1st overseas trip (play by play)

[mtnag]

Well I was rt could not sleep, so I got up about 2am and drove San Antonio. Which is about 4 hrs away
Now I am sitting in the airport awaiting my flight. The threat level is orange and that is sooooooo conforting.
I should be able to sleep on the trip over seeing I havnt slept much in the past 48 hrs

Well I will post back when I get to DC.

Have a good day.

[bixaorellana]

Oh, this is going to be great!

Just hope we don't get alarming pOzttts thhhtlllook like thsss fRommm por Mtnag when it all finally catches up to him..

Seriously, it will be fun to see your trip in a play by play way ~~ thanks!

[Deleted]

I have no trouble sleeping before a trip, but I can't stand hanging around waiting to go to the airport. If a flight is in the afternoon, the entire morning is totally ruined for me. I can't relax until I am through security with my boarding pass in my hands.

[traveler63]

Looking forward to your posts!!!!

[Deleted]

OMG, mtnag never made it to DC! (Or else had something better to do!)

[mtnag]

What a trip arrived at 6:45 this morning. Went to a little island on the seine were their was a retauraunt that
Was frequened by impresionist painters in the 19th century. Then we went and set at a cafe and
Beverages. We r now getting ready to goto the louve.

Remeber I am doing this from my blackberry so my spelling is pour. I will publish pics when I get home.

[Deleted]

Glad you found time to check in. Now the exhaustion starts!

[bixaorellana]

Very impressive that you checked in at all -- you must be exhausted by now! Hope you get some normal rest so you can really enjoy yourself.

[mtnag]

The louve was amazng. Did the have to stuff 1st mona lisa, venice dimalo. Then
I went to look at egyptian antiquties my little boy would of loved this because
Of his love of indiana jones. After we had dinner at Amberge du Pere Louis in the
11 th part of Paris.

We r conferencing rt now and will have free time startng around 2:30. Still
Undecide about what to do during that time bit that decision will be made in due timem

Also I was intervied for a french tv show about my visit to paris it was interesting and will
Air at the end of the month. I don't have a idea of what channel. The mike had an
E on it

Will b back in touch.

[Deleted]

Great. I'm sure your head is spinning by now.

[traveler63]

OMG, mtgnag you are on the fast train for seeing Paris. I am in awe that you even have time to post!!!

[mtnag]

Friday for me frre time I went with people n my group for a walking
Tour of the lain qurters. Saw the ruins of the roman baths. Then found
A cafe an sat people watchedfor the remainder of the afternoon.

Sat. We went to the Palace of Versi. Walked through the gardens and took
The inside tourr. WOW! Then we. Visited NoreDame. Went to the top
Of the Eifel tower and took a nite cruise.

I fly out at 12:25 sun.

[lagatta]

Guess you were at Musée de Cluny. The Iain quarters - as in Big Iain?

[bixaorellana]

Poor man ~~ he's writing that on his blackberry. I think that's a small letter L, so Latin Quarter?

Although surely Big Iain deserves to have part of Paris named after him.

Thanks, MT -- you all covered a lot of ground in a short time!

[Deleted]

They're just trying to frustrate people like mtnag to gain control over them. There is probably someone to say, "if you do everything we tell you at work maybe we'll bring you back to Paris some day."

[mtnag]

I am stuck n Chicago
We had plane troubles n paris and united
Put us up at a really nice hotel 3 meals and a lot of wine
Was a great way to end my Paris trip. Then lastnite
I got to stay at another very nice hotel because they could
Not get me a connecting flight to San Anotnio
So now instead of a direct flight to SA they routed me through
Chicago. Ihave some great stories I will relay to you guys
When I get n front os a real computer.

[bixaorellana]

Yaay, Mtnag ~~ great to hear from you and that you got some extras out of this trip. Will you have time to sight-see in Chicago?

[Deleted]

I have always dreamed of being stuck, all expenses paid.

[lola]

People watching in Paris is my favorite. Impressed you could do that much on a Blackberry.

[traveler63]

You really did a whirlwind tour didn't you. Hope you had a great time and you were amazing on your Blackberry!!!! You delay and the hotel, meals and wine sound great, even though you had some trouble getting back. It is all part of travel today don't like it but it is what it is. !!!!!

