Soccer Chauffeur

Paris, Day 3

2008-05-15T13:25:00.001-07:00

I actually attended the conference today, so unfortunately, I do not have much to post. I am excited about the two non-spousal comments on yesterday's blog. That is two more than I have ever received. Thanks, Scootah, for steering your friends my way.

Now that the blog has a national audience, I would like to point out that I am on the second week of a two-week road trip. Last week I was in Toronto (CN Tower). The conference was in the building on the right near the, uhm, base.

In June, I will be in DC.

Paris, Day 2

2008-05-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

Left the hotel at 10am this morning and walked around until 6pm this morning. Went to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.

Every country needs a national erection.

Yes, I did go up the tower. Only the first level though. The line for the elevator to the top was too long. I took the stairs.

A bridge over the Seine.

The Louvre

Venus de Milo

Her less advertised other side. Nice ...

This is Hermaphrodite - child of the Greek gods Hermes and Aphrodite... Looks ok from this side.

On the other side.... Oh my god!

The Mona Lisa. Yeah, it's there. Against the back wall.

Back to blogging station...

Paris, Day 1

2008-05-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

Landed in Paris today around noon, Paris time. I felt pretty good when I got off the plane, so I thought I would take the train (RER) to my hotel. When I got to the train station, there long lines at the automated tellers. The line at the human teller was ridiculous. I had just spent 8 hours in an interior seat on a plane, so I was not in the mood to wait. "@#$% it" I said. "I am on an expense account, I'm taking a cab." Problem was, none of the cab drivers wanted to take me to downtown Paris. "Beau coup traffic" the taxi dispatcher said. He went down a line of leathery old cab drivers who waved me off when they found out where I was going. Finally, they got to the "new guy." "He will take you," he said. "No problem." Only problem was that the "new guy" had no idea where my hotel was. Fortunately, I had anticipated something like this and had printed out my confirmation email, which had the address. Thank God for GPS navigation systems.

Anyway, the hotel (Marriott Rive Gauche) is nice.

After taking a nap, I walked to the Latin Quarter, the Seine, and Notre Dame cathedral.

A fountain near the entrance to the Luxembourg palace.

Notre Dame. I went inside, but there was a service going on, so I did not take pictures, but it is amazing. The ceiling is incredibly high. I kept thinking about all the people through the ages that had been in there. I don't see how they constructed it using Middle Age technology.

Here is a view of the famous flying buttresses.

That scene from Pulp Fiction is true! May have to click on the image to the full-resolution version to see what I am talking about.

When I got back to the hotel, I was pretty wiped, so I got a baguette sandwich and a bottle of wine and went back to the hotel room. Here is the view from blogging position:

Soccer Chauffeur out... It has been a long day.

A Buzz Buzz.... A Buzz Buzz

2008-04-17T05:18:00.000-07:00

Before

After!

Man, that is a lot of hair! Thanks again DeAnn for buzzing on short notice. If I can ever cut one of your kids hair, let me know!

What gets me is that he WANTED to get a buzz cut! When I was a kid, my dad had to chase me down to cut my hair.

So Many Choices in Life ...

2008-04-15T16:42:00.001-07:00

I guess my choice was made 15 years ago.

(Sign leading to Dothan, AL Soccer Complex. Auburn High JV defeated Houston Academy JV 3-1 on April 10)