Paris!

I'm in Paris! A couple months ago, I got an email from Delta about their fare sales, and I wrote to my girlfriend Irish Parisienne who lives here. When she said she would be around for New Year's, I booked the trip.

Irish Parisienne and I met through our blogs, and we estimate we've been reading and commenting on each other's dating odysseys for 3-4 years. When I met her in person back in April (my first ever trip to the City of Lights), we instantly clicked and solidified our friendship. Since then, she's been encouraging me to come back, and as I find New Year's Eve depressing on my own, I decided this was a good occasion.

Today, being my first day here, was a bit rough from the jet lag. Although I got a few hours sleep on the plane, it always catches up to me my first day here. I'm renting a lovely little studio apartment from a friend of IP's, and the comfy bed and shuttered windows were ideal for an afternoon nap.

Every meal I've eaten in Paris has been delicious, and today was no exception. For lunch, I had a quiche lorraine, and dinner was exquisite: pumpkin soup with a creamy blue cheese for starters, and beef tenderloin cooked to medium perfection with baby potatoes and a scrumptious wine reduction gravy. And French wine, of course!

Now it's off to bed for me. I'm too tired to tell you the rest of the story, but there's more... :-)

A Day in London

We arrived to a cloudy, rainy day in London (is there any other kind?) although the sun poked through the clouds a few times to make for some great pictures. Having just the one day and one night in the city, we limited our expectations to Harrods, Kensington Park and Hyde Park.

Our hotel was in Kensington, located next to the park, and I captured these pictures of the Prince Albert Memorial, Kensington Palace and the Park to and from Harrods.




Although I've been to England many times, it was my first time to Harrods. The complete-shirt bib and the polite sign about carding minors gave me a chuckle.


Dinner was a delectable treat at a fancy Indian restaurant that came highly recommended by all of the hotel's concierges. The chef combined Indian favorites with skills he learned in France and Italy, and we left very satisfied.

And then my vacation was at an end. I came home exhausted but refreshed. I definitely will go to Paris again (so much more to see!) and of course, with so many loved ones in England, I will also be there again in the future, although probably not London. I think I'm done with Amsterdam, at least for now. And I still have to update you all about that.

Party in Amsterdam

After a peaceful and beautiful train ride through France and Belgium, we arrived at Amsterdam Centraal Station around mid-day. We checked into our hotel and had a delicious lunch at a cafe on Museumplein, seeing preparations already underway around the city for Queen's Day (April 30), the biggest national holiday in the Netherlands to celebrate the Queen's birthday. Originally our plan was to hit the Van Gogh museum after lunch, but my travel partner said she was tired and would prefer to do the Heineken museum.

I like the Heineken museum. First, because they give you two beers as part of your tour, and second, they've done a great job incorporating multimedia elements to bring the beer brewing process to life. We enjoyed it.

The next day we went out of the city to Keukenhof Gardens, known for its beautiful tulips. I had first heard of Keukenhof nearly a year before, and when we planned our trip for April, I knew the tulips would be in full bloom. They did not disappoint. Tulips in every color were a feast for the eyes. I couldn't stop taking pictures! They were so beautiful.




Then we went to the Anne Frank Museum -- amazing and moving -- and took a canal cruise. And that night was the eve before Queen's Day. Festivities were already underway, and we enjoyed the music and laughter on the Leidesplein. And I had fun dancing with this adorable guy.



The next day was Queen's Day, and everyone was wearing orange. It was amazing how many people were in the streets. There were street fairs and carnival booths and concerts. Everywhere you went there were crowds and a party. To escape that for a bit, we toured the Van Gogh museum, always amazing, although I missed Starry Night this time. It must have been out on loan to another museum. We didn't really engage in Queen's Day. NM really didn't like the crowds, and we were both tired from all the activities we'd been packing into each day. But we did see entrepreneurial kids -- not selling lemonade -- selling Heineken! I had to take a picture.


And the next morning we flew to London for a one-day stopover.

Paris...Ooh La La!

Paris was absolutely gorgeous! The city is beautiful, and the weather was idyllic with highs in the 60's and 70's. There is so much to see there, and while we crammed in as much as possible, there are still more places that I want to see on my next trip.

