At last!

14 January 2008- We found good beer in Paris. Turns out to be right down the street by the Pantheon. IPA even. Chad was very happy. One stop at an Irish pub but then the English pub the Bombardier is the winner. And with the smoking ban, so nice! The fines are pretty steep, 750 euro for the business and 68 euro for the individual. Not really worth the expense for some cancers. We went out a lot this weekend and even the irish pub was smoke free. 3 weeks ago we got smacked out of there because the billows of smoke were too large. No more stinky clothes, coats, scarves and no hurting lungs the next day. Hooray!
The picture is of one of the many metro stops undergoing renovation. Turns out under all that subway tile was more tile with maps printed on them. Kind of cool to see how the metro system has expanded and grown since 1900.
We went out yesterday to go up in the Eiffel tower. Turns out the 3 platform (highest) was closed so we said no. I mean if you can't get all the way up, why bother? We decided to walk around a bit and try to find some new places. We saw a smart car with wicker panels. So in the order of calling a car with wooden panels a woody, would you call it a wicky? Kind of funny. Probably because the weight of the wood would cause the tiny car to spin out of control. Wicker must be better. I just can't wait to see the convertible Smart cars. They are truly pocketsized. Then there is the "smart car for 1". It is a BMW motorcycle with a windshield and a go-cart type seat. Really, just buy the smart car or the motorcycle not the hybrid of both.
In my travels around Paris I have seen tow trucks with straps that actually pick up the car from its parallel parking spot and tow it off on a waiting flat bed; strangers accompanying blind and handicapped folks in the metro, street and shopping malls and other acts of kindness; crazy drunk people with water bottles who think they are being friendly.
We are coming to the US this weekend, Chad has Europe/North America meetings in Houston and I am headed to Phx to see my family, friends and my dog. I can't wait to have Wendy's of all things. And maybe some crawfish in Houston.