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We were up early Tuesday morning to do a tour through Montenegro. The bus was set to pick us up at 8:00am. We arrived at 7:55 to discover both of us had forgotten our passports, which were required to enter Montenegro. Because my feet were cut to hell from the rocks while swimming, Maggie did a mad dash up the hill to our apartment and got the passports. She was back by 8:03.
An older gentleman picked us up in a mini van which I thought would take us to a bigger tour bus. But we started driving out of town and he told us he was going to be our tour guide. There were only four of us, the other two a young couple from Ireland.
Unfortunately I started not feeling well the night before and on this morning I woke up with a head cold. Because I was hopped up on cold meds, a lot of the day is a blur but I have a few pics to show of our trip.
Our first stop was the overlook area for Old Town. After about an hour drive, we came to the border between Croatia and Montenegro. I knew very little about the new country (and still don't recall too much), but I was intrigued to see what it was like. Border control checked out passports and without much fanfare, let us go through.
The overlook with Old Town in the background.
The main road from border control led us to a very large inlet of the ocean that was surrounded by tall mountains. In the middle of the lake a church had been built many years ago. We made our way to a few towns, did some shopping, had lunch, and headed back home. Instead of driving all the way around the inlet, we drove the minivan onto a ferry and cut across the harbor, saving at least 1.5 hours of driving.
The church built in the middle of the inlet.
A street in a small town in Montenegro.
By the time we got home, all four passengers were nodding off. The tour guide dropped us off and because I wasn't feeling well, we opted for dinner at a cafe next door to our apartment. It turned out to be great food. We finished a bottle of wine on the patio and went to bed.
Our last day in Croatia. We both woke up late and puttered around the apartment, starting to get our heads around packing everything up. We decided today would be another beach day. We grabbed cold pizza from last night's dinner from the fridge and set out for Old Town.
Instead of going all the way out to Lokrum beach, we settled for a seaside cafe outside the Old Town wall. We found and settled into our chairs for some sun time and a few beers. It was one of the best days. People were there fishing, though I suspect they wouldn't know what to do if something actually bit their line. Others were reading books or talking with their table mates. Others were swimming. In fact the bartender would strip down to her very small bikini every half hour and jump into the water for a quick swim. I'm sure it doesn't hurt the tips. We both jumped in the water for a while too, but no tips for us.
Maggie relaxing the way it should be done.
Our view of the water from where we sat in the cafe.
We begrudgingly packed up our towels and headed home. We met with Srvencko, our landlord, at 7pm for dinner at the same cafe next door. Then we had a glass of wine to toast our last night at a seaside hotel. We both packed our bags that night because a 6:25am flight comes very early.
Our taxi arrived at 5:15am and whisked us to the airport. The journey home was more of a struggle than most I can remember. In each place we had to check-in and get a new boarding pass because the airlines don't have agreements. First to Zagreb from Dubrovnik. Then to Paris where Maggie had to claim her baggage because she was flying on a buddy pass. Fortunately, there is at least a baggage agreement between Croatia Airlines, Air France, and Delta, all of which I flew to get home. And through some miracle I still amaze at, my luggage made all connections and arrived in Salt Lake City with everything still in it. Maggie and I parted in Paris because she had to find a flight that wasn't full to get on. I found out she did the Paris to Atlanta, then to Salt Lake. I arrived at 9pm after more than 24 hours of traveling. Very tiring, but totally worth it.
We got ready and headed to what we thought was going to be an outdoor concert with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. According to the sign, it was going to be held in an old fort just outside the city walls so we looked for an amphitheater where people would be mingling about, coming and going. We found the building, Fort Revelin, and followed the signs into the building. Cutting it close to the start time, we saw a gentleman dressed in a tuxedo directing us up some stairs. We learned later he was one of the musicians. Quickly I started to ascertain that we were underdressed, though thankfully I wore pants at least (instead of shorts of course). Fortunately there were others dressed worse than we were as I'm sure they thought it was an outdoor concert as well.
