Paris? More like "Pee-ris"

Been a bit since I could blog, the wifi in Paris is sparse and our hotel is completely without it. Before I get into some of the food in drink in Paris, I need to say a few things.

Paris smells. Seriously, most of Paris smells like urine, about 90% of the time. The other ten percent is usually the smell of body odor. Not sure what's up with either of those smells permeating every square foot of Paris (the large grassy area in front of the Eiffel Tower smells too!) but whatever. It rained two nights in a row, and that actual muted the smell a bit.

Now, lets talk about Paris, minus the odor. I actually found that I enjoyed London a bit more, to be honest. The amount of beer bars are about the same, but it's far more expensive in Paris; even though the pound is doing better than the dollar and the euro. The underground simply trounces the metro in speed, cleanliness, and intuitiveness. (the signage is absolutely awful for the Metro.)

Paris' few beer bars are pretty good, though we stuck with one for the most part, because of it's proximity to our hotel and the fact that I guessed the wifi password to a nearby network! Clichy's Tavern has a great selection of beers from all over the world, though it's mostly Belgian and French. One beer in particular, L'Angelus was very good. Pours a brilliant gold, has a bit of a yeasty flavor. Not sweet or fruity, it was rather refreshing. My second favorite was La Guillotine from Brouwerij Huyge (makers of Delirium Tremens.). Fruity and spicy, my first thought was of pineapple. I could drink this all night, but at 8.5%, I'd pay for it.

I tried numerous other beers, Faro Lambic, Tea Beer, Grimberger, Kasteel Brune, Kwak, and defaulted to a Trappist when I ran out of stuff to try. We had to call an early night on our last day, as we had to be on a 7AM bus to Normandy the following day.

On the bus trip, we travelled to Rouen, a small town west of Paris. Small, but big on history. The church there is from the 13th century, and looks amazing. You can still see the damage from then it was hit with bombs during World War II. In the nearby town square, we saw the spot that Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake. We then travelled to Honfleur, home to the picturesque setting to many famous Impressionist Painters. We enjoyed a snack, and even found a cafe with a good beer selection! (I had the Leffe Radieuse. It was good, I prefer it over the blonde.)

We then moved on to Omaha and Gold Beach. Being a WWII nut, I know most of the things that went on there, and its significance in the war. We also visited the American Graveyard, which was a sobering experience. We are staying in Caen tonight, and going to St. Malo tomorrow, then it's off to Brussels, Belgium on Saturday. Now the drinking can truly begin!

Until next time -


- Eric