient, staying when I'm scared, (even though I feel terribly guilty you have missed so much because of me), talking me through this. It is no fun being sick while you are away, and being sick, sometimes you can get a little grumpy - thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for skipping some of your plans today to come to the doctor's with me, making sure I got there ok, and coming back with me. You are a wonderful person. It is your kindness I will remember most on this journey.

Out and About

I'm feeling better today, and am headed out to see a couple of things... taking it easy my first day back sight seeing...

Pink Toilet Paper looks nice.....

A quick word about the toilet paper in France... it's pink... and it's well... rough... the higher up brands you buy, are more like our paper towel, then the soft cushiony stuff we have at home... when you're not feeling well, you think of all the stuff you miss.... a shower with water pressure.... the nice toilet paper... dogs that don't yap at all hours of the day/night.... the karoake couple that don't live upstairs from you... knowing all the name brands of things that you know will help you... (no gravol or gatorade here!) and so on, and so on...

Thank you to everybody who responded.. I'm feeling a little better today... ODG was thoughtful and sent the phone numbers and email address of the Canadian consulate in case I need to go to a doctor... they have responded, so if I'm not feeling better tomorrow, then I'm definitely going... probably too much rich food or something.... might be the way the refridgerate the food here (they dont seem to)..... or could be the way they use raw eggs in everything.... stick to what I know... been eating soup the last little bit... only thing I seem to hold down... oh and drinking lots of water (the little voice in the back of my head keeps saying... what if it's the water that's making you sick?)

Just 48 hours before we head back... I think I'm going to live... ka has been having wonderful adventures though - I'm glad she's getting to see everything... for me, might be next time I come back.... but I want to see Notre-Dame before I leave.... if I have to drag myself there, I will!!!

No new adventures today - I'm sick again- this keeps up I may be cming home early...

A word about Dan Brown and the Louvre....

I have never seen anything like it before... at the Louvre the only work of fiction that they sell is Dan Brown's book, The Da Vinci code. Out of the thousands of fiction works that have been published about the Louvre, this is the one that is sweeping the world. You can take a tour of the works that were mentionned in the book. There are tours of the city based on Dan Brown's book... heck, even in Chapters there was a guide book you could buy so you could follow in the foot steps of the Da Vinci code. You can even stay in the room in the hotel in Paris that was metionned, and you'll get a special phone call in the middle of the night. All this craziness over the novel. Dan Brown is either a very smart man, and is getting lots of noteriety from this book, or he has a very good agent that is willing to go the extra mile. I couldn't help but to wonder if Dan Brown was getting any commissions every time someone took the The Da Vinci Code tour at the Louvre.

Now, I must admit that I read the book 2 years ago and loved it. What a thrilling story and adventure he takes on. However, what you decide to believe is entirely up to you.

Bonjour Mona Lisa!!!!

To preface this posting of my blog, please note that ka and I had a bottle of wine at dinner, so you'll have to excuse any typos.... or things that may not make sense... I'll fix them tomorrow...

The day started very well... we got up and went to the Louvre. We had planned on going to the Louvre on a rainy day, but since time was running short, today was the day. As it turns out, it rained all day, so our timing was perfect. We had a game plan. We knew there was no way that we could see it all in one short visit.... so, we marked the places we wanted to go, and did them. First stop - the Mona Lisa. As you may or may not know; the Mona Lisa is very small in size. They have recently moved her to a separate gallery so that you will have to go through other Italian matsters before you get to her. It was all well, as we got to see other Da Vinci, Raphael, and other Iconic paintings I remember from my Catholic upbinging. It was weird at one point to see the actual painting in front of me. So, off we go to the Mona Lisa - she's on a wall all by herself with 4 security guards guarding her, and making sure no one takes any photos. (more on the gift shops later)

Once we saw her after standing in line, I thought ka was right beside me, I turned around to say I was ready to go, but she wsn't there... now, you must understand that we went through the same thing yesterday at La Musée D'Orsay; but I was able to find her 2 times out of 3.. however, the Louvre is on a much bigger scale... I think I now know Mom always said - "stay close by - I don't want to lose you" - after 20 minutes of frantic searching for ka, it was some miracle that I found her - I swore I was going to put a GPS unit on her or something... she said I needed a leash or something as she swears she blinked, and I was gone from the Mona Lisa line. All was not lost though... I have 2 new favourite artistes - Jacques-Louis David and Paul De Larouche. I was deeply moved by his "La Jeune Martyre" painting. I knew I should be looking for ka, but I was overcome at the moment by this painting. Right beside it was the famous French Revolution paint by Jacques-Louis David - I'm sure you know the one I'm talking about - the half naked woman holding the French flag on top of all the dead bodies of the revolutionsites. ( sorry, blog will be in half French, half English tonight... can't think quite in one language anymore)

