The Weekly... Volume PARIS

So despite my assurances, that last blog was not exactly brief. Surely Paris will achieve brief status – there were no shows, and I am going to do this one in point form. A highlights package of sorts. I figure there's enough information on the internet already – you don't really need me telling you about "the beautiful this" and "the wonderful that". People tend to do that with their group emails. Yawn. Instead, here's a series of observations… from my first trip to Paris…

Renny's Paris TOP TEN (In no particular order):

1. Bugger me the coffee is expensive. And pretty shit.

2. Is it perhaps a mark of its religious significance that the first two things I thought when I walked into Notre Dame were "Oh my God" and "F….ing Jesus!". Man that is one impressive church. And I was about to head straight on by because it looked like a tourist trap. Here's a tip for other first-time visitors to Paris – get there.

3. On the scale of shitness, the Eiffel Tower at night is at the opposite end to the aforementioned coffee. Take the stairs, they are cool. (There is a photo up in the tour shots…).

4. If you are brave enough to order a plate of Pate with a Sprite because you don't feel like drinking, then you can expect to be laughed at by the guy that takes your order, the other people behind the bar, and half of the customers in the café.

5. Bicycles. I am loving this bicycle situation in Europe. I don't mean to harp on it, but the pushbike is king. What a great way to see the city. In Paris, there are bike "stations" where people park communal bikes that you can pick up from one station, and drop off somewhere else. For just 1Euro a day, I could use a bicycle to get everywhere I needed to go. Including a trip up the Champs Elysees a la Le Tour de France. Not sure if I was meant to be in the middle of the road taking photos, but I survived…

(In any case, I was hard to miss on my bicycle – word had spread that I was the guy who had ordered a Sprite with my Pate).

6. After two days procrastination, I did manage to get my guitar out of the room for a spot of busking. In the Latin quarter in fact, which was great. No licence required, paid for my dinner. Even sold a few CD's. Gold.

7. Who did I run into at the top of the Eiffel Tower? My Bass player, Pat Savina.

8. No I did not just make that up. I know – crazy.

9. On my final morning in Paris, I made myself get up and see the Mona Lisa. Just so I could say I did. I was also hoping to find out what on earth Craig Mclachlan was singing about...
Well the louvre was certainly an impressive joint, but I don't get the fascination with ol' Mona. Having said that, I am pretty sure she was winking at me. Someone must have told her about the Pate.

10. I did not purchase a Beret. In case you were wondering. Not that you would have been…

Next stop Germany!