We arrived so early on Saturday morning, most everything wasn't yet open. We walked down to the Champs Elysees and saw the magnificent Arc de Triomphe that Napolean had built to celebrate his troops successes. We found coffee -- I LOVED their coffee, so strong and smooth -- and walked down to the Seine and past the Eiffel Tower, although we saved going up for another day. That first day, we also took a lovely boat cruise, which provided me with a good basic understanding of how the city was laid out. We had a fantastic dinner that night in the Latin Quarter, but the beef left me with a massive tooth ache where the temporary crown is. I drugged myself up for the night and was able to keep it from getting that bad again by only chewing on one side of my mouth for the rest of the trip.


On Sunday, we went shopping, and we enjoyed exploring the little boutiques on Rue de Temple. I navigated the subway system to get us there, and I was impressed with its cleanliness, smooth ride and frequent trains. It was a very easy system to manage. After shopping, we toured Notre Dame, and we were allowed access even though a service was being held. We quietly walked around and respected the sanctity of the church, only taking photos without flash inside. Then we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, where after a quick line for tickets and a cursory look in our bags, we were whisked up to the incredible views of the city. We met some other Americans there, including two women from Houston and a family from Las Vegas, who are in Paris for a year to "learn the language." I envy them!

On Monday, we went to the Museum d'Orsay, but it was closed. And unfortunately, we ran out of time to go back. We walked over to the Louvre, which was open. The garden was fantastic, and I remembered my sister Steph mentioning to me how much she enjoyed it. The Louvre is absolutely massive, so we saw the two pieces we most wanted to see -- the Mona Lisa and the Venus di Milo -- and enjoyed several other pieces to get to those and back.



Monday night we had an amazing dinner at a restaurant that was recommended to me named for the chef, Jacques Cagna. Every course was a delight, but I especially enjoyed the escargot, which were served in mushroom caps and small boiled potatoes, and the crab bisque. After dinner, I was pretty tuckered out, but NM wanted to get a drink at the hotel bar. I started talking to a couple of men beside us, and played "wingman" for her, talking to the late-40's English married guy so she could flirt with the young French guy. I had a good conversation at least, but our whole party was repeatedly interrupted by this obnoxiously drunk Australian woman, who was draping and pressing herself against the two guys. Her friends tried ineffectually to pull her away, but she kept coming back. The young Frenchman was sweet and tried to calm her down when she got to the point of tears. The woman was really embarrassing herself. It was pathetic. But I did get a cute picture out from the evening:



Tuesday, our last day in Paris, we went to Sacre Couer, which is high on a hill in the Northern section of the city. There are many steep steps to get to the cathedral, and on the steps were mimes, sketch artists and musicians, along with groups of tourists enjoying the view. After a moving walk around the sanctuary and taking pictures of the gargoyles on the exterior, we walked down to the Moulin Rouge.



Back to the Champs Elysees for lunch and some shopping, we headed over to the Arc de Triomphe again to walk up 284 more steps to reach the summit and enjoy the view.

But the highlight of Paris for me was getting to meet and hang out with Irish Parisienne, my fellow singleton blogger and virtual friend for the past three years. It was exciting to meet her in person, and we hit it off immediately. She brought along a friend of hers (a girl originally from San Francisco) and we were joined by another Irish guy, and much later her boy-of-the-moment Frenchman. Irish Parisienne and I could have talked all night, filling in the details for each other about our blog stories, but out of respect for the others, we joined the larger conversation. Still, she asked me to regale them with a couple of my stories, and they responded with the appropriate exclamations and laughter.

The next morning, we headed to the train station, on our way to Amsterdam.

Va-Cay

Today, I'm leaving on a plane for Paris. I got a temporary crown for my tooth, and the volcanic ash has cleared from the air. My friend Never Married and I are off to explore Paris, Amsterdam and London for the next weekend and a few days.

I'm SOOO excited and thrilled to be taking time off! I may or may not post to the blog. :-)

Gimme a Break

Apparently, I've been overdoing it. Too much exercise (triathlon training), too strict on caloric intake, and too much work. My body is in stress overload, causing bouts of racing heartbeats, holding on to weight, and back muscle spasms. I know, it sounds so enticing you wish it was you, right?

