Versailles

I couldn't go to Paris without taking the 45 minute train ride to Versailles. I cannot begin to imagine what it was like to live in this kind of opulence in the 1700's! It almost seems that French royalty at the time were irresponsible and indulgent. I'm sure that was just one of the reasons for the French Revolution in 1789.

Arriving in front of the palace around 9:30 AM. Another recommendation by Rick Steves!

The front gate with short lines.

The palace chapel. This is where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of Austria were married.

The Hall of Mirrors.


This is a video I took with my iPhone in the Hall of Mirrors. When traveling solo, it's kinda hard to get many photos of yourself. Since the long room was all of mirrors, I decided to video myself walking down the hall. ; ) I'll warn you, the video quality is not good. This isn't because of the iPhone, more on that later...

A view of the palace from the gardens.

The palace gardens in Winter.

I took the long walk to the Grand and Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette's retreat a mile and half or so from the palace). Lots of crunching through the snow, and some mud. I treated myself to hot chocolate once I got there! I don't have many photos of this area, but the retreat was amazing and full of Marie Antoinette's make-believe world since it wasn't safe to leave the palace grounds. Again, more on my photos-issue later.

Historic Sites, Art, and The Ballet

Like any person during their first visit to Paris, I wanted to take in as much as possible. There is so much art, fashion, historic sites to see, music to hear, and food to eat! I did the best I could with the time I had, but there was no way to see it all in one trip. Here is a sampling of some of the places I went and the sites I saw inside Paris.

The Arc de Triomphe, a 10 minute walk from my hotel. It was a drizzly day in Paris.

Looking up into the arch.

No one told me this was the only way up! Man, I have to work on my cardio strength!

Another view from the top! The overcast day made for a such a neat photo of the city. See the Eiffel Tower out there? It's doesn't quite look real.

It didn't take me long to get to the shopping! A rainy day = lots of shops. This was the amazing holiday decor in the Galleries Lafayette.

The Louvre. I faithfully followed the advice from my Rick Steves' tour book. He said to get to the Louvre early and he was so right! When I was done with my tour, the lines were insane!

Look closely in the center. Yes, it's the Mona Lisa! I took some close-up photos (allowed with no flash), but I wanted you to see the crowd at 9:00 AM.

From the inside out. Isn't it an interesting combo of old and modern?

Crossing the Seine to Ile St. Louis. I ate some yummy Creme Brulee Ice Cream.

Cathedral Notre Dame

The gorgeous Christmas Tree sitting in the exact center of Paris.

I went to see the ballet at Opera National de Paris Garnier. It was designed for Napoleon III in 1862.

The foyer of marble.

The view of the stage from my seat.

Isn't this incredible? The ceiling was done by Marc Chagall. There is even an underground lake, the inspiration for The Phantom of the Opera.

The ballet I saw was actually 3 separate, short performances. All by different choreographers, one was an American. The intermission was between the 2nd and 3rd ballets. This photo came out a little blurry, but the staff was placing and smoothing out dirt (yes dirt) on the stage for the dancers to perform upon. I'm not 100% sure US audiences would have been OK with the last performance. The female dancers were basically wearing sheer dresses... and got rather muddy. The men were in sweats (not sheer, maybe that would have been overly distracting? Ha, did I say that?) Amazing talent though, they were all beautiful athletic performers.

Bonjour! - Paris 2010

I was so excited to FINALLY make my way to Paris! Earlier this Fall, I did a lot of thinking about my 40th Birthday in December. It's only natural, right? When we all hit our decade milestones, we look back on our lives and what we have done so far. What did I hope to accomplish by the time I was 40? Where did I think I would be in life? Of course, there are some things I figured would have happened already. I always thought I would be married with a couple of kids by now. Well, for whatever reason, that hasn't happened. To a certain point, I don't think I have a lot of control over that part. It's not as if I can make "Mr. Right" appear before my eyes!

That said, I do have control over many other things in my life. I decided it was time to take a trip. I was no longer going to wait for a someone to go to Paris with me, I was going to hit the road and explore it on my own! I had built up frequent-flyer miles and hotel points over the years, so it was time to use them. My company closes their headquarters offices between Christmas and New Years (no they didn't give us extra vacation, it counted against our PTO balance), so why not go somewhere this year? Wahoo! I couldn't wait!

