Candy and I took full advantage of the nice weather last weekend to get out and drive around. Some of the fall colors are starting, so we headed up north to see if they were better. In all honesty, we were probably a couple of weeks early, but with our crazy schedules you have to take the opportunity when you can. The area around Lake Norfork was very pretty, as was the part of the route that followed the river up toward Mountain Home. Our route was Batesville - Melbourne - Mountain Home - Bakersfield, MO - West Plains, MO, Cherokee Village - Batesville. Over the 250 or so miles, my Jetta got 38.7mpg - not bad for puttering around the hills...

Today was the best weather we've had the whole trip. Beautiful sunshine and about 80 with a light breeze. It was also the best pastrami sandwich I've ever eaten either. We went to the famous Carnegie Deli and ate way too much for lunch. The pastrami sandwich probably had at least 1.5lbs of fresh pastrami on it. Oh man....I also got some chopped liver which was, as they say, "to die for," and a Potato Knish, which was very tasty. Afterwards, we wandered around the area of Rockefeller Center, seeing all the sites there. We went back into Chelsea and just strolled the streets of that area for most of the rest of the day. Ended it off with a dinner at a very hip thai restaurant, and am now packing for the trip home. The day's pictures are here

The big apple was quite an interesting experience. It is similar to many large European cities I've visited, but at the same time had it's own charm and class. It hasn't stolen my heart away from Paris, but then again, I think that I've left a part of me here as well. Candy loved it. She's still in awe of the size of the buildings, the sheer number of people, and the overwhelming amount of taxi cabs...something tells me this won't be my last trip here....

We've tried to not do the tourist things, since I am one of the established Anti-Tourists of the world, but over the last days have succumbed to a couple. Last night we went up to the top of the Empire State Building, and the view was worth ever penny we spent to get there. You could see the whole world from up there...today's ride through Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage was a bit touristy, but scored major points with Candy...;o)

Well, we made it to NYC. Left Memphis this morning on Continental Flight 2291 heading to EWR (Newark Liberty International). Equipment was an Embraer ERJ 145 Regional Jet, and was a pretty good flight. Had a slight delay on departure because of weather somewhere between NYC and MEM, but overall not bad. Especially for Candy's 1st trip on a real airplane. Took the train to Penn Station and a cab over to the hotel in the Chelsea area of Manhattan.

Those of you who know me know that I am a hopeless petrolhead. I LOVE cars. I've written about the Mercedes of my past and the current Jetta, but I also have a 1966 Ford Galaxie Custom 500 that I've been tinkering with for the past couple of years. Before the jet age, everyone drove their car wherever they went. A road trip was an adventure. These days, it seems more like torture to most! I've never been on a true road trip, and I must resolve that one day. When the Galaxie is fully restored, I'm taking it on one. I think that I owe it that. We don't build machines like that any more, and they really are reminders of days gone by.

Ugh. That's how I felt when I got up this morning at 6am. I have been up all day trying to keep some degree of busy as to ward off jet-lag. But, since I'm home, I did manage to go find a Dr. Pepper since they are non-existent in Europe. My friend Tsanko takes them home to his dad in Bulgaria. lol.....

To those at UACCB who've been following us we all made it home in one piece! And Bill bought too many knights/crusaders/crests/Faberge Eggs/etc. He has quite the collection! Will didn't lose his passport any more (and we didn't leave him there either, although Roy offered to pay me to do just that).

Something tells me I will go to bed early tonight....

After the gargantuan meal that we had last night, no one wanted to get up this morning. Well, that and the fact that leaving Paris is bittersweet - on the one hand, there are those at home who we love and miss and on the other there's this city that just captivates you in more ways than can be explained. We left our apartment at about 7:25 this morning, and as we walked by the local greengrocer he stopped me to say goodbye (I'd become a regular and told him I was leaving last night). Took Metro 6 to Denfert-Rochereau and connected to RER B to Aeroport Charles de Gaulle. The train was crowded when we first got on, but after passing Gare du Nord, it pretty much cleared out. Check in and security clearance took about an hour, and we stopped at the little cafe in the terminal to get one last crossiant. We borded the plane at about 10:45 and finally got in the air about 11:30.

Well, our last day in Paris. My last day of vacation. Can I please have a few more euro and a few more weeks? What can I say? I couldn't ever say that I've truly seen Paris. Or France. Who can? Some try to see it via car, others by train, others by foot, and in July about 200 attempt to see it via Bicycle for 3 weeks. But, for what's its worth, we've experienced it. We saw amazing sights, historical venues, ate amazing food, walked famous streets among a thousand other things.

Today, Bill and Mike went to Versailles, while Wilbur and I went for yet another walkabout to yet another area of Paris. We actually started out at Pigalle to see the famous Moulin Rouge and thats where the interesting stuff started.

I must say I saw the two most disgusting things ever at the same time today. First, some hooker-looking lady hitting people up for a peep show and then a Starbucks Coffee Shop. Only thing worse would have been a TGIMcFunsters on the corner.

Well, day 6 was a much slower day. The problem most tourists have is that they have to jump from point to point to place to place to "see all the good stuff" when in fact, they walk past most of it without even knowing it. Mike and Bill went to Chartres to see the giant cathedral there. Will and I went on a much different trek. We took the metro to Bastille where we wandered the open-air markets and shops around that part of town, and kept walking until we finally decided to go to Opera to see the Palais Garnier (The Opera House). Saw more than a few gypsies, and then wandered into the Galleries Layfayette, a massive department store of the very finest kind (check the pictures!!). Wandered back to the apartment pretty slowly, taking in the different sites, sounds, and smells. These things are what differentiates a traveler from a tourist.

I've finally got some more photos uploaded! Check the Photo Gallery to see what we've been up to.