How we spent our Christmas vacation (2006)

      Di & Lon after the long trudge - 463 tiny steps on a tight, winding staircase (completed in 1436 !) and no elevators - to the top of the Duomo in Firenze (Florence), Italy.

      Diane on a carousel near our Florence hotel. We had it start up just for us after dinner overlooking the Arno River, across the Ponte Vecchio.

       Some cool dude strolling to Michelangelo's pad in Florence.

          Bouncer at the SPLEEN cafe, Italy.

          Our last dinner near the Louvre at the Imperial Rivoli in Paree was lovely.

      Diane is the aesthetic photog and this is another of her shots from our top floor room, 8th floor at our hotel with a balcony and table and chairs that gave  us a 180 degree view from the Arc de Triomphe past the Eiffel Tower, Invalides, where Napoleon is buried, to the Place de la Concorde and beyond. We were a  short block from the most expensive hotel in Paris, the Crillon, and  a few feet from the American Embassy. The Hermes, Yves St. Laurent et. al.  boutiques were just outside the hotel entrance. The Louvre was a few blocks farther as was the Musée d'Orsay and L'Orangerie. Diane is a master at picking great hotels that do not cost more than a BMW.

The Art Nouveau entrances to the Metro that have been maintained all these decades, Louvre in the background.

 We had lunch on the Tour D'Eiffel, deuxieme etage (second stage), at the exclusive Jules Verne restaurant and this photo, taken after lunch as we strolled, shows its shadow across the Seine. It cost a bundle but was worth every penny and we preferred a day time view of the "city of lights."

An Excellent, authentic bohemian Bass player who used his bow as a cellist on our last day in Montmartre. Contributions went into the case in front of his "ax".

Having taken six years of ballet, I thought I would join the Degas danseuse in the Louvre.

This flyer for Euro Disney was in the lobby of our hotel. Even in Paris I cannot get away from ears !!!!!!