ok, I know I've already fallen behind. I'm goign to write seperate entries for each day.

Last night one of my former students, Kristen, rolled in to spend a few days with me. Kristen is doing a one year research gig at a lab in Germany, so she was just a 4 hour train ride away.

I picked the first event of the day, the famous Clignancourt Flea Market. I'm not a shopper and REALLY not a flea market shopper, but it beats fighting the crowds at the Louvre. It was interesting, everything from the chinzey stuff you see at a flea market in Ohio to furniture that looked like it came straight from Versailles. (The palace, not the Darke county town.) The interesting part is how many high-end sellers there were. I have never seen so many chandaliers and gilded mirrors in my life. It was good for a couple hours of entertainment.

After the Flea Market, we moved to the east side of Paris, which Kristen had never seen (I had, at least in part). For starters, we went to the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery, which may be the largest cemetery in Paris. Whether it is or is not, it has the most celebrities. Flip through my pics for this day and you'll see the graves of Jim Morrison (of the Doors), Oscar Wilde (great playwriter), and Edith Piaf (famous French singer). Beautiful cemetery...and before you all start rolling your eyes, know that this is a tourist destination; we were far from the only people there.

If one cemetery is good, two is better. AFter Pere Lachaise, we went to Picpus Cemetery, which I visited and wrote extensively about during my last trip. This is the private cemetery for victims of the guilllotine; to be buried there you need to have either been a victim or the relative of a victim. Marquis de Layfayette, hero of the American Revolution, is buried there because his mother-in-law was killed via the guillotine.

From there we started walking back towards city center, including a walk through the arts district I enjoyed last visit. We stopped at a patisserie for quiche and a chocolate tarte, then headed to the Marais (Jewish district). Essentially, we walked and walked and walked...all in off and on rain. After taking a break for a few hours, we went back out to see the city after dark. This time we walked from the apartment, through the city, and up the Champs Elysses to the Arc de Triomphe. The C-E was a big disappointment; last trip it was decked out in holiday lights and much prettier. This time is was just decked out with lots of tourists.

Logged over 34,000 steps and slept for 9 hours! Good day.