A quick update folks. Since returning from Paris, which was wonderful, I have been beset upon by a not wonderful cold/sinus infection (give me a call we can talk details if you'd like) and then my computer broke down. I am now the equivelent of an electronic orphan, parking myself in front of foreign computers to check what's left of my email. Sniffling, cold and alone. Ashamed?
Well, enough feeling sorry for myself. I just wanted to give my latest set of excuses for being a terrible blogger. And it actually isn't so bad. M has transformed herself into a medic and constantly feeds me all types of crazy remedies, all of which I'm sure are helping immensely.
The one non-me oriented issue I will point out this mornign, and hopefully be able to comment on shortly is a poll I read in Time magazine listing the US as one of the five least respected countries in the world. Along with Iran, North Korea, and Israel. Apparently not having read this poll, a man was saved from going over Niagara falls this morning after trying to walk across the ice from Canada to the US. I wonder how many people are trying to break IN to Iran or North Korea? The funny thing is that he was trying to cross (escape?) from Canada which is listed as one of the five MOST respected countries in the world. Go figure.
So we got back from our trip to Paris and London on Sunday night and now we're sick. I'll post pictures, not of our sickness, but of the trip in case you're interested. First let me photoshop out all instances of me wearing a beret. It turns out the French are well aware of the Gay Pari stereotype of themselves, as I learned when we were walking with our friends Benoit and Magali and passed a particularily cheesy view of the Eiffel Tower, framed by a charming twisting street full of classical Parisian buildings with the mansard roofs. Benoit asked if he should don a striped shirt and a beret, and ride a bicycle carrying a baguette to complete the picture. I wish he was serious.
By the way, like my new technique for hypertexting? Thank Rob, the host of this blog and the man behind vanbanyan.com . Now I will be subtly sending my readers all over the web in search of random links, with only the smallest amount of disruption to the Graphical Flow of this blog.
So the story of both London and Paris are actually not So exciting, as we never got locked in a haunted horse carriage or were chased out of town by be-torched and be-pitchforked peasants, both occurrences I insist have almost happened to me on previous trips. Except for the haunted horse carriage bit. We never the less had an amazing time in both amazing cities. We tried to use this trip as a bit of a test run for the big one, bringing minimal clothes, and spending minimal cash, but as we planned to celebrate our anniversary in Paris (4 years folks, holdin it down) we had to bring a change of shoes, and some niceties so that the Parisians would let us in their fancy places. And of course our accommodations well surpassed what we can expect to find in India I think, what with the free Hotel in London Magda wrangled, and my Aunt Karin's amazing Paris apartment. That is of course why we went, since Karin was good enough, four years ago, to give us a week's stay at her place, usually rented out for a hefty sum. Knowing that she would lose patience with us if we took two more years to take her up on her offer, we started looking for tickets last fall, which is when Magda who is probably a better travel agent than any travel agent working, found the two night free stay in London if we flew British Airways.
I'll save the rest of the details for the photos, but I will tantalize you by mentioning that we did break into the old Renault factory grounds in WAY west Paris one day, Magda's idea of course as she felt she had to take some of the pictures that I keep talking about posting.
So more about that later.
Until then I will provide you with this short film I took, which I really think needs no explanation, mainly because I have none to give. Well Okay, these drunken pandas you'll see in Trafalgar Square were hyping the Beijing Olympics. But I don't know why:
It actually looks like they are hammered and are being led somewhere to sleep it off. I think drinking with huge blow up animals would be excellent which is why we will certainly be attending the Beijing Olympics towards the end of our trip. The behavior of these Pandas looks exactly like the time I had to physically force two drunken members of the Russian mob out of my apartment in Ballard. What, I haven't told you that story?