Beinvenue: Paris in 3 Days for Less Than 100,000 Calories! (2/5) By Ruth

(1/5), (2/5), (3/5), (4/5), (5/5).

Day One: We cabbed over to my cousins flat, and after an hour of greeting and strategizing, headed off to pound the streets of Paris. We walked from his flat in the Northeast section down towards the Eiffel tower. That was on June 3rd, Michelle Obama and her daughters were there on June 5th ... they shouldn't compare themselves to Dani and me; they'll just end up feeling badly. Alain walked us through the garment district where the menopausal prostitutes were starting their workday at 4:30 pm! This was amazing to me. Alain explained that the young working girls do business mainly via Internet, but the old generation still believes in getting out there and hitting the streets.

Religious Jews and other pedestrians obliviously rushed by these amazing cultural treasures. But, I was awestruck at their tenacity and outrageous attire. Such longevity in a youth oriented career is admirable. I come from Baltimore, the former home of The Block, one of the largest clusters of Strip Joints anywhere. For Baltimore natives, we had local legend Blaze Starr who stripped right into her 60's. I encourage the reader to please Google this amazing woman and read the many examples of how she was even more inventive than Madonna...among her endless use of stage props, Blaze performed on stage with a trained panther who tore off her clothes!!! C'mon y'all. How cool is that?

We stopped for an espresso and light snack of French cheeses and watched the Parisians for a bit. The attire is best categorized as 'anything goes'. Unlike America, Great Britain, Tel Aviv, or even Buenos Aires, where I can quickly pigeonhole 'the look', Paris defies such categorization. As the 'Cradle of Fashion Civilization', the attitude is, ''We invented fashion, it cannot dictate our look.” We then discovered another Parisian 'claim to fame': chocolate. Alain took us to 3 high-end chocolate stores during our stay. The offerings can best be described as Chocolate Art. They are exquisite to the eye and palate.

We then walked south towards the Eiffel Tower. This is no short walk, and en route we saw many important buildings, Alain gave explanations of each as we strolled along. The architecture is endlessly varied.

We arrived at the Tower in early evening. Did you know that this structure is the most visited 'paid' monument anywhere? It is situated on the Champs de Mars beside the Seine River, and is the tallest building in Paris. Even at the late hour, crowds of people were waiting to go up onto the higher levels of the Tower. We avoid activities that involve lines and waiting, so we decided to skip that. As we were walking in the area, the Police came through and prompted a stampede of scores of illegal immigrants selling souvenirs. Those boys were practically flying. I told Alain I haven't seen a group of men running that fast since 9/11. (Yup, I 'went there').

We finished up the evening at a lovely kosher restaurant that served Serfardic Tunisian cuisine. In a country known for rich food served in small portion sizes, Kiffolies is an outlier. We were served quantities that would render any American (Homer Simpson) 'Supersize Me' diner quite pleased. The mezze-like starters included small plates of various vegetables, salads, and olives. I was full with just those. Imagine my surprise when a tray arrived in front of me, containing a whole fried fish, a mountain of potatoes, a tomato and green capsicum condiment, and a nice fried egg - sunny side up. It was delicious. Alain ordered a meat dish that was also large enough to feed a small village. We left sated and sleepy, and went home to rest.

Continued ... next page (3/5)

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