Jour a la plage... les Sables De L'Onnes

(UPDATE) : Okay so here's some pics of the other day. It was absolutely gorgeous out. Chilled on the beach, laughed at the kids flying a kite... or rather, attempting to fly a kite.

Sorry it's been forever Bloggers... but today we went to the beach and it was awesome. Pics to follow... stories to follow... basically I suck at blogging.

meg

Paris in 5 days...

So I've been in Paris since Wednesday and have a lot to catch this blog up on. There's 5 days and loads of pics... so good luck!

Day 5: Paris a la motorvelo!

Before heading back to Challans, Doc took me for a tour of Paris on his motorcycle. If you have ever ridden with this man you know that I was truly taking a risk hopping on this cycle with him. It was AWESOME! The best way to see the city. We saw all the little arrondisments and Doc told me the story of his younger years in Paris... Place des vendomes, where Marie Antoinette lost her head, the famous bridges, the little intricacies... all of it!

I had seen all the sights with the girls, but there's something different about riding along the Seine and then quick turning to fly through the square of the Louvre. --- liberating... vive la france! It is so full of life.---- from then grabbed the TGV and headed out to Challans where I am tonight. Chilling alone in France for the first time. It feels nice and now, I'm going to get some rest. It is 2am after all. Though I'm learning this is a typical bedtime for most Parisians :{ ) That's my best smiley for the french.

Bonuit.
Meg

Day 4: The Louvre and Doc comes in to town!

(pics to come)
This morning I woke up and went to the Lourve on my own. (metro--- check) Missed the long lines by entering through the metro (thank you frommers) and headed in to the museum. 1st stop, of course, the Jaccond... ou la Mona Lisa. Tres bien, oui... mais there are so many beautiful paintings and pieces of art I continued.

The Venus de Milo, a small sphynx... I finally stopped in the lovely, bright room that housed some roman sculptures and sat down with the headphones on and sketched. Before I know it... 2 hours had gone by. Seriously. I could do that 2-3 times a week and not be bored. Loved it there. Walked out through the pyramid and gasped. I had yet to see the building(s) that housed all this lovely art. It, itself, is stunning and VAST!

Met up with Lina and Doc and headed out for dinner altogether with another friend and her dog Macho. Macho is all toughness in about 2 cups full.Tried escargo and foie gras for the first time. Loved them both. Walked around St. Germain and saw one of the oldest restaurants in Paris. Benji Franklin, Robespierre, etc have dined there. Cool little neighborhood. We chatted about the Cuban missile crisis of all topics and then walked along the Seine. --- great evening and such a nice dinner.

Day 3: To the top of the Eiffel Tower and BEYOND!

We decided it was crucial to head to the top of the tower and see Paris from a distance. What we didn't remember was the long line we'd spend 2 hours in waiting. It was well worth it! We took the elevator to the 2nd floor where you have to change to a 2nd elevator. This was when the heights phobia set in for most, as the elevator is primarily glass and the view is INTENSE! Up... up... and still up further. When they finally opened the doors people poured out as if they were afraid to spend one more second in an elevator suspended those tens of stories above the ground. I'll admit I was just a little uneasy :) The view breath-taking... the wind... breath-taking (haha). It was blowing like crazy... can't imagine it on a stormy day.

I just couldn't think of being a worker suspended up this tall, iron structure. I'd vomit.... in fact reflecting on that still makes me a little nauseous. It's sooo high up. Finally had a true idea of the lay out of France and how strategic it was. The larger streets wide enough to send an army down to fight off any little revolts which would be coming from the smaller side streets. (masterful)

Then we walked through the city... checked out some local sites and decided to hit up a local movie theatre. This pretty much did us in for the night and we met up with Abdul for a quick bit, but a thunderstorm struck and rain poured on the Champs... hilarious to watch this place flooded with people become a chaotic mess with rain-soaked tourists running for their lives. The lightning show continued even after we reached the apartments and found the aftershock of us leaving the windows open. Yes... the passport, soaked. Luckily... things dry.

Day 2: more pics

Day 2: Touring Paris

We hit it all. Notre Dame, Jardin du Luxemburg, the Sorbonne, St. Germain, St. Michelle, St. Chappelle. All in one day. Gorgeous weather, gorgeous architecture. Notre Dame is well... breath-taking and the others just seem so ornate and massive. I can't imagine the gardens being my backyard. Then again, I can't imagine being late 1700's french royalty either, so...