The first notes of their beginning number were striking. We were sitting in an old fortress listening to the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. It was almost overwhelming. The orchestra had three guest vocalists, two men and one woman singing various opera numbers. There were no microphones or amplifiers as the old building did a quite adequate job of it on its own.
After two hours of enchanting music and three encores, Maggie and I headed back to Old Town to check out the nightlife. We had walked past Cafe Troubadour ealier in the day and made note of its location so we could go back at night. It was listed in the gay guide as the only known venue where they (gays) congregate. It also said the owner played jazz music all night on the piano.
It was maybe half full when we arrived. The club itself only has enough room for a bathroom and place for the bartenders to put in orders. The patrons sat in the adjacent cobblestone square where the owner had positioned his piano and was playing numerous songs in jazz style. "Whoa-ohh here-a shess comes...shess a mans seater." Several other gay couples, obviously tourists, were squirreled away in dark corners enjoying a cocktail. While Croatia has adopted progressive laws allowing civil unions for gays, a majority of the population still very much disapproves of it. A year or two ago, some gay tourists were killed by a group of guys because they were holding hands. So caution is still exercised.
After a long day and a few cocktails, we were ready for bed.
Sunday we decided would be a beach day. Lokrum Island is the closest island from the mainland and takes about 20 minutes by boat.
Maggie and me on the ferry before leaving Old Town.
The view of Old Town from the ferry.
Lokrum Island is renowned for its nude beach, including a gay section at the very end (of course). We looked on the map for the FKK which I read in a guide book is a German designation which loosely translates to "free body culture". Plain as any other marker on the tourist map which greets every visitor to the island is "FKK - nude beach". We wandered along the path and came to an information sign barring the taking of photography of beachgoers. The sign also said clothing was not allowed.
Takenzie Off Zie Clothes!!
As we walked along the very rocky landscape, we came upon several older tourists au naturale. When the sign says beach, it really should say outcropping of boulders. There isn't a grain of sand anywhere to be found.
Looking over the edge of the cliff into the water.
Soon we began to notice fewer couples and more guys. Finally a rainbow towel. It seemed many of the guys there were well acquainted with the sun as their bodies were quite tanned. There were probably 20 guys in the gay section, some standing to get a better tan, some laying spread-eagle, and others just laying down catching rays. Maggie and I chose two different flat rocks about 20 feet away from each other, laid out our towels, and...when in Rome. Granted it wasn't the most comfortable thing laying down on rock with only a towel, but there was a sense of freedom that came from being naked and nobody cared.
I was near the top of the rocks which just happened to give me a good view of everyone. I began noticing that guys would take a trail above where I had laid out and would disappear for a while and then come back. I must investigate. So with nothing but flip flops and a smile on, I hiked up the hill to find a secluded area where men were sort of doddling around. "What's this??" I thought to myself. I never suspected such a thing! Okay, I knew exactly what I was going to find.
(*censored*)
Ask for details.
Through the course of the day, I met a nice guy from the UK called Mike. He was quite personable and so I invited him to have dinner with us. He was traveling alone on holiday for a long weekend so it worked out great to have another person join us. We told him about the tour we had scheduled for the next day - an all-day, three island boat ride. He jumped at the chance to join us so we booked one more reservation. We found a seaside cafe and had a few drinks before heading to dinner.
Maggie, Mike, and me as the sun was setting in front of us.
Mike and me at the cafe.
After a quick shower, the three of us met up at the esplanade and picked a waterfront place to eat. After dinner, we invited Mike to the apartment for drinks. After a nightcap we said our goodnights and off to bed.
At 9:30 the next morning, we met Mike at the tourist office and were picked up for our boat tour. After a short walk to the harbor, we boarded our small boat and started the process of meeting the others on board. There was quite a mix of people. A couple from Norway, the UK (England and Scotland), and two hot guys in their early 20s from Australia.
Our boat. You can barely see the Aussies in the upper right corner.
