Where it all began...

Patty and I have been enjoying our trip so much as of late that we haven't really kept up with the blog as much as we'd hoped. So after yet another wonderful day here in Dublin, I figured I'd post some pics and write a little bit about how we really got here.

As most of you know, Patty and I met at a pub in Ireland. I mean where else could you possibly meet anyone in Ireland, right? The name of the pub was/is the Wicked Wolf, and it's in a little town called Blackrock where we both happened to be living in 1999. There's a long storybook version of how we met that I'm sure Patty would love to see down in writing, but I'll spare you all for now. If you're interested sometime, just ask.

Anyway... thankfully, our pub is still there!

A jovial man by the name of Bobby Arnold was standing out front when we stopped by and he offered to snap that photo of us if we'd agree to come in for a pint. We gladly accepted his offer. However, we didn't realize though at the time he offered that he'd had quite a few pints of his own before taking that picture! After showing us his master photography skills, he examined the photo further and said something along the lines of, "I probably should've aimed a little lower, huh?"

After telling Bobby briefly that we had met 10 years earlier at his favorite pub, he proceeded to tell everyone in the bar our story. And when I say everyone, I mean everyone.

Patty and I had actually met for the very first time in the upstairs bar which is typically only open in the evenings and was off limits during the day. After mentioning our story to the barman, and with a little extra encouragement from our new friend Mr. Arnold, we were allowed to go upstairs to have a look around. The place looks pretty much the same, although the upstairs bar is now called "Club Eugene" after the current owner. Here we are at the corner of the bar where it all began.

After snapping a few photos upstairs, we went back down to finish our pints and head back into Dublin for the evening. Bobby couldn't get enough of us and our story and offered to take another photo of us. This one actually came out pretty good!


On the way out of the pub, we got a few congratulations from some locals seated at the bar and then Bobby Arnold blurted out, "You two are the greatest Yanks in all of Ireland!"

I love this country.

Maybe tomorrow I'll actually get around to posting some more pics and filling in some gaps. There's a lot to catch up on.

Hotel Livin'

I always say that picking the hotel is one of my favorite parts of any trip we take, and this time I definitely have to pat myself on the back. In Paris we got a great deal, and our hotel was just steps from the Eiffel Tower. But the fun began when we got to Cannes. Each floor of the hotel we stayed at invoked a different continent. Since Africa is one of the few we have never been to, that is the one I chose. The room was decked out in crushed velvets and Moroccan lighting fixtures. The roof had an amazing pool with a view of the sea. We didn't do much in Cannes besides eat and sun ourselves. The whole atmosphere was a little snooty, from the service at the hotel to the designer shops to the Ferraris and Lamborghinis everywhere you turned. It felt like we didn't have enough money to be there.

When we originally booked the trip I was looking more forward to Cannes than Nice, but this town is a "Nice" surprise, a lot more my speed than Cannes. The shopping is more fun, and the streets are more lively. We are also staying in an art hotel here, where every room was designed by a different artist. The room we are in is called Parfum du Orient, and it reminds me of something my Grandma Orsini would have loved. It has these antique chairs that may have even been in her house, French doors leading to a patio, a Victorian bedspread, but this awesome jade colored wallpaper. The hotel staff is also much more friendly and it has added to the welcome feeling. Bry and I spent a lot more time in the last 24 hours roaming the streets, and tonight we're hopping the train to the casino in Monte Carlo. You have to wear a suit and tie there, which isn't all that appetizing in this 90-degree weather, but hopefully we'll win big. Come on, sevens...

Yes Ouí Cannes!

Since we left Paris, we've spent the past few days in Cannes. The weather has been perfect, 85 to 90 degrees and sunny! I'm glad Patty and I are pretty much on the same page when we travel... pretty laid back.

Our first day here, we got in in the late afternoon, so we pretty much just checked in, dropped off our bags and walked down the promenade on La Croisette admiring the beautiful views of the bay, yachts anchored off in the distance, and an amazing sunset.

We spent yesterday lounging around at our hotel's pool, soaking up some sun and floating around a bit.


After a nice day at the pool and some great food at really good restaurant (which we've thus far had three meals) Patty and I snuck some wine, cheese and crackers onto the rocks by the water to catch a Cannes sunset.



