Mitch goes to Paris...

My first time there. We arrived mid afternoon, made a dinner reservation and hiked up the steps to the famous Sacre Coeur cathedral just up the hill from our hotel. The cafes up there proved to be a great place to enjoy a crêpe and some espresso. The view of the city is pretty great too—only no view of the Eiffel (hidden behind some trees).

Back down the hill for dinner. Amazing!!! Our first big spend of the trip, mine included an eggplant and caviar salad followed by my first tar tar plate (uncooked beef). Desert was the most incredible Tiramisu I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. I wanted to lick the bowl—but refrained.

After Dinner we walked down the street where we each purchased a bottle of fine French wine at costs no greater than $Euro each. Back to the steps of Sacre Coeur for consumption. Pretty great. We sat and drank surrounded by far more Parisians than tourists and took in the view of the city. After that I went with the group that headed back to the hotel for sleep. In the morning we learned that the other half of us wiggled their way onto a private bus that was taking a group of Smirnoff executives, and distributors as well as a bunch of media and super models to a raging after party for the private concert they all attended. The boys ended up getting into one of Paris’ swankiest clubs for free and proceeded to party like rock stars until 4am. We were all very proud of their accomplishments.

The next morning my Metromint teammate Evan and I went up the hill again for breakfast, then went up into the dome of Sacre Coeur for 360 views of the city. You can see the Eiffel from up there. Magnificent.

Then we regrouped and headed downtown before splitting up again, Now with Judd--the two of us set out to see as much of the city as we could. We walked—the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower, past a number of government buildings, monuments and parks, to the Lourve, inside and past the Mona Lisa--and on. It took a couple pastries, a crepe, many espresso and some baguettes to power us through, but a very successful day of tourism. I was glad I got to see a lot and become somewhat familiar with the city’s general layout and offerings, but that I didn’t really do anything in particular—I just walked around. Now I can look forward to my next trip to Paris with Devon at my side. We hit the road yesterday afternoon and are now back in Belgium at our house. Today we’re going to celebrate the 4th of July with an easy/off day and a big BBQ. Tomorrow and Sunday—races. :)