Clem's night out

Although the absence of Clem's dear, sick Sal was a definite downer, she decided to go out and enjoy a night to herself.  On her first trip to Paris (nearly 4 years ago), Clem stumbled upon a tiny little piano bar in the Montmarte neighborhood of Paris (Just down from the Sacre Coeur where Amelie was filmed :)  This quaint little "honey I shrunk the pub" looked a bit like an image that one might conjure up while pondering the old woman who lived in a shoe.  After exploring a new and very artistic area of Paris, she decided to find a cozy place to land.  Although she had little hope of finding her favorite little spot, Clem hopped in a car with determination and said "ON VA" to the Sacre Coeur!  The sky was electric blue against the old, textured walls of the church.  Once again, she was moved by the feeling of turning from the church to face one of the most incredible panoramas of Paris!  She frolicked down the hill a bit when the sound of muddled, minor piano music and the tantalizing aroma of fresh pasta caused her to stop in her tracks.  "It couldn't be the same one... could it?"  Guess what?  It was!  Clem could not imagine a better place to journal about her time in Africa.  Processing that incredible experience was of the utmost importance to her.  While enjoying a beautiful verre de vin rouge, she purged out all of the thoughts, revelations, and lessons that she had been learning while in South Africa and before.  Even though this was much needed self time, Of course Clem managed to befriend 5 precious Parisians, a puppy, and a procure a date proposal from the pianist (which she politely turned down :).   It was a great little adventure for Clementine.  However, returning to her puddin (Sal) was oh so wonderful.  

Keep out de devil

How Clem & Sal entertain themselves on a rainy evening while staying in an amazing, small village in the French countryside. (dedicated to our favorite puddin, Miz Terry)

Seeing the Sights

We decided to get up and take a cab to Versailles and get back early enough to enjoy an afternoon and evening in Paris.  As we pulled up to the golden gates of the palace, we were struck with how visually captivating all of the ornate architecture actually was.  (photography does not do it justice)  We took one gander at the ticket line and said "too cold to wait".  Our potential solutions were as follows:  1.  solution-Versailles sweatshirts  conclusion-crappy gift store  2.  solution-there is a secret door somewhere  conclusion-no secret door  3.   solution-blind cutting in line  conclusion-the French are feisty.  We finally accepted the fact that there was only one way in and waited the line.  Clem and Sal picked up an audio tour contraption at the door as they are both closet audio tour guide lovers from way back.  Mid-listen we decided to incorporate the word "sumptuous" into our daily vocab as it was the audio narrators adjective of choice.  The two explored the palace of many Louis' and into the gardens where they discovered a great lunch spot.  Sal could not fathom the thought of eating as he was starting to feel a little under the weather.  Clem however made up for his lack of appetite with her two entrees.  After a wonderful excursion, thoughts of Eiffel Tower's danced in their heads and they said "back to Paris".  Clem was determined to come up with the perfect route which allowed for a multi-neighborhood Parisian experience.  Final destination, dinner.  We ended up starting in St. Germain so that we could walk through the latin quarter and enjoy the Sunday night service at the Notre Dame Cathedral (gorgeous organ music) and ended up in the Marais for dinner.  After dinner, Sal was still feeling withered and decided to head in and rest up for the next day.  Clem took this opportunity to venture off on her own.

When in France, do as the tourists do...

Well it's day 1 and we just got in from a fantastic night in Paris.  Sal met Clem at the hotel around 2:00p.m. and enjoyed a grande reunion.  After the phrase "oh my gosh, we're in Paris" had been repeated  a ridiculous number of times, they decided to venture outside of the hotel walls to explore.  We met Clem's French friend Pier who took us on a walking tour of the city.  Sal was extremely jet lagged while Clem was raring to go because S. Africa and Paris are on the same time zone.  Clem had an evening surprise for Sal so they frolicked through the beautiful (but wet) streets of Paris where they made a much needed stop at Chez Collette.  Afterwards, the three went to dinner at the famous historic spot, Cafe Floure in St. Germaine.  At dinner, Clem rattled on while Sal pondered how he would pop his jet lag bubble in order to enjoy the surprise that was in store.  Little did he know, that he would soon cease to be a human paperweight and liven up at the sight of the Moulin Rouge windmill that greeted him when the taxi pulled up to its destination.  Clem had deemed this "Sal's night" and therefore new very little about what the Moulin Rouge actually entailed.  The only thing that Clem was concerned with was that this was right up Sal's alley and that she was going to be dragging him through numerous CAVES very soon :)  To Clems utter surprise and dismay, she found herself immersed in a sea of tah-tah's, never to return again.  Sal, on the other hand, found himself in choreography heaven.  

Clem's tah-tah angst was mollified by the delicious vin rouge that was served.  As both Clem and Sal do not possess the most sophisticated wine jargon, they both decided that while attempting to determine the flavors in their French wine for the remainder of the trip, (to be safe) they will just stick with "gooseberries".  Pictured here are our two travelers, who decided to just photograph themselves rather than go through the laborious task of persuading a feisty Frenchy to cooperate and take the pic.  What a night!

Clem spots a fellow traveler...

Soon after my first email I get this little note from our dear Clem...

"You may be miz in the office..But I'm stuck on an airport shuttle with a hot pink nightmare"

Yeah I think this one pretty much explains itself.  I have yet to figure out what "miz" means...but I'm sure in Whit's head it totally makes sense.  I guess I will ask her when we arrive in PARIS on Saturday!!!!!  Stay tuned for more updates!

Clem heads to Africa

So our precious little Clementine left on May 22, 2009 to Africa for an incredible journey.  I received a few select emails from her and thought it would be a perfect start for our travel blog.  To start this humorous Friday, my friend calls me from l'a aeroport and proceeds to tell me that she is wearing her France hat to Africa because if this particular hat had been packed in her luggage, it would most definitely be squished.   You can sample Clem sporting this gorgeous chapeau in the pic to your right.  Too cute, isn't she?  Watch out Africa, here she comes!!!