·

Paris: Day 1

I left New Jersey late Saturday afternoon, “slept through the night” on the airplane, and arrived in Paris Sunday morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. From the airport, I took a train to my host’s neighborhood in Argenteuil—a suburb just outside of Paris. I called my host from a payphone, she picked me up at the station, and off we went to her flat. We had a lovely breakfast and chatted a bit. I learned that she was raised on a cattle farm in the French countryside of Brittany.

My host would be busy for the day, so she took me back to the station and I headed toward the Eiffel Tower. The metro took me to the spot. When I emerged from underground, I could not see the tower. I walked around a building and there it was—in all its glory—larger than life & as spectacular as I imagined it would be.

My first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower

Like so many times in life, there are no words to describe the experience. It was the Eiffel Tower—the very symbol of Paris.

I walked down the giant staircase, across the street, and to the base of the tower. After exploring the gardens & garden paths around the tower, I decided to take a sightseeing cruise on the Seine. The cruise company was Vedettes de Paris. You can check out the site here. The cruise was one hour and the guided narration was spoken in French, English, and Spanish. The ticket price was €11. It’s a great way to acquaint yourself with Paris on your first day. It was lovely in the afternoon but I imagine it would be even more gorgeous at night.

The tour takes you by all of the major sites including the breathtaking Notre Dame. It was the most perfect warm, autumn day—bright sun, blue skies, fluffy white clouds. On the boat, a young couple with a tiny, infant boy sat next to me. The baby slept all the while & smiled often in his sleep. Too cute.

Here are a few of my favourite shots that I snapped from the ship.

View of the tower from the Seine

Sleeping cutie pie

A houseboat on the Seine—can you imagine!?

After the boat tour, I wandered around and found myself in the wealthy neighborhood near the Eiffel Tower. Here, the mothers pushed children in gorgeous, old-fashioned baby carriages and everything reeked of money. All of the homes looked beautiful from the outside–even the windows were stunning.

The gorgeous windows of Paris

After lunch, dessert, and more wandering, I headed back to the tower. The sun was setting and it was a spectacular sight. I snapped photographs and made my way back to my host’s flat.

Eiffel Tower gardens at sunset

Paris Carousel at sunset

Not surprisingly, I slept like a baby that night. What a gorgeous start to my Parisian adventure. Stay tuned for Day 2.

you may also like

  • · ·

    Are You Oblivious, Aware, or Getting It?

    This is a guest post from my friend, Andy Feld.

    ———–

    As I travel and meet new people all over our country, it seems most everyone falls into one of the three areas mentioned in this month’s title. What am I talking about? It’s the societal evolutionary change which is now in progress, although admittedly sometimes imperceptible. It is easy to see that violence rarely leads to anything but more violence. Overt materialism, absent integrity, brings happiness and abundance to very few. Additionally, centuries of male dominated insensitive energy added to a populace unwilling to take responsibility has us at a precarious tipping point.

    So, do you sense what I say is true? Are you oblivious to these changes in the air, or are you ahead of the curve and already taking the steps necessary to not only survive, but thrive in the years to come? Frankly, I am often greeted by individuals with long faces who tell me they will be happy again when things get back to ‘normal’. Normal for many means simply getting back to a life dominated by financial gain and the purchase of new things, but those days may be long gone. Banks are not lending money, our population is increasingly unemployed or aging and dependent, houses are not selling, there seems to be an oversupply of everything and worldwide competition is greater than ever. What if today is the way things will be for the next 20-30 years or longer? What are you going to do to be happy, prosperous, and emotionally abundant?

    Make no mistake, everything is changing and just about everyone is affected. Personally, my income does not approach what I once earned as a corporate CEO, my car is not as new and shiny as it once may have been, and I visit fewer restaurants, but my life has never been more pleasant. Would you agree that now is the time to not only re-evaluate, but also re-create our lives? If so, you are GETTING IT loud and clear, but if not, let’s look into what we can do about it.

    1. We are all One, connected with a common thread of spirit. When I say WE, I mean ALL humans, animals, plant life, earth, and stars. We all are of the same source energy, and understanding and respecting this Oneness is a key to thriving in our new age. Allowing all else to be, with love and respect, and without judgment of unique individual differences will open our portals to Universal Light. One cannot mistreat another human, the earth, our vegetation, and the animals without also mistreating oneself. We are all connected and what we put forth to others is what will always come back to us.

    2. Listen to our heart, our Inner Radar as I call it in my books, without the fear of judgment from others. We are all unique and different, and learning to reach within and hear that guidance we all individually brought forth to this lifetime allows us to grow and prosper in alignment with our life’s purpose. There is no better way to accomplish this than a regular practice of meditation and contemplation.

    3. Understanding the process for manifesting our life’s dreams. It takes quite a bit of practice and self-discipline, and you may be getting tired of hearing me speak about it, but we are the product of our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions. Very little we desire will manifest without the alignment of these four elements. Believe in this, practice and have faith and you will embrace your life like never before.

    4. Learn to appreciate all that you have. From hot running water, to clothes in your closet, and food in the refrigerator, most of us have so much to be thankful for yet rarely acknowledge. The beauty of nature, our relationships, our health and the list should go on and on. Write it down and truly rejoice in how many ways you are blessed.

    5. Diligently work on balancing your male and female attributes. We are all a combination of both masculine and feminine, and the more we keep these two in balance the more we vibrate with the earth.

    Yes, everything is changing. First, become aware and then jump on board, but it will always be the choice of the individual. No one, other than you is responsible for your rescue.

    Whether it is a business, an organization, or individual, the time for changing the status quo in right now. How to go about it in this new environment is what I speak about and teach. I would love the opportunity to work with you or your group.

    With much love and appreciation,
    Andy

    ———-

    Andy lives in Morrison, Colorado outside Denver. He travels the country as a frequent speaker on life inspiration and business sales. He is also a regular guest on radio programs across the United States and on local TV.

    You can read more about Andy at his website, Simple Happy, and you can find his books on Amazon at the following links.

11 Comments

    1. @ JR – Thank you so much! Yes, it was an amazing trip. I had an incredible time–dream come true. Stay tuned, there is a lot more to come. 🙂

      Have a great weekend.

  1. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  2. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  3. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  4. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  5. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  6. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  7. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  8. Pingback: Dena Botbyl
  9. Pingback: 4 Incredibly Inspiring Female Bloggers

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *