Bonjour

Wow, I totally understand the French attitude now. I would act the same way if I got to live in Paris. It is the most gorgeous city I've ever seen. Our hotel has a view of the Eiffel Tower and we woke up the first morning to find the city covered in snow. It continued to snow the rest of the day.

We went to the Louvre, occasionally peeking out to the main square as the snow continued to fall and taking in the paintings with the scenic view outside. Yes, we saw the Mona Lisa. I thought I was going to hate her since she's become such a cliche. There was a small crowd in front of her, and I could see her from the outside. She kept looking at me so I inched my way closer. Still she kept looking at me and so finally, I got to the front of the crowd and at last she smiled at me. I've always liked portraits but I was suprised at how much I enjoyed this one. I also got to see my other favorite St. Anne and Virgin. Jesus is such a sweet little bambino and he's even playing with a little sacraficial lamb. Andy really enjoyed the Jacques-Louis David's which are so much larger than I expected. Everything seemed larger. Winged Victory is not dimished in the giant alcove she's landed in. And I kept thinking of Celina and Armando, wishing they were with me.

My French is terrible but I think my attempts at it are helping rather than hurting. Still, we're finding Paris to be much more expensive than London. At the same time, the food is substantially better and the coffee is divine. I don't know how I'll ever eat chocolate again after I leave. Ok, that's a little melodramatic. Really though, the chocolate is superb.

Andy is finding his inner photographer and he has been taking some great pictures. He really liked the Eurostar and was very impressed by its smoothness and by how quiet it was. However, Andy is not impressed by the amount of dog pooh on the streets. Apparently, it's improved over the last ten years but it's still abundant. We're grateful for the ice and snow which help prevent any accidents.

Today is freezing (21 degrees F) and I think we may go to the Garnier Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, and see Napolean's tomb. I'm also hoping to go to the Lafayette Gallery to do a little shopping. Hope all is well at home and at work. I'm going to push for some hot chocolate now.
Au revoir!