[Deleted]

I hope you don't have the sniffles, mtnag. A major outbreak of swine flu was reported in Rueil-Malmaison today.

[bixaorellana]

Digger O'Dell up there.

Get lots of rest, MT, drink water instead of coffee and pop, decompress, then come tell us everything!

[mtnag]

Well I got back to San Antonio at 3:30 Tuesday and still had a 4 hr drive to BFE just to get home. I slept really well that nite as well as last nite. I think I might be finally coming out of my funk.

WHAT A TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was kinda all of a blur thankfully I have pics and video to remind me of what I did.

When we arrived we were able to go straight to our hotel and change into fresh clothes which mad me feel allot better. Then our tour guide, who may I say was AWESOME, took us to a Restaurant/Museum right on the seine that was frequented by impressionist painters in the 1800's.


We then returned to our hotel where I forgot to mention earlier that there was a protest going on. The protesters were banging on pots, blowing whistles, chanting and popping firecrackers. Kinda scary it was right in front of our hotel we had to walk through them to get in the front door.

We then boarded our bus and went to the Louvre what a massive place. I went through some serious sensory overload there is so much to take in and I didn't know where to start so I did the have toos.

The Mona Lisa was kinda of a let down. I knew it wasn't a large painting but its the Mona Lisa it was still kinda of a just there I guess I expected it to jump out and grab me do tricks or something, but hey I have seen it and not allot of people where I live can say that.

What I really liked the most were all of the sculptures Roman and Greek as well as the Egyptian Antiquities. My son is a big Indiana Jones fan he would of loved to see it all.

TO BE CONTINUED................

[Deleted]

Good start! I know that the Mona Lisa is underwhelming, especially cordoned off and behind glass. When I was little, you could actually walk right up to it and it wasn't under glass. That made a big difference -- yet the paintings all around it were a lot more impressive, at least to a little boy.

Philippe de Champaigne's portrait of Cardinal Richelieu used to be right next to the Mona Lisa, and it is of course a much flashier and bigger painting.

[Jazz]

Cardinal Richelieu's robe, the colour, the folds, the drape!

Mtng, what a man to have posted in your two days. (you should be given honourary Stalwart status). In my last month in Paris, I only concentrated enough to write five postcards. You did something that I would love to do, you had lunch at the Maison Fournaise on Ile de Chatou. This is the restaurant where Renoir painted Luncheon of the Boating Party on the balcony. I look forward to the rest of your report.

[mtnag]

You are right about the paintings in the same room as the Mona Lisa it is amazing that there is do many great and beautiful paintings in one place. Of course I did not get the whole picture because I was on a schedule we only had 2 and a half hrs to visit the Louvre.

What I really liked the most were all of the sculptures Roman and Greek as well as the Egyptian Antiquities. My son is a big Indiana Jones fan he would of loved to see it all.

Look at my expression, I am about to fall out, because there is so much to do and I'm really to tired to do it.

After the museum we went to eat at Which was rt down the street from
The food was really good but the wine and beer was great, after the meal we returned to the hotel for drinks and and much needed sleep.

The next morning was full of meetings then around 2pm we had the rest of the day to ourselves. I chose to go with our tour director who was leading a walking tour of the Latin Quarter.


After the walking tour we were free to explore on our on. The people that I was on the walking tour wanted to go to a Really nice and expensive French Restaurant for dinner, I chose to find a nice Cafe and have dinner and beverages and people watch.
I don't have any pics of this or the people that I met but it was really great. I drank Belgium beer and had Glorified grill Cheese called a coke messier (sorry for butchering). I met some interesting locals that were on there way to a theater production. I told them that I was from Texas and they asked me if owned a horse and I had to disappoint them and tell them no. But while I was setting there a woman walked that they all knew and they all stood up and greeted her the the traditional kiss to the cheeks. I have always wanted to do this so I just got up and took my turn she was a bit surprised but everyone else thought it was pretty funny or they were surprised. I thought it was cool. I eventually left the little cafe and ended in the Bastille area that has allot of bars I think that is right.

