Entries by Tedd

After a busy, but uneventful, work week we made it back to the desert. All I can say is I love our home here. It's always a treat when we arrive.

It was a fairly laid back weekend. We met friends for drinks at Studio One11 on Saturday night, then headed to Blame It On Midnight for their Cobb Salad, and then home. We were tired and going out drinking more was just not what we needed. Rest. That is what we needed.

Sunday morning we met Chuck and Mike at Leon's Bar and Grill for brunch. It's always fun there and we see a lot of people we know, and it's such a pretty place overlooking the Indian Canyon Golf course and the incredible mountains surrounding this valley.

We then went to Mike and Gary's and checked out the work that has been done at their home. They are remodeling and the process is slow because they are doing it themselves. Also because Gary is a perfectionist and everything has to be level and plumb. Quality work takes time.

We saw the new master bath tile job. It really looks good and is starting to put dimension in the project. Soon wallboard will go up in the living area and kitchen and then we will see how the space really works. I'm excited for them.

Sunday night we met friends at Studio One11 again for a quick drink and then Chuck, Steve and I headed for dinner at Shanghai Reds. I don't want to say too much about this place because it is small and I want to be able to get in again, but shhh! This was one of the best meals I have had in the desert. It is a funky place behind the Fisherman's Grill, but the food is amazing and I liked the casual atmosphere. People were friendly, including other diners. I can hardly wait to get back.

Monday was a do nothing day. We really just relaxed and hung around the house. It was nice and important for recharging the bodies after the holiday crush. Of course we did meet friends for a drink at Studio One11 and then headed to Trio to meet Christopher and Mark for a delicious dinner. Again we headed straight home. No detours. I was asleep when I hit the recliner. LOL. It's just taking longer to get over the busy holiday season than it used to take. I guess that's what happens when you get this many Christmas' under your belt.

Today we head back to San Diego for the next four days of work until we can get back home again. I hate to wish my life away but I do look forward to Saturday and coming home.

We are, however, getting some things accomplished on the RV today in preparation for the Quartzsite/ Las Vegas trip in two weeks. I'm getting excited for that too! There is so much in my life. I'm a lucky man.

Today had a lazy start. I slept past my usual 5:30, sometimes 6:00, and Steve slept till a bit past 8:30. We lazed around and watched the Rose Parade, and then started it over so Steve could see the beginning he slept through.

A bit more lazy time and then we got ready for yet another party.

Mitchell and Dave alway give a New Year's Day party at their home and it's always fun and full of faces we don't get to see during the year, and new faces to meet. A lot of RVer's attend so it gets the stir about Quartzsite going. This is when I start getting excited about going to Quartsite. (Now it's only 3 weeks away!) Many of the usual suspects were there, Chuck, Bob and Gus, Carl A, and we met a bunch of new folks including Jose and Rene. (Missing was our buddy Scott who moved to Austin, TX. Missed you guy!)

The food was great and plentiful with assorted mexican dips for freshly deep fried chips that Dave was making, a delicious shrimp dip and a spinach dip that was really fresh and wonderful. There were shrimp with cocktail sauce, cheeses, and great deviled eggs (alway one of my favorites).

Just as we were winding down to meet other friends as promised, Mitchell took a Prime Rib roast from the oven. Oh My! It looked great. There was potatoes, salad, and veggies. A whole meal. We didn't partake of it, however, as we had made other plans, not really expecting dinner to be served.

So we headed home to feed Buster, the birthday boy, (he was born on the first day of the new century so 1-1-11 was his 11th birthday) and headed for Studio One11 in Cathedral City to meet up with Chuck, Lee, Greg, Troy and a few other for, what else?, a drink. It's a great group of guys. We are so lucky to have so many friends over here in Palm Springs. I love my life.

Then Chuck and Steve and I headed for Trio for dinner. Man, it was packed and fun. We got the last hightop in the bar area, as the dining room was full. As usual the food was great. I had the Filet special, while Steve and Chuck had the Sea Bass. It was all very good which speaks well for the kitchen on a night so fully committed. Bronson, our waiter was incredibly pleasant to look at as well as a good waiter, but he wasn't our usual waiter and friend Travis. But we will see Travis the next time. We still got a hug from him when he saw us.

Finally, the active partying is at an end. Till tomorrow when we go to Brunch with Michael and perhaps Chuck. Lol.

Finally the hoopla is all over! I had a great time through it all, but, MAN, there was way too much fun to be had, and I have no ability or willingness to say NO. I am recovering surprisingly fast. No hangovers, just added poundage. Let the diet begin. And no, not with chocolate. Put that away!

We worked on New Year's Eve until 5:00 and then went home, got the car and drove to Palm Springs, with unexpectedly light traffic. We made it in our usual two hours. We had time to unload the car and change clothes before our 9:00 dinner reservations at Wang's In The Desert. The place was packed. But the food was it's usual wonderful, at least to our taste, and the service was perfectly paced. They had enough servers and support staff so that everything went smoothly.

From there we headed to Arenas Street, where we knew we could find a large collection of Homos in a party mood. The were there. We headed for Street Bar to see if Mona Caywood was singing, but she wasn't, and the place was elbow to elbow so we headed across the street to Spurline to watch the music videos. It was one of the showtunes nights which we love. It, too, was crowded but we were able to get a drink and find a place to hang and wait for the countdown to 2011.

We met some interesting men who were visiting from Milan, Italy. One is a director for television and the other the CFO of a multinational French company. They were interesting and truly enjoyed the videos as they said that Italy has no such perfect musicals like we have in this country. They have drama, and they have Opera, and they try for contemporary musical, but they fail, according to these men. It was fun to see them enjoy themselves so much. Very elegant, intellectual men just loving every moment.

At midnight we kissed each other and every man around, friend or stranger, tried to get the confetti off of us and headed for home. Luckily it was only 5 blocks to home, we weren't drunk and it wasn't 4AM. We had a great night and saw the New Year in properly.

It's been a hectic work week, but I only have one more day till I get home and the New Year starts. The days are long but I only have to work 3 days this week and then have a 4 ay weekend! Yay!

Tomorrow is an early day. I have to be to work at 7:00am and get off at 5:00. Hopefully we will get on the road by 5:30 and in Palm Springs by 7:30. We have dinner reservations at 9:00 at Wang's In The Desert. We tried Trio and Tropicale but they were fully committed. Looking forward to being out and about New Year's this time. We have let it go by so many times, but it seems more important to see it in this year.

Of course the down side is this is supposed to be a really cold couple of nights. We are bringing warm clothes including our winter silk underwear, scarves and gloves. They are predicting a possibility of below freezing for the next two nights, so hanging on the streets doesn't sound warm and fuzzy. But for a few minutes at midnight..Great.

And then a party on New Years Day at friends. I can hardly wait to see what the New Year brings. I sure hope it is great stuff.

To Garrett, yes it is the MyFi. To Ken, No we weren't affected by the mudslides. It was further north.

We miss you Scotty. Aagh. You'd just be at All Worlds anyway.. LOL.

I was delighted to see that some of you out there knew I had posted, and wrote a note back. Thanks. That gives me encourages me to continue to bore you with my life's trivia. Whaa Hoo!

Yesterday was a shopping day. We actually went to the Verizon Store in Palm Desert to get new batteries for our Droids, as they were not holding charges anymore. In addition we ended up getting an "Intelligent Mobile Hotspot".

When traveling and in the Palm Springs house we have used our Verizon card for internet access. But we could only use it one at a time so we couldn't both be cruising the internet. Now, up to five devices, computers, ipads, etc can be online at the same time. We still kept our unlimited usage (same as our Verizon card) and the monthly charge is the same. Plus they gave it to us for the cost of the phone tax an sales tax. The device itself was free. I was amazed. Of course the phone tax on the device was $23.62, plus the sales tax. Still to enable us to both be online at the same time wherever we are is great. And it's the size of a credit card. Oh yeah, it works on batteries when you are out and about, like Quartzsite!

Along the way I had to go to the beauty supply, Smart and Final, and of course Old Navy for new T shirts. They have the best cheap T shirts - on sale for $5.00, so even though they don't last more than a few months, they are a deal!

We still haven't opened the Christmas presents from our clients. I think we have to do that this morning so I can get busy with the Thank You notes. We go back to San Diego today so time is limited.

Sure wish I could just spend the week here in Palm Springs. Oh well. We only have to work 3 days and we will be back Friday night in time to see the New Year in properly! We are soo spoiled.

Thanks again for your encouragement.

Facebook is insidious. It has stolen my time and my energy and taken me from my blog. I am hoping to get back to this now. If I go here first maybe I can keep it up. I enjoy the writing and the sharing. Sometimes I think I bore all of you unless I am traveling, but here we go.

Christmas this year was wonderful and challenging. I truly thought that my years of heavy scheduling at work during the lead-up to Christmas was over. Not so. This year was busy. I can't complain about being successful but the 45 years I have been standing on my feet is beginning to take it's toll.

The salon had a wonderful Holiday party. Most of us took a limousine from Fashion Valley to Rancho Valencia in Ranch Santa Fe for a great dinner! Glad we had the car as it was very dark out there and I'm sure that we would still be wandering around trying to find our way out.

Then Mother needed to have a Holiday party, which meant that Tedd and Steve had to give a holiday party. No problem. We did that the next night.

The following Sunday we entertained at our home in Palm Springs with a Holiday gathering. It was fun, but the next day I woke up sick and exhausted. I stayed down for two days, then bounced back for the continuation of the season.

Christmas Eve was a wonderful gathering at an old friend Pierre Rivet and Wolfie's home in San Diego. We were invited to bring Mother so we did and we all had a great time. The Jambalaya was incredible as were the cheese straws, cupcakes and everything else. Best was the company.

We got to reconnect with old friends like Ron Ferrero and Duke Pham, and Richard Sager, LuAnne and more. It was a special evening for us, and for Mother.

Then we left early Christmas morning for Palm Springs, where we collapsed a bit more. Christmas afternoon we went on the a new friend's house for a lovely Christmas dinner. Lee and Greg made a very elaborate multi-course holiday meal. The food was incredible, amongst a heavily decorated home. It was beautiful and a great group of friends. We were the new kids, and delighted to be invited.

Now we are just recovering from days of partying and too much work. We had a four day weekend this week and next. Hurray. We need it.

Then it will be only 3 weeks until we head for our annual pilgrimage to Quartzsite to be with the Rainbow RV and Traveling Our Way gay motorhome groups. We are taking a whole week off, so officially it's a vacation!

Eye on the Prize!

I really don't want to dwell on this day. It was long. It was long and hard.

We met Karina this morning at 8:30 to check us out of the apartment, and had a cab waiting for us at 8:40 to take us to Charles De Gaulle airport for our check in and flight.

Everything went smooth. We waited. We boarded. We sat in a plane while it flew for 10+ hours across the Atlantic to Dallas/Ft. Worth.

We got off, got our bags, went through customs and immigration. We waited. We boarded. We sat in a plane for another 3 hours while it flew us to San Diego.

We got our bags again, got a cab -

...and got to come home and see our dog Buster and our cat Namale! Yay!
Hugs and kisses, more hugs and kisses
A shower, bed.

G'night. It was fun though. Worth every m.......zzzzzzzzzzz

Having been out so late the night before, we slept in until 8:30. That's very late for me, but I did sleep later than normal on this trip.

After some coffee and pastry we decided to head out to the Bastille area of Le Marais. I had heard there was some trendy shopping and fun things to see. We didn't find much good shopping but did happen on an art show that had some bad, but some good art. Steve ended up buying a painting from a comtemporary abstract artist. I found an artist who had a painting I liked, but since I had already purchased an impressionist painting, I decided to think about it and contact him by email if I had to have it. I think I will forego it for now.

We had lunch at a place that Chuck and Dierdre had recommended, the Fountain Sully. We, well I, had a wonderful lunch, mine an omelet and Steve, for some reason, had chicken nuggets. Commercial, formed chicken nuggets. He said it was what he wanted but in France?? Oh well. Not my job.

We walked for a few more blocks down Rue De Rivoli and then caught a cab to the Latin Quarter. We went to Boulevard St. Germaine and Boulevard St. Michelle. I realized while shopping that I had been in the neighborhood before, the last time in Paris. I remember asking directions at the cash desk at this very store. Funny how things come back.

I bought a pair of cool jeans and we headed back to the apartment. Again, in an area as busy at that the cabs were hard to come by, but with patience and finding the correct corner we scored.

We relaxed and watched a bit of Animal Planet French style, napped, and just lazed around for the last evening in Paris.

We decided to try another restaurant touted by my friend Ethel, Leo le Lion, but there was no outside dining and we really wanted to eat on the street our last dinner out.

We found a nice corner place on Rue Cler and had a wonderful meal. Steve had sea bass and I had roast chicken and risotto. OMG it was wonderful. Grey Goose as an aperitif and no dessert. Stuffed and happy.

We walked back to the apartment to start the packing ritual. It went fast and easy. Steve is great at packing, other than forgetting the sport coats in the hall closet. Oh well. They went in easily.

It has been a wonderful experience in Paris I have fallen in love with the city. The people, contrary to all that we have heard throughout the years, were wonderful and helpful. They all had a sense of humor with us, and as long as we said "bonjour" they were always willing to try and help us.

The cabbies were all great and many tried to speak English and I tried to understand their French. It all worked and we always got where we wanted to go.

Shop keepers were all gracious and the restauranteurs were all attentive and happy.

It was such a great time. I hate to leave. Yeah, Palm Springs and San Diego are not too bad, but Paris......I hate to leave. But Palm Springs .... yeah.

This morning was another lazy one. I went to Rue Cler and got some more Pan de Chocolat to get the morning started. We are tired from all the running but we don't want to miss anything so we keep going as best we can. Steve's back is holding up pretty well. We have to stop and rest fairly often but we are making everything as you have been reading.

We called for cancellations at The Moulin Rouge and got some tickets for the 11:00 show. We decided we had to see the Can-Can before we really had seen Paris. Score.

Today we had to go and get more Euros. I was floored to find out that most French banks don't change money from US to Euros. We had to find a money changer. They are not on every corner. We could get money from a cash machine, but I brought some US cash that I needed to use. A nice customer in the French bank told me there were many changers on the Champs Elysee. We walked the 2 blocks to the Seine, crossed it by the Grand Palais and cut over the the Champs Elysee. Luckily in the first block of businesses I found a Barclay Bank and they could change US for me. YAY

Then it wasn't a far walk back to the Seine to jump on a Batobus, a sightseeing water taxi, for a journey through town on the Seine.

First stop was the Eiffel Tower which is beautiful from any perspective. An amazing structure. From there we went back past the Champs Elysee to the Ile de Cite and Notre Dame. We took pictures from the water but just wanted to stay on the boat and not walk around too much this morning.

The next stop was the Paris City gardens, called the Jardin de les Plantes. Beautiful from the water and I'm sure it would be a joy to walk through them. We just need another week.

Next stop I think was the Louvre which we had already done. There was one other stop, but like I said, we just wanted to see Paris from the Seine.

We got off again at the Champs Elysee and walked the 3 blocks to home at 26 Rue Fabert.

