Josh Bernstein, DDS, Cosmetic Dentist

Bonjour! We boarded our all night sleeper train in Venice and woke up in Paris. Well, that's not exactly how easy it was. Our "couchette" was pretty tight quarters, despite the fact that there were only 4 of us in a cabin built for 6. And there wasn't a whole lot of sleeping going on. But we did reach Paris by morning. It was very quiet and chilly when we arrived somewhere near our hotel. Of course, we left the address of the hotel on the internet so we had to brush up on our French to ask directions.

Miraculously, our hotel des Grandes Ecoles was prepared for us with early check in. We wasted no time and found a tasty little patisserie for petite dejeuner (breakfast). The chocolate croissants were as buttery and flaky as we hoped they would be! For some strange reason, we all fell asleep after breakfast... I guess the "sleeper" train caught up with us. When we woke up, we hit Paris and we hit it HARD! We walked to Notre Dame and saw the famous cathedral with its flying buttresses and gargoyles…it really is spectacular and a popular tourist attraction. We crossed the Seine River and walked along the right bank, passing a surprising number of pet stores. We have noticed that pets are very popular in Italy and France…even more so than in the U.S. We walked by the Louvre and took pictures of the elaborate old palace surrounding the glass pyramid, which is much hated by Parisians. We relaxed in the Tuileries Gardens and watched local kids, grown ups and seniors play soccer, Frisbee and bocce ball. We continued by the Place de la Concorde, where Marie Antoinette and Louise XVI were beheaded, and found the expensive shopping district where we heard that they make custom brassieres. Since it is still the Easter holiday here, many of the shops were closed but some anonymous women in our little quartet are planning on going back! After all this walking, we were fading fast, but we were determined to walk to the Eiffel Tower. We stopped for some refreshments and rest, then browsed some stores. Before we knew it we were at the Eiffel Tower and we took some classic photos. Exhausted, we took a taxi back to our hotel for some much needed rest and dinner near our hotel. We ate at L’Epoque and Jack found himself seated right next to a photo of Kelsey Hafferkamp, the famous Piedmont Water Polo Champ! Tomorrow, who knows what the City of Light has in store for us!

Au Revoir for now!