A Day in Paris

I just got back from a 2 week business trip that took me to Paris, Riyadh and Milan (where I was stuck due to the volcanic ash cloud) and it was pretty great despite the large amounts of work and meetings that had to be done. After my very first flight in business class, we landed in Paris and had a mere 24 hours there.  I packed in as much as possible and it was a great introduction to Paris.  First off, we stayed at the Ritz!  Just walking up to the reception desk and seeing the gentle curve of the pendant that lit the area let me know that I was in France.

My room!

My bathroom!

It had swan faucets and a profusion of pink.  There was a small balcony with french doors and more molding than I thought could fit in a hotel room.  We had a meeting and stopped for a spot of tea, but then it was off for a couple hour walk around the city with my boss.

One of the desserts had gold leaf on it.

We saw the Eiffel Tower (duh!), some crazy museum with a gold cap and a moat around it.

It's obligatory, but that's OK.

I enjoyed the shaped hedges without leaves and this building with a vertical garden as walls.

We went to the Saint Germain area and saw European life at it's best.  Street cafes, vendors cute little shop windows (sadly Lauduree was closed by the time I found it) and a general sense of public life.

We ate at a less crowded place down the way, but the vibe of the St. Germain was great.

We found a cute little joint and had some supper, it wasn't amazing, but the atmosphere was great and so was the rose.  Then there was the lovely view of a purple sky from my balcony that night.

The next morning I went for a run, with my iPhone handy, I had tunes, took some pictures and just enjoyed every second of it.

The Seine in the morning.

Sweaty and super happy!

Then it was a quick breakfast in my room of eggs benedict with shaved black truffle on top and some lovely berries with mint before heading off to Riyadh.

Not bad for a day, huh?!

Momentary Mustache!

T had a mustache for a hot minute...

So, I thought I'd share.

A Day at the Poodle Ranch!

Stripes, Sprinkle and I headed up to Casa de Poodle to help her out with some wedding crafts and wish her a Happy Birthday!  We picked up mini cupcakes at Dots in Pasadena on the way to the mountains.

My favorite was hands-down the chocobutter.  Chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting and a mini peanut butter cup on top.  Perfection!

After some crafting, we met up with Mr. Poodle and his family down at the ranch.  We were chauffeured around on the back of an ancient camo Jeep driven by a somewhat daring Mr. Poodle.  We were all pretty excited that we stayed in the back of the Jeep and the flat tire was only a momentary setback.

I won't show you Poodle's amazing wedding chapel, because that would be totally mean to steal her thunder, but I will show you a couple of great things on the ranch.

Junkyard!

Retired caboose!

Oh, and inhabitants of the Bee variety!

Wishing her the best wedding this weekend and wishing I could be there!