I landed in Paris around 9:30 am. I don't have a cell phone. I don't have a notebook, or a pad, or even a lap top. I kick it old school and I like it that way. I'll refrain from stepping on to my soap box but seriously people! Stop and look up at the world around you for Christ's sake!

Because I don't have a cell phone, there were multiple plans for locating my brothers at the airport. And there was an agreed upon 45 minute wait time before I was supposed to pull out my calling card (the exact same card I took with me to Europe 11 years ago), find a payphone and call Dylan's France number, thus enacting Plan B of Finding Your Brothers in the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Well, my plane landed early (unheard of, right?) and when I grew tired of waiting for Jack and Dylan, I made my way toward the train as directed by a large sign above that read, "Train". This quick maneuver was not planned but I knew my brothers were traveling by train. So if I was going to break protocol, it seemed logical to head in that direction.

And guess what? Just as I was reaching the elevator leading to the train, its doors opened before me and out walked my brothers! Plan D.

We then stopped by to the hostel where I dropped off my over sized bag and headed to the first of many cafes. I love the cafe part of Europe. I really think America needs a better appreciation for sipping espresso and smoking cigs at little tables lining the sidewalk.

This furry dog art thing was across from the cafe. I thought Jack should kiss it but he declined.



Next we trotted over to the Left Bank to visit this famous English bookstore where I bought Stephen a strange little short story by Charles Bukowski titled Bring Me Your Love. We also stopped by what appeared to be the Paris equivalent of Barnes and Noble so that I could buy the boys some French language books. French is part of their school curriculum, for those of you who don't know.



And then we found our way to what I consider to be the best pizza we ate over the course of our entire trip. Jack disagrees.



With full bellies, we headed to the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris and wandered around a bit. We toured the Cathedral but didn't bother with the around-the-block line to ascend the towers. And of course Notre Dame cool and all, but we were way more enthralled with the possibility of sighting a real live Banksy! Sadly, I've done some Internet investigating since I returned home and I don't think it was a Banksy - just some punk graffiti artist loose in Paris.




We eventually ended up back at the hostel for a much needed power nap. Refreshed, we set out on one of many walking tours Dylan had researched. I can't remember which particular tour we were on but we decided to stop by the Place des Vosges to enjoy some early evening drinks. I like this little park. Stephen and I also visited this spot with some beers in hand.



We also saw some more graffiti art and bumbled into a gallery opening. Toward the end of our tour we were lucky enough to come across a public restroom. But here's the thing - Jack and I had no idea how to use the damn contraption and we messed up its automatic cleaning cycle, which meant I to wait even longer to pee, which was really too bad because I really had to go! I am sure it was entertaining to watch and I am equally as sure that there's a joke in there somewhere...like how many Mikesells does it take to pee on the street in Paris...



Before the night was over we sampled the "World's Best Falafel." It was good, but world's best? Probably not. I need to try a few more  falafels before I am willing to cast my definitive vote.



We walked along the Siene on our way back to the hostel. Stephen and I visited Paris every day for nearly two weeks but we always left before the sun went down. And boy, let me tell you, Stephen missed out because Paris is beautiful at night. They don't call it the City of Light for nothing!



Two things you should know about the pictures from this trip: A number 1) Jack and Dylan made that goofy pose in nearly every picture we took. And B number 2) we also took lots of photos of photos being taken. So like if Dylan was taking a picture of Jack, I was taking a picture of Dylan taking a picture of Jack. You can expect to see many more of these types of photos.