I'm hard on myself. Maybe too hard. I push myself to do more, more, more, and I'm angry when my body doesn't respond the way I want it to. But it has been recommended to me that I try more relaxation techniques and cut back on the training. It's easier said than done. I feel guilty if I'm not doing something (running, biking or swimming) every day. The tri is less than two months away. This will be my fourth triathlon, and last year, I had my personal best time. I want to beat it, but if I can't do that, I want to at least match it. So this past weekend, I only did swimming. But I think I still did too much because my shoulders haven't stopped contracting, despite heat, stretching and massage.

It's difficult to turn off my perfectionist tendencies. I not only want to do it all, I want to do it WELL. My mind has been racing lately with everything I need to do, to the point where I get almost paralyzed, completely overwhelmed. I usually make lists and check things off one by one. But I also still need to work on saying "No." I'm not very good at that.

I'm really looking forward to my vacation. I'm travelling with my fellow singleton, Never Married (NM) to Paris, Amsterdam and London. I'm hoping to connect with other singleton bloggers in Paris and London and will be trying not to think of anyone in particular in Amsterdam. But mostly, it will be blissful to be away from my major stressors here and enjoying the beautiful spring in Europe. It can't come soon enough.

Unexpected Surprise

Before we left on the cruise, we knew it was Spring Break time for many Texas schools and there would likely be many kids. We learned once we got onboard that several high schools had planned senior trips, and the ship was full of teenagers and their parents. Although there were a few "singles activites," I didn't go. I didn't think I'd meet anyone I'd be interested in, and I decided I'd rather spend the time with my family.

On Monday night, our first formal night, I entered the Karoake competition. I know it doesn't sound modest, but I can sing well. Their list really sucked, and the one song I wanted to do had already been sung. They wouldn't let me repeat it. I decided to sing La Bamba, but the organizers suggested R-E-S-P-E-C-T. When my turn came, I couldn't hear the music and asked them to turn it up. They decided to also change the key. While I continued to sing, trying to adjust to the new key, they changed it again. It was a disaster. I was really embarrassed, and asked them to just put on La Bamba. I did passably well, but I had lost my confidence. I didn't make the cut for the competition, but there was another opportunity on Wednesday.

After that flop, I said goodnight to my parents and went and talked to one of the karoake organizers for a bit, and then I went with a couple of the other participants to the disco/club across the way. I was just standing there, trying to compose myself but still fuming and humiliated, when this really good-looking guy came up and started talking to me. Turns out he works for Royal Caribbean as an IT project manager and was onboard to implement a new scheduling computer system for staffing. Besides being cute, I also found out he loves to dance and is pretty good at it! He's a widower in his 40's and has two kids -- a daughter in college and a 16-year-old son. He lives in Florida, and he has a happy looking face, always ready to smile. We had a lot of fun dancing and talking, and I asked if I'd see him again. He said he'd be pretty busy with the computer system but might see me at the end of the cruise.

On Wednesday, I was determined to sing my best at that Karoake competition tryout. I got there early and signed up for the song I wanted: Bonnie Raitt's Something to Talk About. I had been warming up my voice for about an hour and practiced the song all day. I was the fifth or sixth person to sing, and I was really pleased with my performance -- it was probably one of the best times I've done that song. Since it was late, my family had all turned in for the night, but several strangers in the audience complimented me afterwards. I sat down for a bit, shaking from the adrenalin of performing, and Cruise Guy shows up, telling me he just had a few minutes for a break and decided to come hear me sing. I was flattered. I think he complimented me and stuff, but I was just so surprised to see him, that he remembered I had mentioned it the other night and made a point of being there. I walked out with him -- he had to get back to work -- and we agreed to meet again the next night at the disco/club place where we had met on Monday.

So Thursday, we danced and danced. The cruise was having a 70's disco theme, and we danced to all the classics. It was fun but tiring, too. He kept pulling me back out to the dance floor! We also had a great time talking, and it was just easy to be around him. He asked me to meet him on Friday night at the club they were creating around the adult pool.

Each of these evenings, by the time the dancing was scheduled and Cruise Guy was done with his work for the day, it was usually 11 p.m. My family had all gone to bed, and while I would stay out late dancing until 2 a.m., I still got up early with them around 7-8 a.m., not wanting to miss out on the fun.