The deck hand started making the rounds with drinks and the aussies dove straight into the grappa, a regional favorite. We opted for something a little softer until at least 11am. We arrived at the first island and the sign that greeted us had the name of the island and map. On the map quite clearly was "FKK". Ah hah! Come to find out Mike is a naturalist and loves such activities so we headed for the nude beach. Little did we know the aussies were right on our tails.
The map of Sipan, the first island. The FKK is circled in red (by me).
The beach was a little hard to get to so on arrival we didn't have much time. As we were stripping down to hop in the water, the aussies came around the corner and asked if this was the "nudie beach". We confirmed it was so they quickly headed over to some rocks about 20 feet away, "took their kit off", and dove into the water. Fine specimens those two. Then they did something quite unexpected: the one laid down on the rocks while the other took a few pictures. Then traded. Then set up the timer for a group shot of themselves. Mike and I were tripping over each other offering to take it for them but they finished before we could ask. So after a quick nudie dip, we all dried off, put our clothes on, and headed for the boat. Maggie didn't join us on that part as she stayed behind to direct the aussies in our direction.
The stairs to the water at the FKK before getting in the water.
In route to the second island, I started in on the grappa. I'm convinced it's the same stuff they use in infomercials to clean pennies. Even the aussies started cutting it with coke...but not until after three glasses of the stuff.
Because the drink area was next to the aussies, I struck up conversation with them and learned they are cousins. Seems other cousins of their took similar pictures of themselves while in Dubrovnik so they were obliged to "return the favor". I brazenly asked to view the pics, if only to offer an artistic opinion. They'd have none of it.
Island two. Another FKK. We weren't so lucky finding it this time so Mike and I found a secluded area and made our own. Upon returning to the boat, we had lunch at the dock. Mine was freshly caught hake fish and was excellent. During lunch we noticed the deck hand was pacing the dock and realized a young couple from our tour was missing. He is from Manchester UK and she Australian. They were over half hour late. Eventually the captain couldn't wait for them any longer and left.
The hunky Croatian deck hand feeding the seagulls.
Island two.
Me on the rocks of our made up FKK.
Mike hiking out of our FKK.
Island three. We pulled into dock that was about half a mile from the main square so me and the two aussies decided to jump ship and swim to the closest beach.
The harbor of island three.
The map had directions to the FKK so we headed out to find it. After walking half the island over trails that were almost grown over, we came to an outcropping of rocks with a very old church had been built. Maggie was disappointed at not finding the FKK so as Mike and I did on the previous island, she made her own. Mike and I stayed on the church grounds and read the bible.
Maggie taking a dip.
While swimming, a mid size passenger boat went past Maggie and as those of us not accustomed to the free body culture do, she ran up the hill naked and hid. But not before they all saw her and cheered.
A view of the old church as we passed it later from the boat on the way home.
We still had a half an hour before the boat was supposed to leave so we went back to the boat to relax. Walking back to the boat, we ran into the couple we left behind on the previous island. Seems they got to the dock and saw our boat in the distance and pleaded for another to take them to the next island. They said neither had a watch and didn't know what time it was. They asked us how much longer before we had to be back to the boat and we told them 30 minutes. The girl asked where in the sky the sun would be at that time. I took off my watch and gave it to her. God I hope they don't breed. They were the last ones on the boat again. I made sure to get my watch back.
The three of us finished the evening with dinner at a nice restaurant at the base of some steps leading to the top of the city wall. Cats run wild here and only a handful of them are friendly to humans. At this restaurant, the owner is one of the few that has some he calls his own. The mother and three kittens were playing under our table and in the area during the meal. It was fun to watch.
We rode the bus back to our apartment and bid our farewells to Mike. He leaves tomorrow to go back to the UK. Meeting him was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
Our host had arranged for a taxi driver to pick us up from the airport. After getting some Kuna from the ATM, we got into his cab and headed for Dubrovnik. The airport is about 1/2 hour away from the city so we had a bit of a drive, which I didn't mind because it was very scenic.
