We have been having a great time in Paris! Our villa is amazing and I am falling in love with French architecture and decorating. I have taken several pictures to use as ideas when I get back home. Let me just say that I have really loved being here – we are having such a great time seeing the sights, meeting people, and tasting the food (I am falling in love with madeleines, French cheeses, and French wine).

We have had fun navigating the streets and crazy traffic. I don’t think that anyone gets pulled over in Paris, and drivers see lanes as suggestions or recommendations and frequently drive between them or just create a whole new lane as they see fit. The scooters are especially bad, as are the Smart Cars. They are so tiny that they can just zip in and out as they please, which makes us a bit tense, to say the least!

It has been really neat just to walk around the city. We have frequented several wine shops, boulangeries (bakeries), cafes, fromageries (cheese shops), chocolatiers, brasseries, and so on and so forth. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and saw the beautiful views. We have been to the Louvre, seen the Venus d’Milo, Winged Victory, and the Mona Lisa. I especially liked the Egyptian Antiquities room and all of the sarcophagi. We have also been to the Arc d’Triomphe. Today we went shopping and stayed close to the villa since it was raining.

Tomorrow we are going to Champagne Country and plan to visit the Moet et Chandon cellar, among others. On Wednesday we are going to Versailles, and on Thursday we plan to visit the Musee d’Orsay later in the day and stay for an evening in Paris so that we can see the city all lit up.

Well, I will keep you updated. I would post pictures, except I forgot to bring the USB connector for our camera (oops).