Bye Week Trip to Parijs

I concluded my week of travels with a trip to one of my favorite cities on Sunday. Rachel, Bram, Reid and I woke up at 6, packed into the Mercedes and made the 3 hour trip to Paris, arriving shortly after 9.

After taking in some sun (for the 1st time in 2 weeks... thank you Belgium)during a patio breakfast that included fresh squeezed orange juice, a croissant, baguette with butter, and a cheese omelette we followed the Seine river before branching off towards the Eiffel Tower. Before taking the stairs up to the second platform of the E.T., I made my first attempt at a picture capturing me doing a handstand in front of the Tower. Fail. It had probably been a good 10 years since my last handstand that didn't take place under water, and my nerves may have got the best of me, but lets blame it on the delicious apricot and custard pastry I ate after breakfast. With a good 600 or so (Reid actually counted the real number) stairs to plan out my next attempt and burn off the morning feast, there was no way I could possibly fail.

So after going up to the second platform, taking in the panoramic view of Paris, coming down, dodging a few hundred street vendors trying to peddle Eiffel Tower key chains and other gimmicks, avoiding being harassed by a guy in a gorilla suit, and crossing the Seine so that I could get the handstand and the tower in the same shot, it was time for redemption. This time, I nailed the handstand, a 5.4 average on the judges cards (probably the best I could do), I managed to land this bad boy...



I know, my right leg didn't stay straight, but lets just blame that on my still tender at times knee, thanks to Deurne. But even the 99% healed bum wheel couldn't hold me down in Paris. We walked to all the hot tourist spots. After the Eiffel Tower came the Arc de Triomphe...




Then a stroll down the Champ E'lysses, the street with the most expensive shops in Paris, located on the most expensive real estate in Europe and more importantly the final straightaway of the Tour de Lance (France)...



Which led us to the largest and most visited museum in the world, The Louvre, where we saw...



and I did this to it...



and then made sure I would be the last person to ever see it by doing this...



We also bumped into the Venus de Milo...



and finally a portrait of myself...



Starting to feel the legs tire from walking around, we did what any logical group would do... we braved the riot police...



and went to Notre Dame for mass...




Here Bram and I contemplated buying a candle and praying for some wins. We decided against it, however, when we realized that we were about to start a massive winning streak anyways.

Needing some nourishment, the only logical thing to do was to go to the most famous ice cream place in Paris, Berthillon, on Ile St. Louis. Next it was off to a nice dinner in the Le Marais quarter, where I chowed on some Bouef Burginion.

Ready to collapse from walking all day, we made a b-line for the car and passed out on the ride home, everyone except for Bram who took one for the team as the driver. It's a good thing too, because there is no way I could drive in that city and make it out alive.

Not a bad end to a solid week over here in Belgium, now all we need is to start winning some games.

And my hard life just got tougher... Just booked a 11 day trip to Croatia for the end of June... Hope to see everyone out there