Goodbye Potomac

The Potomac river.

And Georgetown.

A few American faces

The paparazzi still will not leave my sister alone!


They follow her even into bed! Those dirty bloodhounds!


It's wedding time. The groom tries to wink at me.


Tim's brother has a total John Lennon thing going on. I dubbed him "Ladykiller 2010."

Her place card said, "Guest." But…

"Call me… 'G'."


Such a picturesque scene. The love, the flowers, the American flag – it could bring a tear to your eye. Great picture, Kelly Anne!

And CONGRATULATIONS TIM AND TRACEY!!!

Iconic French things

Some things you can see only in France.






Outside Notre Dame.










The Latin Quarter in the early morning.


Classy metro.




Bikes at Place St. Michel.


This is how I knew I had really left the Middle East.


In the Middle East, women are "respected" by hiding them under black cloth. In contrast, this is how France shows it respects women.


The Seine has a big island in the middle, called Ile de la Cite. There's the very tip of the island, where we used to sit and watch the boats. That's my favorite spot in Paris. In the background is the Louvre.

Quai walk

That's pronounced "Key Walk," for you American boobs.

After Notre Dame, I strolled along the Seine. It was real purty.









That's the Louvre in the background. Let's take a closer look at those guys. They're so French.



Looks like it was a great conversation.

When I was in college, they built a new dorm. While they figured out what to name the place, they just called it "New Hall." Eight years later, it's still called "New Hall." What are the odds that they'll finally come up with a name soon?



Well, here's one clue. This is the Pont Neuf – at 400-some years old, it's the oldest bridge in Paris. The name means "New Bridge."

Take a closer look at the face carvings. I'm telling you, these carver dudes had a sense of humor.







And finally, my favorite moment along the Quai…



Look, I told you about my thing with birds, OK? I love the little guys. And they don't come prettier than these. Just like everything in Paris, actually.

Paris

Ah, Paris!!

My flight to the U.S. stopped for four hours in Paris – more than enough time to grab a train into the city and have a look around.

I lived there for a year, back during my "I disdain photography" phase. I've come to view my behavior at that time as bordering on criminal: In a year spent living in the world's most photogenic city, I took not one single photograph. Honestly, I could just shoot myself.

So I resolved to make up for that lost year in 30 minutes. Here are the results.

My first view upon crawling out of the subway:



I can't describe how happy I was at this sight. Senses blooming, heart filling with joy; you know, that sort of thing.



I never realized it before, but there's an Archaelogical Crypt underneath Notre Dame. I'm sure the torches and hieroglyphs and skeletons dangling from rusty wall chains would have made for a great photo. But the crypt was locked.



A closer look at the stonework of Notre Dame. Those medieval masons did a pretty good job, I would say. But beyond the technical skill, what impresses me the most is that those dudes – literally from 1,000 years ago – seemed to share our modern sense of hipster style.



For example, this little scene is interesting: Why is the one guy looking in a different direction than all the rest? It's just like the cover of that Beatles album where one of the guys is out of step with the others. You know what I'm talking about.

Also, check out the naked baby riding the horse above Saint #4.

Another example might be this funky mama, who wouldn't look out of place on a fashion runway next spring in Milan.




I was reading this concert billboard when I glanced up at the statues above. The nearest little guy seemed to be looking directly at me, like he had just turned and seen me standing down there and was not entirely happy about it. It creeped me out.


These gargoyles were actually intended as water runoff spouts. Why wouldn’t that work on modern buildings? It seems a bit more awesome than our current system.


I love when they fix these old things.


This guy is about to bust out the thumbs-up sign.


Peace out.