Yes, I did consider the fact I was choosing to travel to Paris during a cold time of the year. My sister had taken a solo trip to Paris over the Christmas holidays before she met her husband and she really enjoyed herself. Besides, seeing the festive holiday decorations in Paris would be fun! I left on December 26 and arrived late morning on December 27. By the time I got to my hotel and checked in, it was mid-afternoon. Let my photos give you a description of the first day of my trip.

My hotel - Le Meridien Etoile (A Starwood Hotel, of course!) in Arrondissement 17.

Due to my Platinum Status, I was booked in an Executive Suite!

This is the reflection of the room in the fancy TV display on the wall.

A very modern bathroom and shower. The shower was the type without a full glass door,

water ends up on the floor. Why do hotels think this is a good idea?

The mall across the street from my hotel. If you look closely, the sign out front says Gap. I can't get away from it!

My walk to the Eiffel Tower. So pretty!

A classic Metro entrance. I'm really here!

I made it! The Eiffel Tower! I had a ticket to take the lift at 4:30 PM.

Me! I took this with the reverse lens on my iPhone 4.

The Seine

A view from the 2nd level of the Eiffel Tower.

From the 3rd level, the "Sommet." I had this notion to leisurely drink a glass of champagne at the top,

but it was so freaking windy and cold up there, I decided 10 minutes was plenty!

Such a pretty view!

Back down to the first level (one up from the ground). I decided to walk down the stairs from the 2nd to

the 1st level, since the lift lines were so long. On my way down, the clock turned to 6PM. The lights on the tower suddenly lit up and began to twinkle!

The ice rink on the 1st level.

Looking down from the 1st level.

A view from across the river.

Meeting Bonnie (a friend of a friend in Paris at the same time) for dinner at Les Deux Magots in the Saint Germain neighborhood. Can you believe Hemingway, Oscar Wilde and Picasso all hung out here?

I highly recommend hot chocolate in Paris. It's like a creamy, melted chocolate bar!

In Saint Germain, I stumbled upon the namesake of Old Navy! It's a rather run-down cafe.

This was literally the place that inspired Gap executives for the name of their new retail brand which opened in 1994.

Christmas 2010

Christmas... can you believe it? Another year has gone by so quickly. It was a mellow holiday at my parent's house this year. I was getting all set to take off on a big adventure the day after Christmas so I was glad we didn't have much planned. Church on Christmas Eve, brunch on Christmas morning (delicious scones, thanks Dad!), saw what Santa brought us in our stockings, then some presents to open... Finally, we called Meg and David to see how the girlies were doing with all of their presents.

My Mom always does a lovely job decorating the house for the holidays. It's subtle, yet festive. Here are some photos of Christmas at a Northern California home. : ) Merry Christmas everyone!

You'll want to click on the photo to view this tree in the front yard a little closer.

There are ornaments hanging from the branches.

The live, outside Christmas Tree. So pretty!

Now this is totally Martha Stewart, right?

An outside view of the lit tree.

And the old stockings all in a row. Mine is the red one. : )

Wordless Wednesday: Thank You Mr. Barista!

The Suite Life

I've been going to Los Angeles a lot for work lately. There a few more trips planned for early next year too, so I'm getting used to the "suite" life. Not always, but most of the time I've booked a room at the W Hollywood lately they've upgraded me to a suite! This is due to my Starwood Hotels Platinum level membership. It's taken me some time, but I finally made it! I think I may have mentioned this in a past post, but it's fun so humor me to read about it again. ; ) Whenever there is a suite available at one of the Starwood hotels (Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels, St. Regis, etc.), if you are at a Platinum level, you are supposed to get an upgrade. It's nice! That said, sometimes I think, "This whole place is just for lil' ol' me?" I feel like I should be calling everyone I know in the area and throwing a party! Alas, it's a work trip and I'm usually needed on press early each morning. It's hard to see color well with a headache, so I usually have mellow evenings... in a room that is bigger than my apartment in San Francisco!

The Fabulous Suite. Bedroom/Living Room separated by a curtain behind the couch.

If you want to watch TV in bed, simply slide the curtain around to one side of the couch!

The couch. I can't say it's all that comfy, but it looks good!

Flat screen TV and desk.

The bathroom. Yes, a tub AND a separate shower. I love the lighting around their mirrors,

it's set so you always look great! ; )

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday to Me!