over the hump

so I have officially crossed the halfway point of my Istanbul experience. I return to the glorious states two months from yesterday. That makes it something like 1 month and 29 or something like that. One month and some change looks a lot better than four! If I could somehow make the weather better over here, then everything would be gravy. The constant grey sky, cold wind, and rain is really starting to piss me off. They say its not normal for it to be like this, but I think they are lying. I looked at the average temperatures for Istanbul by month, and it wont even average 70 degrees in May. BLAHHH! put me on the beach and crank up the Jimmy Buffett.

*Paris: as seen by a skinny, pale American*

We flew out of Turkey late thursday evening, and had a connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany. Got my passport stamped in Germany, that was pretty cool. Then we got lost, and lost again. The Frankfurt airport must have been designed by Stevie Wonder. It makes no sense, and it is huge. We got stopped in security cause of Nick's bag, but its was all good cause the security girl was super cute. We were really late, so I had to run. But, if I had time, it would have gone something like this...

security girl: well hello. you look stunning tonight

me: why thank you

security girl: where are you flying to

me: Paris, ya know, just a weekend thing

security girl: ooo...you must be rich

me: I see Euros, that's right, plurals

and so on....hahahaha. let me dream

ok so after security, we straight up were speed walkin to the terminal (which was 23 miles away). We get there, and the dude goes "where have you been, the plane is waiting on you" hahaha ooooooops. So we made it just barely, but made it nonetheless. So we get to Paris (Charles De Gaulles airport) around 11:30pm. By the way, that airport is realllly cool. We meet up with Charlotte, hop on the metro, and get settled in at her place. 

Friday we wake up and hop on the metro, get off in the center of Paris, and just walk around and see a ton of stuff. Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe, the Louvre, Garden of Kings, Beaubourg, all the fancy and retarded fashion stores. Really cool, the city is amazing. This is about the time I start to fall in love with the lady named Paris. I hit up the Virgin Megastore, and they are playing some really chill hip hop music I had never heard before. So I am scrambling around trying to speak broken French and find out what is playing in the store. Finally, as the song is ending, an employee understands me and shows me the album. I ended up buying it, and it is incredible. The group is called The Tones, and the album is Dreamtalk. I'll put them up on the blog soon. We went out to this really cool little French dinner joint, and I pretty much ordered Ole Mcdonalds farm, then ate all of the little animals. I had some duck, goat cheese, and something else that I cant remember right now. 

Saturday we walked around Europe's biggest mall for a while, and I had a French hotdog...it was aight. More roaming around Paris, and finally ending up back at the Eiffel Tower around dusk. We went up to second level, the top was closed :(   I saw the tunnel that Princess Diana was killed in, don't know how I feel about that. I bargained with a street vendor under the tower, and got some mini Eiffel towers super cheap haha. Well, they are really cheaply made, so I guess it evens out. 

A few French beers and a couple hours of sleep later, Sunday arrived. We went to Disneyland Paris. It was incredibly exciting going back to Disney. The look and vibe is just like the Disneyworld in Orlando, but there are def some differences. We didnt stay there very long, but I did get to walk around the park once and ride Pirates of the Caribbean & Space Mountain. I recorded both of the rides in their entirety, but my video camera isnt so good in dark environments....and both of the rides are really dark. But, the audio is amazing. By the way, Pirate sound way more wicked in French...sorry J Depp. Oh, and the Space Mountain there was an actual rollercoaster...flips and all!! Pretty much straight dominated the Space Mountain in Orlando.

The flights this morning were good, nothing special. We went through Munich, Germany. That was pretty cool. Now, I'm back in studio! Just another day in the life of a jetsetter I guess...hahahaha no...but seriously.   That was my last trip I think, I gotta get locked down on my triathlon training and studio work. Enjoy the pics, talk to ya soon!!

charlotte and I

bacon and cheese sandwich! I was a pork eating machine this weekend

ducks! too bad I ate duck a few hours later

the louvre...home of the Mona Lisa

looking over the Siene River in paris

love

on the tower, yeah it was cold.

looking from the tower over Paris

mega waffle at Disney...and yes, my hair is nothing short of mangy

disneyland!

audio delight: a-tom and I on space mountain