Saturday, July 11, 2009

How the tables/stomachs have turned
















The patient has become the typist; the nurse is now the patient.

Jess is down with the same stomach bug I suffered a couple days ago. For her, hot chocolate and croissant will be the lasting memory of Paris. However, the nasties didnt kick in until this afternoon so the morning was an enjoyable trip to the heart of gypsies, cheesy knick-knacks and Asian tour groups - the Eiffel Tower!

First: we went all the way to the top. Looking down from the second level - which we walked to to save about two hours of line ups for elevators at 9am- is pretty scary. Once at the top, looking out is pooping-your-pants scary Editors note: despite the jokes trotting around this site the past few days, nobody pooped their pants at the top of the tower. Cool fact for the day is that the young engineer who designed the tower in 1888 insisted his office be forever at the top, 330m above Paris, and it is still there today. Legend has it he died in his office and they never removed him. We called bullshit on that one pretty much off the bat. Got some etiquette lessons on how to properly cut lines from some Polish and Italian dinks - karma won in the end as they were informed they forgot to buy their ticket about 30 mins earlier in line. Let this be a lesson to all the Polish and Italian ginos out there.

Second, we hopped on a river cruise and took in the Parisian slum line - sorry, shore line. Interestingly, there are over 1200 churches in the city and we saw that many hobos along the river path in an hour. Paris is, and likely always will be, a vast public campground and urinal. Nonetheless, the cruise was great and we are back at the hostel. Jess is asleep whilst I munch on some baguette and Boursin cheese.

Off to Caen tomorrow morning and just searching for the ideal accommodations now. Hope to rent scooters to tour the beaches but more on that tomorrow.

Adios!

3 comments:

  1. Heading to Caen? Major site during the Normandy invasion in WWII, and very close to the assault beaches and other really interesting WWII sites. I hope you get a chance to check them out. I was there four years ago.

    Oh, and what is with you two always getting sick on vacation?

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  2. Haha, I have to agree with James - you two always find a way to get sick on holidays! But I'm glad that Graham is feeling better and hopefully Jess does too soon.
    Sounds like you guys are having a blast seeing the sights and people watching! You really make Paris sound lovely... :)
    Keep having fun! Hopefully your scooters have a speedometer this time, unlike in Cuba!

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  3. Hi Nurses J and G - who looks better with the little white hat on? Nice of G to share his bugs ain't it? At least Barb can stop worrying about his overly sensitive gastro tract. Or else Jessica should start worrying about hers. And what is that "Que Ce Que" thing? Hopefully you are not in French immersion in Calgary. (Not that Calgary would have French immersion.) I am intrigued that every Hobo in Gay Paris gets his/her own church. That is sooo nice! It sounds like you got around most of the town which is pretty good when you had to stop in at every restroom on the way. We look forward to the next installment. G should stick to panache and bread, then Jess can see him in his 300lb version. Then for sure everyone will think you are American.
    Love xxxooo

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