I love Paris. It's my new second favorite city in the world (following close behind Boston for the title of "best city ever"). Just got back from my first trip there, and I fell in love with the place (and with every cute little French girl walking down the street). I'm not sure where the "unfriendly Frenchman," or at least the "unfriendly Parisian" stereotype comes from, but as far as I could tell, the hospitality was exquisite. People don't go out of their way to be friendly and smile like they do in, say, Charleston or Oklahoma, but girls and guys in the bar were more than happy to chat, and I didn't encounter a single rude waiter, waitress, ticket seller, or bartender. I think I got a few bonus points here and there by speaking Italian, but I don't think it would have made much difference. And the city itself is just beautiful and, well, classy. You walk around, and the place just exudes class. Even the little dive bars are classy.

Also, I'm giving up my quest for an Italian model to bring home. The French women are far prettier. Maybe they just know how to dress better--even in the middle of Saturday's snowstorm they still managed to look great.

So the first day there, we check in to the hotel and go for dinner at a nice little French restaraunt around the corner. Within 15 minutes of sitting down, a mob of 45 Japanese women, all between 19 and 22, show up giggling and laughing. Given the reaction of the hostess, the only thing that people in the hospitality industry hate worse than American tourists is Japanese tourists. (We also won bonus points with her for speaking Italian, since her father's family and her husband's family are Italian.) We left dinner (after the Japanese girls filed out, still giggling), and grabbed a drink in this cafe where we met a couple Turkish girls who had been studying in, of all places, Hartford and Boston. (Apparently Hartford is the most boring place on earth, by the way. And Boston is a close second. It's opinions like that which guarantee Turkey will never become a major superpower.) We left there and went to what looked like a cool little jazz club. Which it was. After paying the E10 cover charge, we went down the stairs into this underground stone cellar, where a live swing band was playing. And the place was packed with people dancing. Oh yeah, and we were the only ones there under the age of 50. But it was the best swing dancing I've ever seen in my life.

Day 2--had a phenomenal Thanksgiving dinner, at none other than the world-famous (even before Nicole Kidman) Moulin Rouge. Had to settle for duck. But the show was fantastic, and, like everything else in the city, very classy--even with half-naked women dancing around. It was actually very Vegas-y, with acrobats and clowns and jugglers...just a lot of fun. And our seats were two back from the stage, so it was like we were in the show. The best part of the show is where the hottest girl in the history of the world (no, seriously) jumps into a giant aquarium with four or five huge pythons and swims around with them. Also, the can-can was invented here. And they do it well.

The next day we went to the Louvvvvvvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrre. I've seen the Mona Lisa. You haven't. Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah. Also some other really cool crap. You know, paintings by dutch guys and rocks with ancient codes and stuff like that. It was night by the time we got to the Eiffel Tower and went up. Totally worth it. Except we froze our asses off in the line, and then again when we went up. The wind at the top had to be 30 knots or so, and there was ice forming.

Yesterday I was on my own, since my friend had to leave and come back to work today. I figured I'd walk around and see the other big sights I hadn't seen yet, so of course the weather decided to snowstorm. Notre Dame cathedral in the snow is absolutely regal. The towers were closed for the snow, unfortunately. Trudged miles through the snow to have a beer at Harry's American Bar (because every good story needs a Hemingway reference), and then grabbed lunch and hiked to the Arc D'Triomph, which was also amazing.

And in between, we managed to hit a few pubs and cafes, meet a few interesting people, have some great meals (the veal I had last night was superb; I think they actually killed the entire calf for me), and just generally have the best time I've ever had as a tourist in any city in Europe so far. Can't wait to go back. Now if only I could speak some French....