Paris is a CRAZY city

By "CRAZY", I mean that Paris is a huge city, with a lot of people, and absolutely no sense to the street design. Of course coming from the United States I'm used to urban planning that creates a sane street layout. Even old (for us) cities like San Francisco are mostly grid like, which confusion only where the grids intersect. You should look at a Paris map sometime.

I woke up late this morning, and left the hotel around 2 heading towards the Louvre. I was starving, so I just went into a fancy restaurant by the Louvre, where I tried Beef Tartare for the first time, since I'm trying to try "French Food" while I'm here. Beef Tartare is raw beef, which is presumably from the best cut of the cow (otherwise it would be nasty and tough). This dish was prepared by chopping it up into small pieces, and then mixing it in some sort of sauce with a kick (had a bit of horseradish in it). The dish was very good, but there was so much food that I couldn't finish it.

I decided not to go to the Louvre since they close at 5, so I'll just go back tomorrow. I spent the day walking around the Garden (Jardin des Tuileries), visiting the Obelisque de Luxor at Place De La Condorde, and walking Avenue Des Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. There are so many monuments and there is so much history in this town... you would need a long time to see even all the major sights. It didn't rain at all today, although it was cold when I left the hotel. About 4pm the clouds when away, the sun came out and it got really warm. I always bring the California weather with me (sorry all you people in CA... I took it to Colorado with me!)

It is very interesting just seeing the different cars that people drive in different countries. In Germany, it seems like everybody drives BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, and Volvos. It is kind of like driving around the south bay. All the taxi drivers drive Mercedes there! In France, it seems like every other car is either a Renault or a Peugeot. Actually my friends Phillippe and Sylvie had a Peugeot, and it was a nice car... I had never been in one before. I saw one BMW (a Z4) while I was driving around today.

Check out my Paris Photos.