Breaking News…I just pulled an all nighter on vacation in Paris, watching the NY Giants play the despised Cowboys and with 3 minutes remaining in the game, after coming back from behind, the Giants caved and lost. Quel dommage. Now, here is the good news…

I feel as if I am the TSA of late…Turbulence Spotting  Association.

It was a lovely flight until we flew over the Atlantic Ocean and all hell broke loose…what a ride. I definitely knew I was still alive as my heart was pounding out a driving disco beat. My row companion, Courtny, soothed me and was very compassionate.

The flight attendants were less so and just stuffed their faces in the back and enjoyed the ride. Our crew definitely had seniority. Not one greeted us upon boarding, they did the minium amount of work and not one luscious flight attendant could fit through the aisle without angling sideways.

Alrighty then…I am still alive and we arrived 30 minutes early because we had a tailwind that pushed us right through that exteme turbulence. I am drinking heavily on the return flight.

As usual, we showered changed (no one slept on the flight) and we were wandering the hip, picturesque Marais two hours after landing.

We had fab omelettes and much needed espresso at the traditional french brasserie we frequent in the Marais.

We browsed our ‘hood and then head to the right bank. Our first retail therapy stop was a visit to Christian Louboutin off Rue St. Honore. Unfathomably, they did not have any large sizes…impossible (spoken in french).

The day was in the 50’s and sunny so we frolicked outside the Louvre.

They have re-landscaped the Tuileries and they look divine. We rested in the reclining metal chairs by the pond and David and Courtny napped in the warm sunshine.

I read the Paris book and watched as two ducks beat the crap out of each other while the tourists frantically took photos.

On to the Place de la Concorde, up the Champs-Elysees packed wth Christmas shoppers sauntering in and out of all the little kiosks offering every type of merchandise imaginable. The sweet aroma of mulled wine, hanging meats, beignets, roasting chestnuts and aromatic red and green cheese permeated the crisp, winter day.

We left the chaos and hit the exclusive Avenue Montaigne where the limos were lined up down the entire block. Chanel, Celine, YSL, Louis Vuitton were teeming with foreigners gobbling up bags priced at $5000 to an exotic skin Chanel purse an insanely wealthy woman purchased for $40,000.

Tired of fighting just for a look we crossed the Seine to the Tour Eiffel. We were starving and I remembered that the wife of the owner of Joe’s Jeans had told me about a wonderful restaurant in the 8th Arrondissement…Les Cocottes.

Courtny, our trusty navigator pinpointed the location and we had an amazing lunch…review to follow.

We then paid homage to Le Tour Eiffel and basked in the glory of the stucture and lingered for a while.

The sun was setting so we hopped the metro after 10 miles of walking the City of Lights. Still standing, we browsed The Pompidou Centre and surveyed the Marcel Duchamp and Robert Delaunay exhibits.

We observed another view of the Eiffel Tower through Delaunay’s eyes.

A brief respite and then on to our favorite restaurant in Paris, Bones. What a meal. We were treated like royalty and the food was beyond incredible.

Life can be turbulent, but it can also be calm, rewarding and highly enjoyable.