Get FRENCH’d with Roo and Eimi – an international UYE

Yeah… what the lady with the guns said

Paris.
When can I go back? Longest UYE[1] ever, yet shortest — only five days.
Met friends from two states plus local family and friends. Good company: Eimi and Roo showed me how to make a marriage last, and I saw Roo’s mad excellent photography skills in action. Lawrence is chill to drink with. Keisha is saucy — from what I could tell from our brief encounter — and Viviane and Holly practiced the art of tax-​free shopping at Louis-​Vuitton, even inspiring in me a healthy fear of Jimmy Choos.
We walked along the Seine, visited the Louvre, and trekked up the Eiffel Tower. We did less touristy things like learn about green and gentle Oregon from the bartender at Shannon Pub. We scored free vino at Chez Georges, and squeezed by two Metro barriers[2].
We food touristed like mad, quaffing wines both excellent and most horrible, snacking upon ham, pepper cheeses, moules frites, escargot, crepes, foie gras, cheese-​filled chocolates, duck, and Berthillon sorbet. On the Metro, we even inhaled a McDonald’s Big Mac (probably illegal). Did I mention that I miss French-​styled Chinese fast food?
While we didn’t visit La Tour d’Argent, we hit up Laduree Bakery (the Champs-​Élysées location), where we experienced an unbelievable five star lunch — plus their heavenly classic croissant — leaving with delicious macaroons, plus a souvenir menu I requested.
Holly and I missed our return flights, but she found a later same day flight, unlike me. Of all the airports I’ve slept in, Charles de Gaulle is the least comfortable. (Besides, their beers are stanky metallic.)
[1] UYE = Unofficial Unilocal Event
[2] don’t ask, but we paid, and I’m glad I’m not fat

«So, who wants to go to Paris?»
When the idea was proposed by a few of my favorite Unilocalers, I already knew the answer to that incredibly easy question. It was almost too easy that I didn’t want to just answer outright.
And then after logging onto Unilocal,I saw this event posting on my computer screen.
***“Get FRENCH’d with Roo and Eimi — the most expensive and FARTHEST event ever!”***
Well, «expensive» it would be, but hey, you can’t take it with you, right? «Far» it would also be, but hey, I have tons of unused frequent flier mileage, so why the hell not? It was the easiest event I could ever click «I’m in» for (and really and truly mean it).
A few weeks later, it was done. A small troupe of us could start the countdown towards the «UYE of the year,» shouting from the rooftops that we are, indeed, going to Paris.
Since this was to be my 5^th time in the «City of Lights, Love, Mimes, Crepes and Berthillon Ice Cream,» I didn’t even plan a thing. Without even a hint of gangbuster «Chevy Chase from European Vacation» tourism, this trip for me was all about friends — some of which would be their very first time in this very special city. Since my last few trips were purposeful visits to a certain few already living in Paris, I have been missing out on «just doing the tourist thing.» Yes folks, you heard me. Witnessing the sights sounds and sensory overload that the city can induce on first timers is something I just wanted to relive all over again, and indeed I did. It’s hard to forget that being «an American in Paris» is truly something special.
So, barring the typical organizational difficulties for an American traveling in Paris, the trip was a logistical success. Despite the fact that we stayed in 3 hotels across town, and AT&T charges 50 cents per international text message sent, that didn’t stop us from meeting up and spending some quality time hitting the sights.
After practicing our French at an obliging French-​Chinese restaurant, we took an impromptu night time walking tour through Montparnasse, and even stopped for a few after dinner sweet and savory crepes.
The next day, we paid our respects at the Notre Dame Cathedral, and then sinfully indulged in an after-​church food crawl through Île Saint-​Louis.
We respectfully scarfed down a few cones at the original Berthillon ice cream shop, bought a ton of delicious cheese (including the stinkiest Camembert you could ever imagine) and ham at La Ferme Saint Aubin, and subsequently made friends with the coolest French cheese guy ever (note: he even said «vous avez Facebook?») We took everything (including a baguette, a Beaujolais and a Bordeaux) down to the park for an impromptu picnic.
Later, we «oohed and ahhed» as we walked to the assuming courtyard that houses the entryway to Le Louvre. Not surprisingly, it was beautifully lit up at dusk and I. M Pei’s Pyramide du Louvre was an impressive beacon and the centerpiece for lots of crazy picture taking.
We descended into the pyramid towards coffee at the café and then later saw the «whole big deal» surrounding the Mona Lisa. As you can imagine, that was just a bunch of tourists surrounding a 3 meter circumference around a frame of bullet proof glass in which an ambiguous smile does indeed penetrate.
And then naturally, we split off into separate groups for a couple of days as it’s just not possible to be attached at the hip 24 – 7 — even for Unilocalers. We did, however, meet for one last bite of Foie Gras at a cute little brasserie called «Ratatouille» (yes, the name really did it for me.). We caught up on our separate adventures which included an unexpected stumbling upon a food festival in Montmartre, a trip to the world famous bar at Hotel Costes, and a very special purchase at the Louis Vuitton store on Champs Elysees. We ordered different dishes, shared/​sampled « Unilocal style» and talked about making this a «once every other year thing!» Yes folks, we did it once, and we’re sure to do it bigger and better once again. Hey, maybe others might just click in next time! We’re living proof that a UYE of this magnitude is indeed possible.
Overall, Paris is great. Unilocalers are great. Art and old French monuments are great. Berthillon, awesome cheese, crepes and other treats only found in France are great. Fois Gras is to die for. If you combine all of that, what do you get?
«Get FRENCH’d with Roo and Eimi — the most expensive and FARTHEST event ever!»