I’ve pretty much got one more day left in Paris. I don’t plan to do anything tomorrow. I’m tired in more ways than one, so I will likely just get ready to go and relax the rest of the day.

I’ve seen a lot in Paris, but haven’t really spent enough time anywhere to say much about it. I have a few decent photos and met some family. Next time I come to France, I will have to speak French fluently. Until then, a bientot!

When I want to be alone
I can’t seem to find a cave to hide out,
but when emptiness fills my soul,
echoes of my mind won’t stand beside me.
Sometimes, I think that up is up,
I step out on faith, and end up on my ass.
Seems like my world is upside-down.
It’s so hard to go against the status quo.
Maybe I’m just not standing tall
and fighting for what I want and so I fall.
It’s in me, I see it with  my mind’s eye,
so, how does a man give birth to vivid dreams?

Despite having a headache the size of Greenland right now, today was a good day. We went to the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. The weather wasn’t the greatest but at least there was sun today. I got a few good photos out of it. I wanted to go up Notre Dame and take photos from there but the top was closed, so that will happen another day. The lines to climb the Eiffel Tower were insanely long with a wait time of over 45 minutes, not to mention the rather large ticket price of about 11 Euros (about $18 USD) just to go up the tower on foot. Taking the elevators is even more expensive.

I didn’t really get to spend as much time as I would have liked to at either location, but at least I got to see them and take some photos. By popular demand (my parents), I made a rare, cameo appearance in a photo lol. It’s taken in front of the Seine river. Don’t expect to see too many more of these!

Tomorrow, the plan is to go to Chateau Versaille, a castle with plenty of photo opportunities. I really wish I had bought the lens I *really* wanted now.

<PhotographyTalk>Switching lenses works, but I could definitely benefit from VR on the low end of the zoom range. Shooting with my 18-55mm without VR in Notre Dame, where flash photography is prohibited was really tough. Getting sharper photos at lower ISO with the 55-200mm VR lens worked well, but it was practically impossible to compose shots with the minimum focal length of 55mm. I did take a few with it, but I found myself switching 3 or 4 times. With the 18-200mm VR, I wouldn’t have had to switch at all and would have the added benefit of VR at the wide angle range - a godsend for low light, no flash situations at lower ISOs.

I actually can’t wait for the Nikon D300 to come out. I would LOVE to have that camera and the 18-200mm VR lens. It’d burn a hole about the size of my motorcycle in my checkbook, but oh man, it would be awesome lol. Chances are I probably won’t get the D300 right away, but I’m seriously considering getting the 18-200mm VR lens very, very soon.</PhotographyTalk>

Today has been pretty boring. I didn’t wake up till about noon and it was raining. Today was the first day we haven’t visited family, and we didn’t have anything specific planned, so we just took care of some necessities. We have a full kitchen here and eating out every day would be expensive so we went to the supermarket. Whoopdie doo lol.

I did manage to take a few cool photos despite the weather and lack of plans, but I think I’ll devote this entry to the differences I’ve experienced here in Paris. There are tons, but I’ll try to keep it short and interesting.

Did you know…

1. There are two buttons to flush the toilet. I’m too embarrassed to ask about it lol, but my intuition tells me one is for #1 and one is for #2. The toilets here have a lot less water in them than they do in the USA, so I am assuming this is yet another way to conserve water, with the bigger button giving a longer flush than the smaller one.
   
2. It’s true, people here really are a lot less obese than in the USA. People also seem to be generally more fashionable here too. Even the bums look stylish lol. I’ve often found myself saying wow, that guy is really well dressed, and it’s happened way too often for ALL of them to be gay. And yes, there are tons of pretty women here with amazing figures - black, white, and everything in between. Many of us in the USA are on par or above (like my Special J), but it seems to be the status quo to be sexy in Paris.
   [Sorry, no visual aids (yet :-P)]
3. Cereal boxes and milk cartons have ingenious designs that keep them fresh. A milk carton had this inner seal under the cap which didn’t detach completely like what you’d find on a carton of Parmalat or something similar. It half opened when you unscrewed the cap, and actually closed again when you tightened the cap. Ever have those boxes of cereal where you may have taken the bag out of the box and when you put the bag back, it didn’t close properly again because it pushed the box and made it bulge? Well, when you open a box of cereal in Paris (at least this particular one), you tear away all but one of the flaps and the box folds to create a much better seal than on cereal boxes you’d find in the USA.
   
4. The French really do drink alcoholic beverages with practically every meal. I am not big on alcohol, but in just the few days I’ve been here, I’ve had a drink with several meals. They haven’t had very much alcohol in them though, which would explain why I haven’t seen any drunks yet lol.
   
5. Police seem to show a lot more “muscle” than in the USA. There are police/security in high traffic areas, like the train station near right outside Euro-Disney or the airport which don’t just carry a pistol and baton, but many are armed with automatic submachine guns and rifles. Don’t mess with these cats! I also witnessed a seemingly routine traffic stop where four police officers stepped out of an ordinary squad car. No wonder everyone around here seems to do the speed limit!

Here are a few photos taken today…

The sun actually came out to play today! But I was indoors most of the time. Funny how that works We went to church early in the morning and my dad actually ended up preaching. Whenever we go to a Haitian church, he is almost always recognized lol. He didn’t have anything prepared but the pastor there was actually one of my dad’s students in seminary school, so the impromptu invitation was made and accepted and my dad stepped up to the plate - it’s always good to see him being used by God.

There was a baptism of a baby in the church today, which is a big deal in Haitian culture. Often, like today, there is a party afterwards, which was where I spent the remainder of the day with family. It was really boring for me though. I speak a tiny bit of French and a tiny bit of Kreole, so I didn’t really get to socialize much. The food was good though, so it’s all good. I have no idea what’s planned tomorrow, but it will be a new day. Hopefully it will be a warm, sunny day too lol.

We all slept in today after yesterday(s) tiring adventure. We went back to my aunt’s house and got there around 4pm and just relaxed and visited. Not a whole lot going on today, but I did manage to take some decent photos during the subway/train rides. The weather here has been cloudy and chilly so it’s hard to get really good shots.

Tomorrow we will be going with them to church - I guess there is going to be a baptism or baptisms - not sure what’s in store afterwards, but I know it will be a full day with family.

Okay so ummm, I’m in Paris… Maybe it’s just the fact that I haven’t had more than a few hours sleep over the past 48 hours or that I’ve been dragging around luggage seemingly all day, but this is weird lol.

It’s been good though. I met a cousin and an uncle I had never met before and aunts I only knew when I was a little kid.

There were lots of insignificant, interesting happenings today, but those aren’t really worthy of a full blog entry but I’m sure you’ll hear more about them as anecdotes in conversations we have.

I still have absolutely no idea what I will be doing here lol but whatever happens, check back here to find out more about my adventures in Paris! Until then, I think my bed is calling. Il m’appele!