Anyway, after 20 minutes of almost frantic searching, I was just about to go to Venus De Milo; as we both said that we wanted to see it, there she was.... she didn't see me, but I ran down the stairs (for the first time in over a year since I broke my ankle, I actually ran down the stairs...) and I caught up to her. It was at that point that we made sure that we were going to stick together!!! The Louvre is HUGE, and it could take days of wandering to find ka if I lost her again.... (hence the leash for me, and the GPS unit for her... ;-). After gazing upon Venus di Milo, we decided it was time for un pause café. We stopped for Cappucino at one of the many cafés inside the Louvre. After that we went outside to gaze upon the glass pyramids, and of course, take a few photos. It was quite refreshing to be outside for a while, as the temperature varied from cold to hot in la musée. It was nice as it was one solid temperature - chilly. After many poses, it was time to head back in and search out Bosch - Ship of Fools. We found it with little or no difficulty ( or, we cheated, we went to the information desk to ask where it was). Oh, I need to back track a little bit...

After the cafés, we decided to hit the bookstore and the souvenir shop. I didn't find anything I wanted in the bookshop, but ka found many books she was interested in. I decided to head out, but meet her back either at the shop I was headed to, or I would find her back at the book shop. So, I bought some pictures of Mona Lisa and La Jeune Martyre, and headed back to the bookstore to find ka. She was ready to check out of the book store. She wanted to go to the post card shop; but I was feeling a little dizzy, so I wanted to go back up to the courtyard for some fresh air. After waiting about 30 minutes for ka, I was about to panic about losing her again (and about to get up and find her), she appeared. The souvenir shop is around the corner, and is a little confusing if you are turned around, and there's too many people around you - you can easily lose yourself). Thankfully though; we found each other again. Hence, we really do need to put leashes on each other!

Anyway, we found Ship of Fools, and wandered around the 15th Century German exhibit - it was wonderful. All that art... I can't say enough about it. After that exibihit, we were onto the sculptres of Michaelango - there were 2 on dislay - entitled "Slaves" - one was wondering what Michaelangelo was feeling at the time he was sculpting... We also saw more Boteccelli, and some Donatello - specifically "amoureux et physche" they were beautiful.

So, we didn't see much art this time, we have to save some for next time we come! It was late at that point; so we had to run home (it's literally right around the corner) and make plans for supper.

So we hit our guide books, and decided upon a restaurant in the Latin Quarter... ok so we splurged a little bit, but it was simply wonderful... the art deco, the checkered tablecothes; the chandeliers... sigh... no to mention the bottle of wine that would probably cost over $100 at home... but we are in Paris... so we had a good meal, as I we had to eat today were cafés and a couple of spring rolls... oh and a brownie... best thing... no migraine at the Louvre... phew! Navigating the métro while slightly intoxicated was interesting, but we got home safely...

It was another wonderful day in Paris... I can't believe we are headed home soon!

La Musée D'Orsay


Got up this morning, and went to the Musée D'Orsay as it was free today. The line ups were long, but worth the wait. What was wonderful was that there were rooms dedicated to artistes. There was a whole room of Degas (almost 2), a whole section dedicated to Rodin and Carrière, there were also Renoir, Corbeil, Monet, Manet... and well I could go on... It was simply wonderful to see everything all together. In the Rodin exhibit, you actually saw his pactice pieces, and you could see the changes that he made before the final sculpture was made. The Monets were magnificient... it' not every day you can say that you saw 10 Monet paintings in 1 day... and the Degàs!!! I actually saw the ballerina series... up close and personal... I foget to mention the Van Goghs... The haystack painting was there, along with the painting that went with it, "reves" - haystack with a couple entwined in a little after noon nap... something I will never forget.. I am a new fan of Millet, as well as Camille Pissaro... the Monets I had to sit for a bit and admire their beauty....

Unfortunately for me, the lighting in the museum lead to a migraine, and I had to duck out early. ka was absolutely enchanted, andI'm sure that she will have much more to say on today than I will.. Tommorrow... more art as we try to tackle the L'Ouvre... must remember to fortify myself with a strong cup of coffee before going... do not want a migraine in the L'Ouvre!