After resting a little bit and regrouping we headed up to the Arc de Triumphe at the head of the Champs Elysee. We decided to walk down the avenue instead of up. We stopped and had a good late lunch/early dinner at an Italian place on the sidewalk. It was fun to see the people strolling and scurrying down the Champs Elysee. It is all that I had heard. The couture salons, the junk, just about anything. But everyone had style. Including the gypsies, who looked just like gypsies, complete with head scarves. Lol. No blending in. In fact, in the middle of the crowd there was an old gypsie crone giving direction to the others as to how to scam the tourists. No wonder France is sending them back to Romania. I can't blame them.

We went back to the apartment to take a nap, considering we would be out very late. The Moulin Rouge show started at 11:30, we had to be there at 10:30, so we figured rest was in order.

At 10:00 we caught a cab for Monmartre and the Moulin Rouge. We had decent seats, not counting the princess bitches sitting at the table next to us who didn't appreciate that they had great seats and had to try to make our evening lousy (they failed miserably).

The show was, well, the show. It had great costumes and some wonderful specialty acts while costume changes we made, but the show itself? Not a lot of good dancing, but LOTS of boobs and glitter. I could see me at Halloween playing an aging, fat Moulin Rouge dancer. LOL. OMG. Not. No more fishnets and thongs for this guy. Maybe....

A cab was hard to get and we actually had to avoid a fighting drunk to get one, but we managed and got home at 2:00 AM. Whew.

I am usually an early riser, but I'm finding here in Paris that I am sleeping in until at least 8:00 AM. I think it is because the windows of the apartment all face an inner courtyard and it stays darker in the room. It's fine but hard to get a jump on the day. Not that we are lacking in activity.

Today was Monmartre. We caught a cab to the funiculaire, a cable car on tracks, and went up the hill to Sacre' Coeur. It is a beautiful cathedral architecturally and all done in white stone. The view of the city is magnificent. The city is laid out before you, with one exception. From the area of the cathedral you can not see Le Tour Eiffel.

We went to Monmartre to find a painter that had a gallery behind Sacre'Coeur. I had seen his work the last trip to Paris and had wanted one of his works ever since then. As luck would have it Jacque Chardon was still at his gallery. His works are very evocotive of the Paris experience, even to Paris in the rain. I found one I loved of the Champs Elysèe and purchased it. Steve isn't wild about the impressionist style, as we both love abstract, but it will always remind me of our trip, and the colors are fantastic. I'll find a place for it in Palm Springs.

We wandered around the little shops and decided to try to find the Moulin Rouge to see if we could get tickets for the show. Well, after MUCH wandering, we finally found it. My, it's in a seedy district! Lots of strip shows and dance halls. A busy area however. We checked the box office and they said to call in the morning to see if there were cancellations.

So we caught a cab back to the apartment to drop off the painting. We went around the corner to the Recruitment Cafe for a small bite, a sandwich, and the rain started again. This time it came down in buckets, but for a short time. We were eating outside under an awning but the rain still blew in so Steve just raised his umbrella and all was fine.

We decided to go to the apartment for a rest before trying another bistro down the street for dinner.

We seem to be eating very late here, as is the habit of most of Paris. About 8:30 we headed down towards Tour Maubourg to the Cafe l'Esplanade. We had seen many people there during the day and the place looked very nice with orange velvet chairs and shiny laquered tables with crisp starched linens. As it turns out, it is a very popular place for dinner. We should have known with the cars double parked out front. And by cars I mean Bentleys, Lambourghinis, Mazeratis, etc.

While we should have made reservations for dinner, they were able to fit us in. Thank goodness as just then the skies opened up again. Dinner was another great epicurean experience. Steve's steak and my spicy Lobster pasta were incredible. (One thing I must say, here in Paris they are incredibly stingy with their vodka. Thimble size with ice is what they call a drink. But we have survived on this, for now.) After a small and delicious dessert, we strolled back to the apartment in the now dry night.

Another memorable day;

Today is the first rainy day. We knew a storm may come through, but we didn't know when. It's today.

So that means it's a great day for museums. We decided to hit the Louvre. We arrived and headed through the cavernous mall beneath the museum and including beneath the I.M. Pei pyramid. I was watching for a store owned by our nieghbors in Palm Springs called Perico, but didn't find it.

