The Toast of Paris

So I just returned yesterday from a quick 6-day trip to Paris and Monaco to celebrate Becca's graduation. Lesson #1: When you go on a trip to Paris with your sister, your aunt, and your mom, you better be prepared to do a LOT of shopping. On the last day, Becca said to me, "Don't worry, no shopping today, we'll just walk around." The problem is that "walk around" is frenchy-speak for "shopping". So we hit Hermes, Benetton, etc. Good times. I did get 2 very cool ties and a nice Alain Figaret shirt, though, so it wasn't a total loss.

While the shopping may have been less than exciting, we did have some amazing food in Paris. On Wednesday night, I was thrilled to have the chance to eat at L'Ami Louis, which is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. As usual, I ordered the cote de boeuf, and as usual, I came away thinking I had devoured at least 50% of an entire cow.

Another highlight of the trip was the jaunt down to Monaco. What a cool country. The collection of cars in front of the casino in Montecarlo was almost enough to make me cry (or sell my soul for a Bentley Continental GT). There were Ferraris next to Bentleys next to Aston Martins next to Rolls Royces, etc. Also, they were making preparations throughout the city for the Montecarlo Gran Prix, in which lightning-fast cars race through the main parts of the city while patrons look on from the grandstands. I hope to check that out in person one day.

While in Monaco, we were invited to a dinner party given by Manfredi LaFebrve, an Italian billionaire who runs Silversea Cruise lines. The party was given on one of his huge cruise ships, and the food and drink flowed freely. I sat next to a guy named Geoffrey Kent from London, who started the travel adventure company Abercrombie and Kent when he was only 20 years old. He had a pretty amazing story. Check out his website to check out the different cool trips they do.

More later...