I went to this little bar that stayed open until 5am and when I walked in there were 3 locals playing live classic Rock ans Roll. No offense but the singing was not great but everyone was singing along and it was really fun. Then I met these guys that were DJ's for a popular French radio station that plays Classic Rock. They were really alto of fun and introduced them to Flaming Dr. Peppers. Which is

3/4 shot amaretto almond liqueur
1/4 oz 151 proof rum
1/2 glass beer



1. Fill a shot glass about 3/4 full with amaretto and top it off with enough 151 proof rum to be able to burn.

2. Place the shot glass in another glass and fill the outer glass with beer (right up to the level of the shot glass).

3. Ignite the amaretto/151 and let it burn for a while. Blow it out (or leave it burning if you're brave - not recommended) and slam it. Tastes just like Dr. Pepper.

They loved it and we had everybody in the bar ordering it, they made a good chunk of change off my introduction. Needless to say I had to leave because we started at 8am the next morning. The only problem was that the trains were not running at 3am so I had to take a cab which cost about 50 Euro and I got home at 3:50am. It was a great time.
Drunk Picture taking.

The next morning I awoke thanks to my roommate at 7:40 with just enough time to get a shower and get on the bus. No need to tell you that I was not in the greatest shape but I pushed through.

Now its of the the Palace de Versailles. What a spectacular piece of architecture ans he gardens were magnificent.



Then is was back on the bus for a driving tour of Paris.

Then my camera went out the Batteries DIED and It does not use aa or aaa so I had take pics with my phone.

To be continued......................

[Deleted]

Great report! You do look somewhat shell shocked, but considering your schedule, that's only normal.

I'm glad that you noticed that the sculpture at the Louvre is just as interesting as the paintings.

Oh, the grilled ham and cheese sandwich is called a "croque monsieur."

Waiting for more.

[mtnag]

I just up loaded my pics from my phone I don't know how they will look but we will give it a try.

Then we were off to Notre Dame all I can say is WOW!


Then is was off to the Eiffel Tower. I really had know idea how large it was until I finally got underneath it
Then I went all the way to the top what a view!

This all took place in a drizzle. After we got down we went to catch a boat to do a tour by water. That was really great we had wine and they played French music. Seeing the city lit up from the water was great.


Then of course was the lighting of the Eiffel Tower. This was very spectacular.
<a href="http://s588.photobucket.com/albums/ss323/mtnag/?action=view¤t=IMG00095-20090718-2251.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss323/mtnag/IMG00095-20090718-2251.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Then is was back to our hotel to get some rest for our trip home the next morning. We thought!

We arrived at the airport the next morning in hopes of getting back home, but there were problems with the planes hydraulics, so United ended up canceling our flight so 270+ people had stay another night in Paris. They put us up at a great hotel and comped us 3 meals complete with wine. We drank allot of wine and I met allot of people from around the states as well as from France. after dinner we slipped outside the dining area with a few bottles of wine and sat and talked about politics the world and such. I compared to setting in the French Salons of years ago. It was interesting hearing other peoples opinions and thoughts. It opens your eyes up to new ideas and perspectives. This was by far my best evening.

The next morning we got to the airport for a 9am flight that did not get off the ground until after 11am because they did not have enough people working the check in lines and the automated ticket counters were down. But we all got on and off we went.

But it was not over for me. That morning I found out that they could not get me a connecting flight to San Antonio, so they put me up in a Hotel in DC actually it was near Dulles so it was about 45 miles from DC which was a bummer because I was hoping to get to see the monuments. They gave me another meal voucher but this time it was only good for $15 and where I was staying that would barely buy my drink. That was kind of a pisser.

The next morning I got on a flight to Chicago then I had a 4 hour layover then on to San Antonio then to home. What a trip! IT was a eye opening experience for me because I teach World History, Government and Economics. Seeing what I did puts it in a different light because I have seen and experienced I cant wait until next summer Italy and Greece will be even better.

Thanks to all of you for comments and I hope you enjoyed my story. Sorry about the writing but I also Coach Girls Basketball so thats my excuse I'M A JOCK.

Thanks

[auntieannie]

hihi! hilarious report MT... fabulous! post more!

[Deleted]

I also Coach Girls Basketball so thats my excuse I'M A JOCK.


Hey, you got a trip to Paris anyway!

The most important thing is that you discovered hearing other peoples opinions and thoughts. It opens your eyes up to new ideas and perspectives. This was by far my best evening.

Even though seeing the sights is important, this is even more important.