The landscape is much different than what I pictured. There is beautiful blue water that hits the land, which varies between steeps cliffs and a few rocky beaches. The land is green and lush for about 1/2 mile up the hills but then it turns into rocky, barren hills with not much green other than the random pine tree that defies the harshness of the land. Dotting the landscape are the remnants of houses that were destroyed by the war in the 90's.
We arrived to our apartment and Srevcko was waiting for us. He showed us around our place and told us to relax and come up to see him in a few minutes for paperwork and a glass of wine. We unpacked a little then strolled upstairs to his apartment. Croatia demands that all foreigners register with the local authorities within 24 hours of arrival as part of the visa requirement. Srevcko did all the paperwork for us.
We chatted briefly and then Maggie and I went back to our own place and took a power nap. We showered and headed out for the esplanade just down the street. It was dark by then. Couples were walking slowly, kids were playing soccer in little areas off to the side, and there was a general laid-back feeling. Eventually we made it to the waterfront and strolled along it for a while. I was excited to see what it looked like in the day time.
We settled in for dinner at a seafront restaurant that had a good number of people in it. After Maggie's musical chair routine trying to find which seat would make our food taste best, we ordered grilled vegetables, a small tuna salad and split a pizza. Everything is organic and fresh. The veggies were served with olive oil and balsamic vineger and were the best I think I've ever had.
We paid for dinner and scurried to the local corner market for supplies. Of course by supplies I mean beer. We headed back to the apartment and poured ourselves a glass of supplies and were relaxing on our patio, people watching when the opportunity presented itself. After a few minutes, Srevcko arrived at home and since our apartment is below his, he has to pass it to get to his. We said hello and offered him a beer. He gladly accepted and we started the get-to-know-you process. After about 1/2 hour, he asked us to join him upstairs for some wine and snacks. I jumped at the opportunity.
We met him in his beautiful garden terrace behind his house. He fed us home-pickled onions and cheese he had packed in olive oil, along with crackers and local wine. We talked about pretty much every subject imaginable. One subject he was not keen on discussing was the war. It was clear that the scars of it still ran close to the surface. He did let us know that he served in the military and that it was an awful time.
We got serious, we drank wine, we laughed, we had pauses where each would think of more things to ask in the interest of learning about the other's culture. This is exactly what I strive for when traveling - finding local people and connecting with them. Hearing their stories and seeing what makes them get out of bed in the morning.
At 1:30am, I decided it was bed time. We said our goodnights and lights out.
This morning, neither Maggie nor I were feeling so fresh after mixing beer and wine the night before. We slowly put ourselves back together and went back to the esplanade to see it in the daylight. The water is so clear you can see all the way to the bottom, even in the deep places. We stopped by a small cafe and had our coffee and caught the bus to Old Town.
The beach by the esplanade.
Old Town was built many centuries ago and a very large wall was constructed around its borders. We entered the city through the West side doors and into the town square. The architecture is amazing. It took us most of the day to walk around the top of the wall. Below are some of the highlights of the city.
Main street in Old Town.
The Croatian flag.
Me and my big gun.
A house destroyed by the war.
Overlooking the roofs of Old Town.
Outside the walls of Old Town.
The old church and the new boat.
We finished our walking tour and headed home. Tonight we plan on attending a free outdoor concert by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra that is part of the summer festival that happens here every year. Afterward, we will finish the evening by listening to live jazz music at a venue called Cafe Troubadour.
Wednesday after lunch with Cyril, I did some work at the hotel while Maggie and Sue went to Montparnasse in the Latin Quarter to find the famous catacombs and to have a few beers. After a very refreshing few minutes on my back (for a nap, of course), I struck out on my own in the city to find some of my people. Rather the place my people congregate, as you can't swing a hand-beaded Chanel clutch without hitting at least three queens around here.
