Driving in Paris is heart-stoppingly scary. The round-abouts here have no lanes, so it’s just like a 40 car demolition derby race.

Parisian subways are hot, dirty & gross. I miss my clean, efficient german tram system.

You will grow old and die waiting in line at the eiffel tower. Actually, the lines pretty much everywhere were long. We eventually gave up at the catacombs and were told we wouldn’t get a chance to go up the eiffel tower before they closed. Lines are evil.

Ok, that was the bad….

The good. Since arriving in Paris Friday morning, we’ve been to the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame cathedral, walked along the Champs Elysees, visited La Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre, toured the Sainte Chapelle, stood on the steps of the Pantheon, checked out the Musée d’Orsay, and tomorrow we’ll try to hit the Palace of Versailles and after that… shop, shop, shop.

There’s also an excellent chinese food restaurant next door (with great thai beef) and we’ve yet to encounter the whole rude parisian thing… but then again, we haven’t been to many fancy clubs or eateries. That might be why.

Also, it’s nice to see a little diversity again. Dresden is white, whiter and more white… with the occasional turkish guy thrown in to give the whiteys something to stare at. Here it’s all colors, creeds & languages melted into a huge line waiting to get into the lourve.

And the art… the sculptures… the architecture… the sheer volume of just, everything. It defies explanation. We’re tired, but happy. The girls are hanging in there, too. Robbie pretty much thinks everything “sucks”, but the flat we’re staying in has free calls to america, so she’s been catching up with all her old friends… she’s also been promised a 250 euro shopping spree tomorrow (little does she know that will only buy her an ‘I heart paris’ t-shirt and some flip-flops), so she’s excited. Sydney’s been happy throughout… hey, what’s not to like when you’re 5?

On this day..

• Moment of zen. - 2007
• The prosecution rests. - 2007
• Parting shots. - 2007