What's She Up to Now? Jody's Life Blog

August 23rd--3.5 Hr Train Ride to Paris, France

Howdy Folks!

Well, we have yet ANOTHER red, white, and blue flag here in Paris, France...okay, well, they think it's blue, white, and red, but whatever. It means the prompt will be in blue and I'll be typing my part in red.

August 23rd--3.5 Hr train Ride to Paris, France

We're staying at Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris, I've been told this hotel is superb. I really twisted some arms to score us this one.

http://www.fourseasons.com/paris/landing_3/?source=taparisblhotel

This is quite possibly the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in and I've stayed in some REALLY nice hotels in my younger days. Wow! Why are we leaving to see Paris? I've got everything I need right here!

We're beginning our 4 day-- stay in Paris with Louvre Museum.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail?product=3731LOUVRE&d=188757&...

Take a small group walking tour of the Louvre Museum in Paris and jump the queue by booking ahead. This skip the line tour helps you explore the collection of paintings, sculpture, and architecture with an expert local guide. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 25 people on this small group walking tour, ensuring you'll receive personalized attention from your guide. And by booking ahead, you won't waste any time waiting in line!

This tour was specifically designed to highlight the most famous works of the Louvre Museum. Entering the Louvre through the original Medieval structure from the 12th century, join your guide on a journey from one breathtaking gallery to the next as you travel through time visiting works from 450 BCE through to the 1800s.

I'm not a giant museum person, but who can turn down the chance to see the Mona Lisa? Well, probably someone, but not me! lol This is a once in a lifetime thing! They didn't take groups as large as ours, so we had to break into two groups. I made sure that I was with the Museum Queen, SB Musing, though! I knew she'd add just as much info as the tour guide and I was right! Plus, she loves reading those plaques and I just want to know what they say without having to actually read them, so I got 2 tour guides! All in all, the Louvre was a pretty amazing experience.

You have some down time if you want before the show this evening... take in a spa or enjoy the pool. This evening we are in for a huge treat. We've got VIP tickets for the Moulin Rouge experience with exclusive seating on a private balcony.

Moulin Rouge...ummm...isn't that like French for "lots of singing and dancing"? Hmm...not really my thing, but the tickets were almost $500, so I guess I'll go. But UNTIL then, I'll enjoy myself at this super sweet hotel!

I saw the hotel has a cocktail class and I know Sally likes cocktails, so I suggested we take the class. It was a bit intimidating as the instructor was a bit hard to understand sometimes since I don't speak either French or bartender, but we got through it. He was very patient and Sally and I would just look at each other and laugh when we didn't know what he was saying. All in all, we had a great time and I think Sally enjoyed asking the hottie next to her to translate. I'm not sure his English was any better, but then, I'm not sure she cared.

We ended up with a couple of tricks and a few tasty drinks. It was pretty fun. I'm really glad she agreed to do this with me because I'm not sure I'm brave enough to do it alone, but I'd have hated to have missed out on this experience.

Receive skip-the-line access into the Moulin Rouge, sip on a tasting of Champagne before your 4-course French dinner, accompanied by wine.Watch the show from a private balcony with only 24 VIP seats. This evening they made an exception for our party of 30, so enjoy unobstructed views of the fabulous Moulin Rouge costumes, dancing and sets. Experience the ultimate night out in Paris with this Viator Exclusive! Macaron bag or chocolate box included

https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail?product=5022MOULINVIP&d=1892...

Well, I brought my ear plugs as music can be quite overwhelming to my senses since Iraq, but there's dinner included, so I figured I'd give it a go. Besides, there's a free bag of chocolates in it for me, so...lol

I still say this isn't my thing and it was a good bit longer than I'd have liked, but it wasn't quite as terrible as I expected. Actually, the costumes and sets were very elaborate and I was impressed with what they'd done.

The food was also mostly good. I was really glad to see they weren't serving the duck fois gras anymore, though it's advertised on the website. Our server said they had decided to take a stand against the forced feeding of ducks to enlarge their liver up to 10 times its natural size. They said they felt it was cruel and ruined the taste of the food to anyone understanding the true experience of the ducks (and geese) used in this process. I agreed.

I'm not a super animal activist and I'm not opposed to killing the ducks at only 100 days old if they lived a happy life until then. However, stuffing a tube down their throats and using a pneumatic pump to force feed them in a matter of seconds and to feed them way more than they'd naturally want to eat just so that their liver is bigger and allegedly better goes beyond what I feel is an appropriate use of an animal. I'm all for eating meat that was happy and healthy until the day it died quickly and painlessly. But that's not what happens to these waterfowl. For anyone interested, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras.

Anyway, the show wasn't as bad as I expected and that little bag of chocolates will be going back with me to the hotel. I just hope I can make them last. lol