Anticipation

Our youngest daughter called from Belize today. She's been in the jungle on an archeology dig (the girls are having a much more exciting time than we are) and comes home Tuesday. We booked the flight to Vienna and Paris after she left for Belize, so this is the first time she heard that the trip was definitely a "go". We discussed the possibility of going to Europe just before she left, and I mentioned that even though I would love to go to Paris, Prague was actually a lot closer and made more sense (I was just trying to be an adult. Secretly, I was also rooting for Paris.). Indiana Jane looked at me and said "I have not studied French since the ninth grade so we could go to Prague!"

In the end, romance won out over sensibility, and we booked a side trip to Paris. Now we just need a place to stay. I'm pulling for a short-term apartment rental, because it's harder to imagine yourself living in an exotic locale when you are checked in to a hotel. I've always been more of a traveler than a tourist. I like to shop in the same places that the locals shop, eat in their neighborhood establishments, and in general just be someone else when I am there, wherever "there" may happen to be. It has always made the trip more enjoyable for me.

That's not to say that I won't snap some pics of the Eiffel Tower, or visit a museum, but it's a better journey when I can take my time and meander. I'll also drop off a few promo packs to several of the clubs in Paris, and am working on getting at least one gig for this trip.

In regards to the local cuisine, I'm a man in touch with his appetite, and as far as I'm concerned, France is my excuse to indulge in the three C's. I will be ingesting great quantities of croissants, cheese, and chocolate.