The French

2- What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages?

-trilingual

What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages?

-bilingual

What do you call someone who speaks 1 language?

-French

Good Morning Paris!

We had our first night in Paris in our lovely apartment on Isle of St. Louis.  It's the perfect size and in beautiful area of the city.  Being August, the locals vacate the city and go to the south of France, Italy and other exotic locations for their month long vacations.  This allows us to move around he city easier than any other time of the year.  Don't get me wrong, it's still busy but at least I can get a cab when I need one.
 

It was a great day of shopping and selected a couple of items from a local French designer.  I was surprised to see a long line at the Louis Vuitton store of at least 20 people waiting to shop for that perfect French item.  The prices are better here and I’m sure it's because we are buying a French item in France.  

The apartment sits above a couple of very nice cafes.  I opened the large windows which allowed cool, crisp air to fill the room.  Below in the cafes was the slight clinking of glasses, soft chatter and lovely French music.  It was a perfect formula to lull me into sleep and  into nice dreams of what my next day will bring me here in Paris.

"Are we there yet?...Are we there yet?......how about now?"

It feels like I'm 5 again sitting in the back of my parent's 1955 Chevy that was the size of a small apartment anxiously awaiting my destination.  I would pass the time with my arm out the window making wind waves.  I just knew from the hype from my parents, that our destination was going to make me happy! Or was it a trick to get me to go and spend time with relatives who smelled funny? hmmm......

At that age, it's hard to grasp the concept of time.  So asking your parents over and over helped with the anxiety of the trip.  I promise I won't do that to my travel friend on the flight, and I promise the pilot I won't try to hang my arm out the window and play with the wind, but I can't say that I won't be ready to get to my destination as quickly as possible.

I have a normal and very quiet life so I can't blog about how "tough" life has been this past year.  What I will tell you is that I have worked my booty off.   I start my day around 6am and I don't really stop working until my eyes get droopy and my mind is mush, usually around 11pm.  I get up and do it all over again each day.  Of course some days are lighter than others, but for the most part they are endless meetings, presentations and conversations that take the hours away and leave me in a slump at night.

So....to sit in a Paris cafe and sip on a coffee or leisurely ride the Seine river at night and watch the world go by with no mobile phone going off endlessly, or stroll the cobblestone streets of Brussels with my daughter is going to be wonderful. 

Now back to the mad race to make a dollar! Paris! I'm coming! 

Wait...need manicure, pedicure, pick up new eye glasses, wire money to child, drop off dog....oh my....never enough time!