Although I'm not sure if it was legal or not to drink out in public like that, we just couldn't resist. Here's the evidence of our impromptu "picnic"...


We hit the beach today and I got a little too much sun. Not that bad, but I'm pretty red. Anyone who knows how I "tan" will appreciate my awesome new color. After a mid-evening nap, we chose a restaurant along the promenade and had an amazing dinner on the beach. Here's a long exposure of the promenade to show off the brilliant colors and lights.


As usual, we have many more photos to share, but the internet in France is slow... just like their service. I'm not complaining though... it's kinda nice. Speaking of which, that's where we're headed tomorrow! Gotta get some sleep!!

Paris in a Whirlwind

Three nights in Paris have come and gone on this third trip of mine to Paris. My first time I came with my mom and accidentally discovered the most dodgy and dubious of neighborhoods; my second trip I was here less than 24 hours for a Ween show; and this time I enjoyed the city the way it's meant to be enjoyed, with the love of my life. We spent the first day slogging through the jetlag and taking a million pictures of the Eiffel Tower, conveniently located a few blocks from our hotel. No other piece of architecture defines a city the way the Eiffel Tower does Paris. In the day it can be seen as the backdrop to the River Sienne, and at night it sparkles on the hour. We took a short cruise on the river in which I stole catnaps as we passed many of the other architectural wonders of the city. We ate at a nearby cafe and got a good night's sleep before our second day.

Thursday we went to the Louvre and waited through the line and the crowds to see the Mona Lisa, a small square on a large wall. You couldn't really get close enough to admire any of the detail. We then strolled through the Egyptian antiques exhibit (complete with mummified cats), which I really enjoyed. We had an expensive night ahead of us, so we ate on the cheap at the Hut du Pizza and tried Cheesy Fun crust pizza. They brought three dipping sauces for the crust: Ketchup, Sweet Chili and Barbeque. After working through the language barrier, we were able to get some pizza sauce to make our cheesy crust more fun.

Later that evening I felt it my duty, after having paid tribute to Motley Crue for the past three years, to make a pilgrimage to the Crazy Horse, made famous by the song Girls Girls Girls. Bryan had no objection. I think it was also immortalized in a song we sang in Kindergarten that went "there's a place in France, where the naked ladies dance..." I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but I can tell you what I didn't expect: Shadow puppets. Halfway through the cabaret performance, a man came out dressed in black with a spotlight on him. Soon he was making shadows of birds, rabbits and dogs with his hands. They weren't much more sophisticated than the ones Stacey and I used to make on my bedroom wall in seventh grade. This went on for a good ten minutes. It made the show more laughable. On a scale of cheesy fun, it ranked one notch below the Pizza Hut crust of the same name.

Yesterday, after a late start, we had one of the most memorable meals on a late lunch at Montemarte. We got off at a nearby Metro stop and walked through San Francisco-like hills to get to a little square near Sacre Coeur. We had a garlicky escargot appetizer, Bry had duck and I had chicken, and then we had crepes for dessert. We then proceeded to hit the rest of the city on foot, checking out the intricately designed Notre Dame cathedral, the Pantheon and ended in a beautifully landscaped park called Jardin & Palais du Luxembourg. The gardens were flowery and fragrant, a nice contrast to the smell of the sweaty subways in August. There we watched locals reading books and relaxing and men young and old practicing karate moves (including a Japanese guy with a sword.)

With three days and two past trips under my belt, I somehow still don't feel a real connection to Paris. I realize it's the type of city you have to get a ton of tourist things out of the way before you can truly experience it, but it still hasn't grown on me. The cafes are probably the element I was drawn strongest to, and maybe with a few more visits and a few more coffees, I'd figure it out. For now we'll see how Cannes treats us.

Paris Continued

I see Patty already posted some pictures from our first two days here in Paris. We've had a great time so far and didn't realize three days wasn't nearly enough to see all we wanted to see. So without repeating Patty's pics, here's some of what we saw:


Arc De Triomphe





The Louvre
- You can see me and the Mona Lisa in Patty's pics)





Pizza Hut Crazy Cheesy Crust Fun
- Surprisingly, tomato sauce wasn't one of the three dipping choices!





There's much more to come... I'm on a slow internet connection and these pictures are taking forever to load! Gotta get some sleep. Heading to Cannes in the morning.

Paris in Pictures

More to come...

Work in Progress

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