I carefully studied several websites with information on gay locales and cross checked them with my map. It quickly became clear that La Marais is the queer epicenter of Paris. I stuffed the map in my pocket, zipped up my coat, and headed for Rue de la Temple which runs right through Ground Homo.
The delicious scent of fresh bread and pastries started to give way to the musky smell of cologne mixed with desire, and the high-end clothing storefronts morphed into quaint shops whose windows were filled with plastic male torsos adorned with the latest underwear trends. Soft, relaxing music was replaced by the thump-thump of club remixes. I had arrived.
Having written down a list of intriguing venues as described online (several having * by their name...a note to myself about clubs with special activities), I immediately saw La Friendly. My note said "small and friendly" which I guess is a self-fulfilling prophesy. I was greeted at the entrance by a gentleman and lady standing at the door smoking. The lady insisted I speak English to her so she could figure out what part of the US I was from. Amazingly she deduced upper western.
The bar is literally one bar. It's not more than 50 square feet with enough room for stools at the bar and only one person standing behind them. It made for an interesting walk to the bathroom at the end of the bar. Everyone seemed nice enough though I didn't have many conversations. I expected an older crowd but I was on the upper ranges of those that were present that night.
After one beer, Sue texted saying they were coming to meet me in La Marais for dinner so I waited at the corner of Rue de Temple and Rue de Rivoli. At the intersection is a beautiful old hotel called the De Ville. After several phone calls and 45 minutes, they finally appeared. Seems they were a block away and asked for directions only to be told the opposite of where the hotel was. I'm quite sure bystanders thought I was for sale since I kept pacing up and down the street, then leaning against the buildings, etc. When they approached, Maggie saw me and squealed my name across the street and waved with what seemed like her whole body. Oy. I just about turned and disappeared into the night.
We found a cute cafe and ordered dinner. I had the third croque madame of the trip. Can't get enough of them. We stopped by the hotel lobby on the way home for a night cap but couldn't stay out too late. The next day (Thursday) had potential to be a little strenuous with the meetings we had scheduled.
I was up and atta 'em (and I was Adam) in the lobby by 9:10, a few minutes past our scheduled meeting time. I called Sue and (correctly) deduced my call just then had woken her up. By 10, I was just getting up to go find my own way to breakfast. Just then Sue pops out of the elevator, less fresh than normal. Seems the bottle of wine proved too tempting in her room the night before.
We had quite a journey to the office. Our hotel was in central Paris to be close to the office where most of our meetings took place. The main headquarters for Euro/Havas are outside the city in a place called Suresnes past La Defense. It required a metro line as far as it would go and then another 20 minute cab ride. We arrived at 11:30. Thankfully our hosts were delayed and unconcerned of our late arrival.
After introductions and a quick catered luncheon, we got to the business at hand. It was quite nice meeting some of the people as I have worked with them for several years but never met them in person. One the guys from the US I had met through meetings in NYC. After about five hours of meetings led by a rather intense account manager, I wrapped up the meeting because we still had two more to meet with before the end of the day.
Another quick meeting with Cyril. Each time we cross sections of the office, we have to go down at least one floor to cross. Seems on Sunday night there was a big fire in the building that destroyed most of one floor and part of another. Everyone seemed quite vague about what happened but finally someone confessed that most believe a person was working late at the office and was smoking (a big no-no with the smoking ban). After finishing, they put the butt into the trash can which eventually caught fire. We walked through part of the damage and it was pretty bad. They were gutting both floors that were affected and you could still smell smoke.
Sue and Cyril on the patio.
The Seine and ships docked along the bank.
After meeting with Cyril, he took us to the roof and showed us the view of the Seine and surrounding area. Boats were parked in the river and could stay for up to a month before they had to leave to prove they were still float-worthy.
Then into a cab. Both Sue and I had "emergency" work problems hit as we got into the cab so we were furiously typing on our blackberrys. They weren't major issues but according to others, the globe was about to stop spinning suddenly, making everyone spill their tea. We rushed to the hotel room, each dealt with our issue, changed, and grabbed a taxi to meet another colleage, Charles, for dinner.