Friday night felt like a date. Each time I saw Cruise Guy, he was dressed impecably in a suit or at least a nice shirt. Friday had been a formal night for dinner, but I changed out of my sparkly gown to a black-and-white strapless dress. He showed up late, admitting he went to the Karoake competition, which I had not been a part of. He said only one of the singers could rival me (who knows if he was telling the truth or just being courteous, but it was nice). Again, we danced and danced. Then we took a walk around the deck, and he kissed me. It felt so nice to be in someone's arms. I could feel myself kinda falling for this guy, and I fought against it. I try to steel myself against liking anyone too much...guess I'm afraid to get hurt again. But he was so consistently nice and respectful and complimentary and CUTE!

I only saw him briefly on Saturday night, as my niece Anna, my bro-in-law Anthony and I were headed back to our cabins. I was absolutely exhausted by this time anyway, but he said he couldn't leave his colleagues, mentioning he had gotten into some trouble by staying out with me so late the night before. I had given him my business card and tried to be casual, saying "if you ever come to NY, let me know." He squeezed my hand and whispered in my ear that he was sorry he couldn't kiss me but with his colleagues there, watching him...I told him I understood and said goodbye.

And I was hoping by the time I wrote this, I'd have at least an electronic communication to tie it all up, but nothing. I'm disappointed, and disappointed in myself for letting my guard down. But it was fun.

Cruise Memories

I got back late last night after a fantastic 7-day cruise. I'm still a bit exhausted, as the first night back after being gone so long, my cat Sabrina insists on waking me several times through the night to give her attention.

The Caribbean was gorgeous and warm. Back in NYC, it still seems like winter. 

The cruise was especially fun because my niece Anna (soon-to-be-eight) and nephew Colin (5) were so excited about every little thing. It was all new to them, and it was fun seeing things through their eyes. Plus, they usually wanted to sit next to me or hold my hand. I love holding their sweet, soft little hands in mine.

Our first port of call was Cozumel, Me

xico. We adults had all been there before, and we had decided to spend the day snorkeling at the Chankanab park. The water was absolutely spectacular -- such beautiful blues and turquoise that were a feast for the eyes. Anna took to snorkeling easily, but Colin decided the mask wasn't for him. He said he likes to breathe out his nose. :-)

After several hours of viewing the many varieties of fish, and after consuming some beer and lime, we headed into town for a bite of lunch before returning to the boat. 

The next day, we were in George Town, Grand Cayman. Jenn, Anthony, the kids and I wanted to go to Sting Ray City, a sandbar just 20 minutes out on a boat that is shallow and

 frequented by many sting rays. Mom & Dad had been there before and decided to spend the day in town, walking and shopping. Sting Ray City was awesome. The beautiful green water was shallow enough that the kids could easily stand, and of course, the water was so clear, you could easily see through to the sandy floor and see the shadowy figures of the sting rays as they approached. Jenn, Anna and I each kissed a sting ray on its nose -- supposedly giving us each 7 years good luck -- and Jenn and I each took turns holding a female sting ray on our flattened forearms. She was at

 least three feet across and actually quite heavy.

 The sting rays are used to being touched and fed by the many tour guides, and as long as you kept their gills under the water, they were content to be held.

Our next port of call was Montego Bay, Jamaica, and when we docked, we were happy to see we didn't have to "tender" -- take a small boat -- to the island like we did at Grand Cayman. Also, where Grand Cayman is a very flat island, Jamaica has beautiful mountains that were covered in greenery. A reggae band played music as we disembarked, and Jenn found us a bus to the beach Doctors Cave. Of course, the tour guide on the bus tried to sell us on a city tour or at 

the very least a return ride to the boat, but we didn't want to be tied down to a particular time. After all, we're on vacation! We don't want to be on a time schedule, other than the one the cruise ship gave us for getting back before they depart. We rented umbrellas, and the kids loved this beach. The sand was soft and not too hot. Anna got her hair braided, and then Anthony and I rented jet skis and each took a kid. I first had Anna, then we switched and I got Colin. Each one just giggled with glee the whole time! It was great fun.

Jenn found us a cab driver that seemed trustworthy, and he turned out to be a great guy, not too sales-y and very helpful. He took us to a place we could get jerk chicken, and we ate that as well as buying a "young" coconut. We drank the coconut water, learning that it doesn't turn to milk until later in the aging process. Colin couldn't get enough of the water or the pulp.

Our last couple days were at sea, and there were many activities for the adults and the kids. There were many things I would have done if I'd had more time, but I also wanted to just lay on a recliner and read my book, enjoying the ocean views.

There's more to tell -- I met a guy! -- but that's enough for one post, don't ya think?