Bonjour from Paris!

I feel like I’ve flown round the globe in the past week.  From MN to Croatia, back to the U.S. with lost bags (for a day), back on a plane in less than 48 hours and now in Paris!  Whew.  I’m not sure my sleep has caught up with me yet…but, the best thing is – I’m drinking enough wine to keep me going.
This trip, now focused on the Grand Jours de Bourgogne.  A giant 5 day fest featuring 10,000 wines in just a small amount of time.  Can one keep up?  We’ll see.
After soaking up the emotions of the Croatian trip, I think I was still set in the mode of having folks talk and actually act interested in having a conversation with me.  Trust me, I forgot quickly the ’emotions’ of Eastern Europe, because Paris has nothing of the sort.  My husband and I landed, rented a car and have spent the last few days bumming around Paris.  Doing all the ‘Paris’ type things…but of course!  See the Eiffel Tour, Walk the Louvre Museum, Walk the many Jardins (gardens) in the city, Shop the famous ave Champs-Élysées all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe and Tour all of Notre-Dame.  It’s really been quite exciting.
It’s funny however, as much as I am a Frenchie at heart when drinking wine…the Parisians somehow make you think – you’d rather drink someone else’s wine (someone that would be nice to you).  As polite as you can be or as hard as you try to speak French, the Parisians have an attitude that is truly incomparable.
Here’s a funny moment…when I asked a gentleman bartender why in an International Hotel like the Westin Paris that they do not carry any other wines on their very large wine list besides French (maybe like an Eastern European wine for instance?), he chuckled and said, “Why would we?  We are France and we have everything we need in the way of wine!”  Yep, there you have it.
My heart got a little soft traveling Croatia I suppose.  I forgot to put that ‘hard ass’ jacket on before we landed in Paris!  But, as we head off to Burgundy tomorrow and travel 4 hours east…I have a feeling that these French peeps will lighten up.  Either way, it’s an experience.  It’s beautiful, it really is.  Don’t get me wrong – I’m drinking my weight in French wine, I’m not complaining, but I just thought…oh well – who the heck cares what I think?  I should just be happy with gorgeous Billecart Salmon Champagne that I had to drink (by the glass at every restaurant!), the amazing bottle of 2003 Gaillard Cote Rotie, and 1974 Armagnac that we had for dinner last nite!  Not a bad gig.  When I leave France, I’ll have to cleanse from all the Foie Gras I’m eating and get used to drinking espresso from Starbucks again.  Boo Hoo, right?
Not a bad couple of days, in fact, quite dreamy.  After all, I am in Paris with mon amour.
Bon Nuit, my friends.  I’ll write more from Burgundy!