Charles was very kind to wait for us as it was 9pm by the time we arrived. We had an amazing meal that was called a large salad, but lettuce was a simple afterthought. Roasted potatoes, proscuitto, three kinds of cheese, an over-easy egg, etc. We were stuffed. Sadly we probably weren't the best of company because of the day's meetings. But it was good to spend time with Charles as we worked closely for several years and had not met before.
On the way to the taxi stand, Charles picked up a bike. Paris has instituted a new bike program where they have created bike stands all over the city. You rent one with a credit card for 1euro/hour and when you're finished, you just put it back in any available stall at any other bike location. They are very sturdy bikes and peddling makes the lights come on. There's even a little rrrring-rrrring bell for added pleasure. I rode Charles' bike for a few blocks and determined that was enough exercise for two weeks.
Back to the hotel. Maggie was nowhere to be found and it was 1:15am. Finally around 1:30 the poor girl pops into the hotel room almost in tears. Seems the subway stopped for the night in the left bank after her boat tour, and she had no euros for a taxi. Luckily she found a $20US bill in her pocket and persuaded a bartender to exchange the money for euros. Her eye still twitches when I bring it up.
This morning we were up and going. Everything went amazingly smooth to the airport except we got the one driver that doesn't take credit cards. The airports in Europe do an amazing job with confusing signage and few available services such as ATMs. I had to cross four halls and two floors to find an ATM.
We boarded our flight to Dubrovnik and had a good journey. I am now sitting in our apartment while she is laying on one of the beds. I will update more on Croatia later. Suffice it to say, I'm already in love with the place.
The road in front of our apartment.
Monday was mostly uneventful. Worked, stuff, bought band-aids for feet, stuff, had dinner, more stuff. Went to bed. Yesterday, Tuesday, up at 8:30, breakfast, and Sue and I struck out for the office. I told Maggie that our colleague, Vincent (pronounced Vahn-SAHNT), was planning on taking us out to dinner and if tradition holds, we won't be back at a decent hour.
The street leading to the office.
Just the usual working day. Other than a lady being electrocuted at her desk after someone pulled the cord out of the plug of some electronic device and didn't remove the plug. She went to plug in her laptop and was out cold. Luckily she was fine and returned to work. If it would have been me, I doubt I'd be back at the desk by afternoon. Abder took us to lunch at a restaurant the French loosely see as American food. It's called Cafe Indiana and the logo is a big, almost offensive Native American effigy.
Cafe Indiana. Not sure why the menu says "club".
The menu is hamburgers and "Tex-Mex" food. What the hell. I got the chicken enchiladas.
My enchiladas.
I have to say, they were better than I expected. After work, Vincent drove us to the LaFayette Galleries to shop. It's a fashionista's dream. Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Dior. They even charged 5 euro per minute to window shop. Not wanting to spend my cats inheritence, I opted for some Chanel cologne that was a bargain at slightly less than my car payment. It was worth the feeling of superiority walking the streets of Paris with a Chanel bag in hand. By the end of the night I was swinging it at unattractive people and yelling at them to get out of my way because Ms. Coco was about to meet me at a restaurant. I think they know she's dead, but it still made me feel better about myself.
The three of us wandered our way past the shops for our reservation at En Vue, a modern French restaurant. Modern = expensive. French = expensive with attitude. Actually the staff was very nice and the food/wine incredible. Young and hip crowd. We were sore thumbs. Post-dinner drinks at Buddha Bar, a hip bar/restaurant that has a few locations around the world. Typically hard to get into without connections but being a Tuesday night, we didn't have any problems. The place is two levels, with the upper looking down into the restaurant. A two story wooden Buddha oversees the revelers. We sat down in a small cove and I noticed a large wooden bowl of shrimp chips at the table. Yum, I love those things. I offered my two companions a chip but they declined. Fine, more for me. Delicious. As I put the last bite in my mouth, I had a sudden realization that no other tables had shrimp chips. I looked at Sue just as we both said "I think those were left here by the last people..." I looked up only to see the other patrons stare at me, frozen, mid-drink. I can only imagine the horror they expressed to their guests of the overbearing American plopping himself down and eating everyone's leftovers. Sue and I couldn't contain ourselves and made the situation even worse by laughing ourselves to tears. After paying $75 for three drinks (yes, three total drinks, not three drinks each), we walked to the Champs-Élysées, past the American embassy, and admired the beautiful lights.