We decided to head up, with the rest of the world, to see the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and Venus De Milo. I have seen so much Greek sculpture in Greece and the London Museum, that I had no desire to see any more. We saw some of the Italian paintings and sculpture, our three main objectives and ran as fast as we could out of that hot, overcrowded and impossible museum. Steve's legs were hurting and my patience was gone. Bye. And the rain had stopped.

We decided after getting out in the nice, cool, fresh air to stroll down through the Jardin des Tuileries. It was beautiful and a good place for Steve to rest his legs and back. Till the rain started. Oh well. We had umbrellas. It didn't rain very hard or for very long, but enough to make mud.

We decided to skip the next planned museum, the L'Orangerie and head for lunch. We had decided on yet another recommendation by Ethel. This time it was a small cafe, very chic and old, called Le Souffle. It was only a block from where were by the Jeu de Paum, at 36 rue Mont Thabor. They graciously seated us without reservations, which I would consequently recommend.

The specialty there is, of course souffle. I had leek and scallop souffle while Steve had ham and cheese. YUM!! And, of course a Kir Royale for me, vodka for Steve. (He's allergic to wine!) What a delicious and elegant lunch on a rainy day.

Catching a taxi in the rain in Paris is not easy! It took several corner placements before we found the right spot, and still a bit of a wait until an available cab came to our rescue. Whew. But we made it home again.

Dinner tonight was quite spectacular. I had made reservations at the Jules Verne restaurant on the second level of Le Tour Eiffel. Oh my God what a view! Of course I was terrified at first with my fear of heights, but soon calmed myself and truly enjoyed the magnificent view of this gorgeous city. We saw it from day through dusk and into night. An incredible experience in itself.

But the meal. I couldn't believe that food could be so perfectly prepared, so beautifully presented, and with the most perfect service I have ever encountered. Everything was so perfect so as to almost seem unreal. But it was real.

The Tournedos of Boeuf with Pate de Foie Gras and Anna potatoes was amazing. And did I mention the view? And dessert. I had something chocolate that was so incredible it was absurd. Steve had a georgous tart with hand made ice cream. Then they brought us both a small shot glass of creme with raspberries, small chocolates, and macaroons. Divine overkill.

We were in the dining room long enough to see the light show of le Tour Eiffel sparkle right out of the window beside us. It was so amazing to feel a part of it, being so close.

It was the most incredible evening ever. I hope I never lose this memory.

We had them call for a taxi and reluctantly went home. I found it hard to sleep thinking about what we had just enjoyed.

I woke up early-ish and decided to head for Rue Cler, one of the oldest markets in all of Paris. I wanted to see what was there and I found a boucherie where I could get some Pate de foie gras. We already had the pain de chocolat so we didn't need anything else so I headed home. But I got to see what it was all about.

I came back, made coffee in the press and got Steve starting the day.

We decided to go to two museums today. First we walked to the Musee Rodin. It was really interesting to see the original bronzes of things you have seen all your life such as The Thinker, and the Gates of Hell. Beautiful setting and many things to see.

From there we headed to the Musee D'Orsay. Oh my. From the moment we entered the door we were enchanted. The juxtaposition of the very old structure and contemporary walls around the exhibits was magic. And we got to see works by Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Renoir, Gauguin, Van Gogh and so many others. What a joy.

But we got tired of standing and walking so we decided to take a break, rest, and head shopping!

We hired a taxi (the resting part) and headed for Galleries Lafayette near the Opera. While they had four floors of men's wear, all I found was a resonably priced man purse, while Steve just refused to pay the high prices of all of the clothes.

So we headed down the street to C&A. It's a more reasonably priced department store and he found a well styled hoodie sweatshirt to his liking. I was really happy that he found something.

For dinner we decided to try another favorite of Ethel's called Chamade Cafe on Le Suffrens, near le Tour Eiffel. We were warmly greeted by the owner Dominique when we mentioned Ethel's name. The food and the service were spectacular, as we followed Dominique's suggestions and had pate du foie gras and the Duck Breast l'Orange. That and a Kir Royale for me and a vodka for Steve and we were really happy. And tired.

