rainy day in Paris

Today I went to Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart) in the Montmarte neighborhood. Sacre-Coeur is a Basilica that is less than 100 years old. I know it best from one of my favorite movies- Amelie. It attracts hoards of tourists and therefore it also attracts hoards of merchants and opportunists. Luckily Rick, author of my guide book (Rick Steves) who I apparently am on first name basis with, warned about the friendship blacelet scam. As soon as I approached the stairs that lead up to the Basilica I was approached by multiple men trying to put the beginnings of a bracelt on my wrist. I knew to keep my hands close to me and to plow on through (especially because they were very pushy). The scam is that a man comes up to and asks you to help with a demonstration. They then make a bracelt on your wrist and tie it up so you can't remove it, they then ask you to pay for it. I watched this happen to a handful of helpless tourists.

I then met up with Sandra at a local cafe (again a recommendation of Rick's), which had veggie options. We then walked down the Champs-Elysees, in March showers (with occasional heavy rain). Parts of this street has been in existence since 1667 (when Louis XIV opened the section near the Tuileries Garden). Thomas Jefferson lived on this street (hopefully I can report this on the blog without his name being removed because he is anti-patriotic) =)

We ended our stroll with pure decadence! Sandra took me to Cafe Angelina. We both got "hot chocolate". I put it in quotes because I am not sure I would call this hot chocolate. When I think of hot chocolate, I think of swiss miss packs with hot water and stale marshmellows. This was more like heaven served warm with pillows of clouds on the side. They provided one large container of whip cream to share for 2 cups. This is probably sufices most people but Sandra and I went through it so quick you could barely say "insulin coma." This is a picture of our cups with a second serving of whip cream. (Did I mention how I walked a lot today and did kick boxing on Saturday, hence justifying my large intake of heavy whipping cream).

Tomorrow- museums. I hope there are people enjoying this blog (besides my parents)