City #3
Have made it to the Milano office. Finally!
R and I packed quite a tourism wallop in Paris over the last couple of days. In fewer than 24 hours, we managed to:
+ Wander out of our hotel without a map and still end up at the Arc de Triomphe, despite the fact that there weren't really any signs, and I just knew it was at one end of Champs-Élysées.
+ Eat crappy French tourist food.
+ Walk all 284 stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, and plot the rest of our day from that position high above the city. While we were there, we took our picture with the Eiffel Tower, far away in the distance.
+ Walked from Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre in a light rain without an umbrella. Wandered down a few side streets and took a bridge across the Seine. The Louvre was closed when we got there.
+ Met J and her friends in Etienne Marcel for a delicious drink that had vodka and strawberries. Did not get tipsy, but did meet real, live French boys with names like Guillaume, Pierre, Olivier and Fabrice. Also, a French-born guy who lives in London, and sounds more English than French.
+ Had dinner at a "gay" restaurant. Smoked salmon on pasta, which wasn't as perfect as our first meal but was still yummy. Drank wine. Ate chocolate cake.
+ Went to a trendy French bar. Had a Brazilian mojito. Still didn't get tipsy. Perhaps my liver was well-acclimated from London?
+ Went to another trendy French bar. Danced to techno. Drank bad beer. Kind of tipsy? Eh? Caught a cab back to the hotel at around 2:30AM. Slight argument with the cab driver over the difference between the word "plaza" and "palace." I suspect he took me to the wrong one to teach me a lesson about my English, but he was so friendly about it, and I have no proof.
+ Slept until 10:30AM.
+ Met J in her old neighborhood and walked through a market. It was overwhelming. So many delicious things, but we were too tired and it was too busy for us to haggle with anyone.
+ Sat on a terrace and had cheese, bread and coffee for lunch. Yum.
+ J -- a former Paris tour guide -- took us to Notre Dame. Holy. Smokes. Big and gothic.
+ Ate "the best ice cream in Paris." R had honey nougat and I had chocolate with, basically, trail mix inside. Ate it sitting on a stone wall near the Seine.
+ Walked from Notre Dame to the Musee D'Orsay. Looked at old portraits and landscapes for hours. Also, statues. And early photography. Not enough of the art I was hoping for, but J warned us that the Louvre would be too much with just a couple of hours, and after walking its entire perimeter, we're pretty sure it's true. The architecture on the building, though, had us awestruck.
+ Took a train to the Eiffel Tower, because we felt like we should. Also, BIG. Weren't expecting it to be so big. Took our picture, but didn't have time to take an elevator to the top. T declared it the Pier 29 of Paris. He was so right.
+ Took a train back to the hotel, got a cab, rode an hour to the airport. Flight was delayed another hour. Baguette sandwich at the airport in Paris better than sandwiches anywhere else.
We landed in Milan at around midnight, and had a 40 minute cab ride to the hotel. I made the mistake of checking my email, and so didn't go to sleep until around 2. I'm a bit tired today, but so happy to be here for 6 more days. I unpacked my suitcase! And hung stuff up! Plus, my bathroom is awesome. My bed is comfortable, and so far the Italians in our office are sweet and adorable.
And now. We work.
(Lots of pictures of random buildings, food, R and I standing around in Paris, coming soon.)
R and I packed quite a tourism wallop in Paris over the last couple of days. In fewer than 24 hours, we managed to:
+ Wander out of our hotel without a map and still end up at the Arc de Triomphe, despite the fact that there weren't really any signs, and I just knew it was at one end of Champs-Élysées.
+ Eat crappy French tourist food.
+ Walk all 284 stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, and plot the rest of our day from that position high above the city. While we were there, we took our picture with the Eiffel Tower, far away in the distance.
+ Walked from Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre in a light rain without an umbrella. Wandered down a few side streets and took a bridge across the Seine. The Louvre was closed when we got there.
+ Met J and her friends in Etienne Marcel for a delicious drink that had vodka and strawberries. Did not get tipsy, but did meet real, live French boys with names like Guillaume, Pierre, Olivier and Fabrice. Also, a French-born guy who lives in London, and sounds more English than French.
+ Had dinner at a "gay" restaurant. Smoked salmon on pasta, which wasn't as perfect as our first meal but was still yummy. Drank wine. Ate chocolate cake.
+ Went to a trendy French bar. Had a Brazilian mojito. Still didn't get tipsy. Perhaps my liver was well-acclimated from London?
+ Went to another trendy French bar. Danced to techno. Drank bad beer. Kind of tipsy? Eh? Caught a cab back to the hotel at around 2:30AM. Slight argument with the cab driver over the difference between the word "plaza" and "palace." I suspect he took me to the wrong one to teach me a lesson about my English, but he was so friendly about it, and I have no proof.
+ Slept until 10:30AM.
+ Met J in her old neighborhood and walked through a market. It was overwhelming. So many delicious things, but we were too tired and it was too busy for us to haggle with anyone.
+ Sat on a terrace and had cheese, bread and coffee for lunch. Yum.
+ J -- a former Paris tour guide -- took us to Notre Dame. Holy. Smokes. Big and gothic.
+ Ate "the best ice cream in Paris." R had honey nougat and I had chocolate with, basically, trail mix inside. Ate it sitting on a stone wall near the Seine.
+ Walked from Notre Dame to the Musee D'Orsay. Looked at old portraits and landscapes for hours. Also, statues. And early photography. Not enough of the art I was hoping for, but J warned us that the Louvre would be too much with just a couple of hours, and after walking its entire perimeter, we're pretty sure it's true. The architecture on the building, though, had us awestruck.
+ Took a train to the Eiffel Tower, because we felt like we should. Also, BIG. Weren't expecting it to be so big. Took our picture, but didn't have time to take an elevator to the top. T declared it the Pier 29 of Paris. He was so right.
+ Took a train back to the hotel, got a cab, rode an hour to the airport. Flight was delayed another hour. Baguette sandwich at the airport in Paris better than sandwiches anywhere else.
We landed in Milan at around midnight, and had a 40 minute cab ride to the hotel. I made the mistake of checking my email, and so didn't go to sleep until around 2. I'm a bit tired today, but so happy to be here for 6 more days. I unpacked my suitcase! And hung stuff up! Plus, my bathroom is awesome. My bed is comfortable, and so far the Italians in our office are sweet and adorable.
And now. We work.
(Lots of pictures of random buildings, food, R and I standing around in Paris, coming soon.)