Paris

Everyone should go to Paris at least once in their life. I personally go for the food and the clothing. Forget the museums, I can only take so much nudity. The majority or the art in Louvre has a naked women. Naked women breastfeeding, naked women eating in the park with other naked women, naked women riding horses, naked women doing laundry. NUDES EVERYWHERE! But the men depicted in art are usually clothed. Except the statues, and even then, their "package" has been broken off. I am not a prude, but the Louvre and Rodin museum are nothing but sophisticated soft porn. I never thought that I would be so affected by this, but I grew tired of female genitalia quickly. I consider myself to be very open-minded, but my mind can only take so much nudity. Rodin was a master at the human body, and for the most part, I could handle the nudity. However, there were some extremely sensual poses, erotic female art that went a bit too far. Even getting off the subway, there are topless murals of Josephine Baker. And be warned, do not watch the local t.v. after 10:00 p.m. Just a bit on the nasty side of things.

Yes, Europeans have a liberal view on nudity. You know the forbidden school yard song "There's a place in France...", I've seen the inspiration for the song, minus "the hole in the wall", they just show it to you all, everywhere. OK, I know there are more to museums then nudity, and I am an avid art lover. However, just a bit tired of seeing the boobs. What it all amounts to is this: Most of the women depicted in the art have my same figure, so it made me feel like I was viewing my curvy body with all the other people and I got embarrassed.

This is my third visit to Paris. This time around, the pace was much more leisurely. Perhaps that is why I notice all the naked women. Before, we rushed from one thing to another. But, other than than, the city is still magical. The Latin Quarter is still lively. We took the time to discover the Marais. I wished I would have spent more time there. We even went on the sewer tour. Yes, it is a real tour and it does stink.

But most importantly, I got to spend quality time with Marlowe. We both lapped up the Parisian culture. One of our favorite things was checking out the bathrooms (or toilets as they call them) in restaurants. Usually, they are down in the basement and are very old. Being six feet tall proved a challenge. I had to hunch over while traversing down a spiral staircase to the bathroom. I felt like Alice in Wonderland.

Another thing Marlowe and I took up is what we refer to as "belly shots". No, it's not a game you play at the local pub. What we do is hold the camera around our neck, and shoot pictures. People are not expecting it and we get some great shots.

All in all, I can't wait to go back. There are a lot of gypsies and con artist. We were approach by a couple and they acted like they found a gold ring and they were trying to give it to Marlowe. They didn't go for me, probably because I stared them down from the get go. But Marlowe has a kinder, more approachable look to him. She was trying to distract him, we weren't sure what they were trying to accomplish to be honest with you. I finally was very rude and shooed her away and asked her if she spoke Spanish and she immediately left us alone. I found that phrase helped us ward off being an American target. But we will be back, it may be some time, but we will return.