About 11:45, we got back in the car and drove to the Trocadero, just across the river from the Eiffel Tower. It was stunning to walk around the corner and see the tower lit up in blue lights. We took a few pictures and at midnight, the whole tower began flashing in millions of white lights. It was quite a sight.
Sue and Vincent.
The Eiffel Tower at night.
The Eiffel Tower at midnight with all the lights flashing.
We finally piled home by 12:30. We finished our work that was supposed to go through Wednesday early so we decided we'd have an easier day tomorrow
Today (Wednesday), we met my colleague Cyril in the lobby for a lunch meeting. We went to a cafe in the area of the hotel. I ordered what was translated as "pork roast". Out comes this pig's leg, complete with skin. The waiter carved it up and served it with sauerkraut and potatoes. One of the best things I've eaten here. Tomorrow is another round of meetings in another office. These meetings have potential to be a little stressful as they involve the global team of a pharmaceutical company. But of course afterward we have arranged for another colleague to take us out for dinner and drinks.
After an uneventful flight through Cincinnati, we landed in Paris Sunday morning. It was quite a change from the last time I went through the Charles De Gaulle airport as the smoking ban has taken effect. Last time, passengers were handed a pair of scissors so they could cut through the smoke on their way to baggage claim. This time there were only the random hints of smoke from those that deemed the law inapplicable to them.
After gathering our luggage and walking through the whole damn airport twice thanks to such awesome signage, Maggie and I met up with Sue. A 50 euro cab ride later and we were in the hotel. We are staying at a Holiday Inn hotel in the Place de République, near to our office. A much needed shower and change of clothes was had by all and we set off in the drizzle to pack in as much as we could. After a delicious meal of French onion soup, or as they call it here - soup, and a croque madame, or as we call it - grilled cheese, we got on the metro to the Notre Dame. It was windy with a lot of dirt in it so we didn't stick around very long.
From the Notre Dame, we made our way to the Louvre where there was a fashion show going on. We posed for the paparazzi in case they wanted to take our picture. We went through the gardens to the Champs-Élysées where they were having an aerospace exhibit all along the walk. We wound our way through all the exhibits, including a stealth fighter on display. Walking past the crepe stands was a special treat to the nostrils. Sweet smells of batter cooking over a gridle, fresh fruit and chocolate, carmel. Even after just eatting, it was tough not to buy one of everything. From there, we wandered our way to the Arc de Triomphe and took the underground passage to the middle of the Arc. We decided we'd had enough walking and headed back to the hotel.
Me at the Arc de Triomphe.
We made it to the subway, found our train, and boarded only to be hit by a wall of stench. Being disoriented by the smell, we didn't have enough time to get off the train before the doors closed. We were stuck. The stench was one I recognized from my previous travels to Paris: a body odor that would make vomit kill itself. Both Sue and Maggie covered their noses with something to mask it, but that didn't stop Sue's eyes from tearing up. Fortunately we were one stop away from a train change.
Back at the hotel, we sat in the glassed in restaurant and people-watched. What a place to people watch. Each of us would take turns nodding off while the others talked. A few glasses of (really good) house Bordeaux wine and we were ready for bed. Maggie and I were in bed by 8:45. Thanks to a well-timed ambien, I slept until 7:30 the next morning without so much a turn in bed.