We had Dominique call a taxi for us and headed past the Tour Eiffel home to Les Invalides and our wonderful apartment.

We slept in a bit, like 7:30. I had an engagement at the Meurice Hotel with my friend Joan to do her hair. I caught a cab and was there at 8:30, had a bit of coffee and a pain de chocolat, and came back to get the day going. I must say, the Meurice is quite a lovely hotel.

Today we went to the Money exchange in the St Germaine area. From there we decided to go find Bon Marche to buy some fragrances for gifts. What a beautiful store. It was partially designed by Gustaf Eiffel and is the oldest department store in Paris. Gorgeous, and expensive!!! We left before I could go broke!!

Looking at the map we decided that it didn't look too far to just walk home. Guess what? I could have done it easily, but for Steve's back it was too far! Probably 6-7 miles. We stopped for coffee along the way for a rest but there was tired folks who fell into the apartment when we got here.

We took a nap and woke refreshed. We decided that we needed some things at the market to stock the fridge. We needed Vodka, Cranberry juice, oh yeah, some crackers and cheese. It eventually took 3 trips to the store and boulangerie to acquire all of the pain de chocolat, croissant and assorted other things we "needed". LOL.

For dinner we decided to try a place just down the street that we had seen several times. It's called the Recruitment Bistro, and was very decent. Better Vodka than we had been served other places, if that is a good comparison. LOL. The food was delicious and the service was decent, only having one server and one bartender for a fairly busy joint! We laughed and had a good time, and it was one block from the apartment.

Another day done. We will sleep very well tonight.

First of all, the journey was an easy one. The flights were on time and the connections easy. And for us to be where we are supposed to be at the same time is phenomenal. But we were and we are here.

We arrived at the apartment and were met by Fred, one of the members of Paris Vacation Apartments. He explained how everything worked and procedures for everything, like the washer and dryer and the dishwasher, windows, shutters etc. That took an hour. Then we were on our own.

We decided to go to a flea market that we passed on the way into town. It was a hefty taxi ride but we had a great time. There was all different kinds of things, from furniture to antique clothing, to antiques themselves. Lots of midcentury, since most of the midcentury designers were European. Loved seeing that stuff.We bypassed several other flea markets of clothes, a mistake, because we were tired and needed to get back to the apartment to rest.

(By the way, if you find mistakes in the spelling here it is because this is a French keyboard and some letters are in a different place, such as the a and the w and the m. Very difficult.)

We ate at a restaurant that my friend Ethel recommended called Le Suffren. It was a wonderful first dinner in Paris, as it was easy. We took a taxi there and then decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower park just to see it. We thought we'd get a cab from there, but no such luck. LOL . We ended up walking back, and with a minor setback by a wrong turn, we finally made it home to the apartment. Exhausted.

G'night all...

Yep. Today is the last day of work before tomorrow's takeoff on an adventure in Paris. Not that I am excited but....YAY!!

It's been a hard week at work, and moving the motorhome and our "stuff" to the new park didn't help. My trainer will have his hands full today getting me loosened up. Hamstrings are tight, low back is tight, mid back is tight. LOL.

We are almost packed. We really only want to take 2 rolling cases so we have to cut a bit of stuff. Tonight will tell if we have to take an extra case. I hope not. We will only be gone 8 days including travel days. We'll see.

Many friends have been helpful, giving me things to do like museums, restaurants, galleries. It promises to be a busy but enjoyable time. The weather looks mixed. It may rain parts of 3 days on us but only one day of storm. Good day for museums.

I didn't sleep well last night. A diesel truck parked out on the street and idled for 1/2 hour at 3:00 AM. I couldn't really get back to deep sleep after that. There are an amazing amount of nighttime noises. So I'm starting a long hard work day tired.

I guess I will sleep well tonight.