Still Here

I haven't blogged in a while, mainly because I've been incredibly busy.

Work sent me to Lodz (pronounced "Woodge"), Poland. It's an industrial town, similar to what I imagine Detroit and Cleveland to look like. We stayed at a nice hotel there, the Andel's Hotel, that was connected with a new development (Manufaktura) with shops and restaurants. It wasn't a bad place to be for a week of work. I didn't have the time or energy to visit the Jewish ghetto that contained a couple hundred thousand Jews during World War 2. There is also a large Jewish cemetery that I did not visit. The weather was terrible on the one free day I had, so I went with a co-worker to see a movie at the theater next to our hotel.

We saw Due Date, which wasn't bad; but wasn't necessarily good either. It's a very poor man's "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles", though I really shouldn't compare the two as PTAA is a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies. If you've never seen it, it's the perfect Thanksgiving movie, so go rent it (or however it is you watch movies) tonight. You won't be sorry.

The following week was in Paris. Jenn met me there. While Paris does sound awesome, being there for work is very different. The days were extremely long and tiring, but we did find time to eat some crepes, chocolate, French onion soup, and of course, macaroons from Pierre Herme. The world just seems a little better after eating a Pierre Herme macaroon.

On the mornings I didn't have a croissant for breakfast, I had an egg and cheese crepe. I think I'd weigh 1000 pounds if I lived in Paris. And I'd be broke because good lord, it is expensive there.

Over the weekend, even though it was raining, we did a lot of walking around the city and of course did some good eating. We each bought some European shoes, which is very exciting. On Sunday, we went to see this Louis Vuitton Exhibit at the Musee Carnavalet. It was much less horrible than you would think it would be. I hate to admit, but I actually enjoyed it.

Food highlights of note were as follows: French onion soup from Au Pied De Cochon, lunch at Cafe Voltaire, and steak frites at Relais de Entrecote.

Oh, and over the weekend, Jenn found the street she would like to live on one day...