This morning Sue and I had breakfast in the hotel and headed out for the office. We've been in meetings since in a conference room with our colleagues. Right now Abder is demonstrating some javascript and AJAX libraries they use for their extranets. I'm doing everything I can to not show the jetlag. This is the boring (work) part of the trip.
Sue giddy from the jet lag. This is our conference room.
The view from the roof of our office.
I just came to after having blacked out since our first day in Puerto Vallarta. It's October? Just how much did I drink??
A great time was had by all in PV.
Look up Chad. A bird wants to tell you something.
We had best intentions to write about our adventures each and every day. Instead I believe there was a little too much of this:
Thish doshen't taysht like issh got any tekwillia in it.
I shall give a (hopefully) short recap of events since December.
December '07 - Company Christmas Party in NYC
As usual, an affair to remember. Mostly because nobody remembers anything the next day. My colleague and I decided it was time to leave and I couldn't find my black coat in a sea of black coats. Fortunately I had several layers of vodka to keep me warm.
February - Traveling the UK
I spent a few weeks traveling in the UK for work. Of course some fun was worked into the mix. I landed in Manchester and spent a few days there in the Euro office that overlooks the Manchester United stadium. Next a colleague and I drove to Birmingham for another day of meetings there, after which I was dropped off at the rail station for a quick one hour train ride to London Waterloo station. It's called that because each member of Abba was born there. Six hours later, I arrived at my hotel cranky and wet.
The hotel was truly awful. The smoke alarm would go off without reason, the tv would turn on even though there wasn't a remote in the room (maintenance had to take off a part of the wall to unplug it because the plug was covered), the floor creaked more than grandma's fingers, the door wouldn't shut unless full body weight was applied, and the shower was so small I had to go in sideways. After the cleaning crew left my window open all day, I promptly checked out. Normally not a big deal, but my window opened up to the very busy sidewalk and there was no screen.
Spent some time with Forbes and two colleagues - Mario and Will.
Will, Mario, and me on the balcony of the Tate Modern Museum.
During the second week, my colleague Helen and I took the train to the district of Kent for meetings with clients. The area is called Sandwich (spoken as sammwich in those parts), and the town called Ham. We stayed at a B&B type of place called the Blazing Donkey. Can't make this stuff up.
As a thank you, one of the offices in London gave me tickets to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the West End. The show was in revival after a reality program ran in the UK looking for the next lead to play Joseph. The winner was Lee Mead:
http://www.lee-mead.com
It doesn't get cuter than that. I was given two tickets and invited Craig's main squeeze, Ian, along after which he treated me to a very lovely meal at a restaurant whose maître d' would pull the reading glasses down his nose and glare at you if you weren't wearing a tie.
Ian and me enjoying the view of the bartender taking our picture.
May - Wedding of the Century
Billy and Jon got hitched after living in sin for several years. Jesus finally stopped crying until they had sex again. They had a ceremony at the local gay church, a wonderful gay reception in their back yard, and then a group of us flew to gay Canada for a real gay wedding. It was indeed a gay time. We spent one night in Seattle and took the ferry to Canada.
Me in front of Pike's Market.
My best friend's big fat gay Canadian wedding.
June - Multiple Sclerosis Best Dam Bike Tour 2008
After months of fund-raising, including Drag Queen Bingo, Team Try-Angles rode the MS tour in Logan at the end of June. Between 13 of us, we raised over $12,000. We had special jerseys and everything. What a great weekend. So many hot guys in biker shorts.
Everyone knows whose team this team plays on.
Brandon, Steve, and me.
July
Hot. New York for a week.
August
Hot. Cabin trips and river rafting two weekends of the month.
September
Hot. The end.
October
Here we are again. I leave tomorrow for France and Croatia. Maggie is going with me which I'm really excited about. She'll get to tour Paris while I'm working and on Friday we'll fly to Dubrovnik where we'll spend six nights seeing how much trouble we can find. This is where we're staying in Dubrovnik:
http://www.dalmatia-villa.com/bor/index.php
More to come from the land of berets and....uhh.....Croatians.
