Syracuse, New York

Home for the Holidays
Brought the Puffin home to experience Thanksgiving for the first time. Quite a bit of time was spent cooking and eating as well as tending to and sitting by the fireplace.


We then began the "cat-i-fication" project. While in Paris, the Puffin and I bought some Ich & Kar cat decals from a store in the 4th Arondissement for my mom. The decals consist of various cat bodies on which you have to arrange the heads, eyes, noses, mouths, whiskers and tails. Here is one half-way done.

And the final product. I used a few eyeballs for cat poops. I dedicate this one to my niece.

Here is the one my mom did.

The Puffin made a cross-eyed, summersaulting cat in the living room.

Snarky-cat, standing on the banister.

A shot looking up the stairs.

Inky with cross-eyed kitty.

Paris - Epilogue

Back in the BK, Safe and Sound
We made it back in one piece and arrived to a chill in the air. It is 29 degrees out - quite a shock to the body. I am happy to be back home. Enjoyed the trip and am looking forward to my future trips to Paris. As it stands, I will be back there for 2 weeks in December, 2 weeks in January and most of February. I will try to start getting regular french lessons both here in NY and in Paris to try to make the most of my travels.

Paris - Day 16

Last Day in Paris (I think...)
We are headed to the airport shortly to fly out, we think. You never know given the way folks strike over here. I read in the paper today that some of the train operators are going on strike beginning today and on Thursday the primary school teachers are going to strike.

A Look Back at Yesterday Afternoon
We took a walk from our hotel to Place de Vosges, a park in the Marais that is the oldest in Paris. It was built in the early 1600's - read up on the history of it here.

Statue of Louis XIIIth at the center of the park, looking south.

As usual, the trees are cut in precise site lines. I would love to see how it looks with the trees full of leaves.

A shot from the center of the park, looking towards the southwest corner.

A shot from the center of the park looking due south.

Tea Shopping at Dammann Freres

At the western edge of Place de Vosges is a tea shop that has been in business for 3 generations and is known for their high-quality loose teas.

You can sniff hundreds of samples to decide which you want to buy. I personally sniffed about 10 or so.

In this photo, if you click on it for a larger view, you can see the table the couple is standing against with its tiny sniffing compartments.

They also sell tea bags, but in many fewer varieties so we settled on two loose-leaf teas. Mom, get your tea kettle ready - we're bringing them home to you. I think you'll like the choices.

Paris - Day 15

Coolest Subway Station

Puff and I were on the 11 train heading to breakfast this morning when the doors opened at a stop called Arts & Metiers and I caught a glimpse of the inside of a submarine. I know that sounds strange, but that is the fleeting impression I got. On the way back, we got out at the stop to take photos. Judge for yourself.

This is how it looked when I stepped out of the train. The entire stop is clad in brass.

A glance across the tracks. There are giant faux cogs above the tracks and notice the porthole in the wall, at eye level.

A closer inspection of a porthole. There is something inside...

There is a miniature castle inside the porthole. Click on this picture for a closer look.

Turns out, the stop is beneath a museum of the same name. It is an arts and sciences museum called Musee des Arts et Metiers. Check out there site here.

Paris - Day 14

It Ain't France Without a Strike...
So, the French pilots went on strike this weekend. They are striking against Sarkozy's plan to change the retirement age from 60 to 65. Our Sunday afternoon flight was cancelled at 10pm last night (Saturday) and rescheduled for Tuesday. I made an effort to call Air France to try to get on another flight, but I got frustrated trying to get through all the automated phone robots. Why fight it? I would want to retire at 60 as well. Besides, my company has to pay for the extension, not me. It would be a whole different story if I had to spend an extra $500-$600 of my own money on hotel and food. I will just "suffer" through another two days in Paris.....

Everyone was on the lookout for the missing pilots.

How About Some Soothing Gelato?
Take a peek at our gelato jaunt a few days back by clicking here.

A Walk Past the Louvre

We took a walk past the Louvre, over the Seine to the left bank for some breakfast. I snapped some shots of the Louvre on my way by.

