„Guten“ Riding: PARIS

First off, sorry for the absence. I have had far less free time and a far crappier internet connection since making it to Paris. Hope I haven't lost too many of you. Back to business...

This penultimate leg of the journey began on Thursday night after a 5 hour sprint from Geneva. I had a lengthy and saucy write up about that ride and its general amazingness, but "5 days removed" has taken its toll. To give you a taste... it was going to start with the defintion of the French culinary expression "amuse bouche." Then I was going to follow that by proposing a new expression..."amuse yeux" (kind of rhymes in frog-talk), defined by the kind of epic visual stimulation I experienced for 5+ hours driving due West during an extended sunset over French wine country. Needless to say, the post was going to be Pulitzer worthy and I know you're dying inside knowing that it probably would have helped you find your Buddha/reach full enlightenment...my bad.

Instead, I offer the following drivel...

Friday started with a couple treats....Kev's flight got delayed 4 hours and I realized that I had booked the wrong hotel. It was an ominous beginning, though quickly righted by his arrival and our ensuing baguette & brie feast in the gardens in front of the Louvre under a cloudless sky. After a ridiculously good typical French dinner, we met up with some friends/ friends-of-friends, who thankfully helped us sort out Paris' Canadian bar scene. Quite a scene...The next three days saw a lot of the same...visits to the must-see's (Musee d'Orsay, Louvre, Champs d'Elysee, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur etc.), baguette breaks all over the city, outstanding dinners, and a couple of entertaining nights trying to figure out the local scene. Even got up early one morning to catch the sun breaking over a few of the famous landmarks...definitely one of the highlights.

There's a lot more to share from this trip, but unfortunately I'm exhausted and dead set on getting some much needed sleep. I'll share all the deets with all those who care when I come home (IN LESS THAN A WEEK)!

Enjoy this small batch of photos....a couple priceless poses.

First, the Eiffel Tower.

Quickly became an obsession...

Great light...

Typical weather for the trip...got reallly lucky

Looking down and West-ish from the tower, towards the Palais de Chaillot and the Financial District

The ol' Arc...de Triomphe

Three pretty solid pose shots...

The first two are from when Kev and I stumbled onto a street hockey game (straight out of "Mighty Ducks," or specifically, "D2") going on by the Esplanade des Invalides...