Paris - Day 13

Cruising the Local Market
Today is the last full day here. At breakfast we noticed a market a few hundred feet away where usually there is an empty plaza. We strolled over to check it out. It was stocked full of all kinds of good stuff.

Fresh veggies.

I wonder where the fruits come from? Spain, perhaps?

I wish I had a grill....

Rotisserie chicken.

The prawns were still alive and kicking.

Oysters.

Afternoon Trip to Pigalle and Sacre Coeur
In the afternoon we got on the metro, headed towards Sacre Coeur. My camera died just as I managed to squeeze off a shot.

Paris - Day 12

Do You Start Your Day Better than the Kid?
Perhaps you do, but I doubt it. Lately we've been starting our day at a boulangerie near the Chatelet metro. It opens at 7:30am, at which point the treats below are coming out of the oven. Puffin went for a tartine, which is toasted, split baguette on which you pile on butter, honey, jams, etc. I got an almond croissant and a raisin danish. The orange juice was freshly squeezed, as usual.

Shot from the outside.

Paris By Night

The Paris opera house.

Paris opera house - close up.

Cafe life at a small cafe outside the hotel.

Rue de Rivoli, one block from the hotel.

Paris - Day 11

Ooh La-La, the Grind

Gotta be honest, I am tired of sitting in the same meeting room every day. Starting to get a bit old. As far as meeting rooms go, it is a nice one, with wi-fi, comfortable chairs, big windows, etc. I really am sick of it, though. Just today and tomorrow and that will be it for this trip, thank goodness.

Where would I rather be? Anywhere that has a window like this......

The Puffin Goes-A-Riding

Puffin learned how to rent a bike from the bike stations that are all over the city. She got a typical model and took off towards the 9th Arondissement.

First things first, ever since she stepped in dog poop the other day she became obsessed with it, shooting photos of it.

She took a nice shot of an unnamed arch.

And found a nice Vietnamese restaurant where they hand-pull the noodles.

More updates tomorrow...

Paris - Day 10

Getting Euro-Styled on You!

Everyone says that Europeans are so much more stylish than the rest of us. Truth is, all you gotta do is buy a cool bag and a colorful scarf and voila! This is my same old trusty suit, with a $5 scarf from a Brooklyn street vendor and my cool new Italian bag. The key is that the colors in the scarf don't match the suit at all! Put it all together, and you get instant Eurotrash. NICE!

But Can You Talk the Talk?

Well, that is an entirely different story. My French is pretty rudimentary. I can order food in a restaurant, ask basic questions about where things are and understand basic questions being asked of me. For example, I can go down to the hotel front desk and ask for an extra pillow (because some unnamed person needs three pillows, for some reason.) I can watch CSI Miami here and follow the action - but that is mainly because of context. I have not had much trouble with people understanding what I am saying - which must mean that my accent is passable.

Paris - Day 9

Public Holiday = Empty Streets
Today is Remembrance Day in France, a public holiday celebrating the end of WWI. Nobody is working but me, or so it feels. The streets were absolutely empty this morning around the hotel, which was nice for taking photographs. I also got a seat on the metro and was able to read my newspaper, which was nice.

Rue St.-Merri is a street around the corner from the hotel. Here is a shot of that street from one direction.

Rue St.-Merri from the other direction. Those lights in the distance are one of the few cafes that were open. We had coffee there.

Further along Rue-St.-Merri, that is Centre Georges Pompidou peeking out at the end.

Public Holiday Benefits
One nice benefit is that the building cafeteria was closed today, forcing us outside for a good meal. It was nice and sunny out, though a bit windy and cool.

I took the recommendation of my French compatriot Gilles to order Saucisse D'Auvergne with Aligot. This translates to pork sausage with a side of mash potatoes. However, it is a special type of mashed potatoes in that they add in milk curd or creme fraiche and mix it together. It ends up being like mashed potatoes with melted cheese. Very, very excellent taste.