I'm glad mac is doing better. Continued ~ma heading your way, msbelle.

Owen is adorable. I hope he has an excellent first day.

I can't wait to read the bat book!

I only spent, like, two days in Paris and now I want to go back RIGHT NOW.

When we went to London, DW and I went to Paris for a day and regretted not doing longer the second we got there. We were nervous about not speaking the language, so we did a guided day tour (Eiffel Tower, river cruise on the Siene, and Versailles). We loved it so so so much and have talked about it frequently over the 3 years since we were there. What an amazing place! Must go back!

Theodosia, thanks - but I can't risk gaining any more weight, hay-zeus, I'm heavier than I've ever been now!

Yeah, Glam, I was totally prepared to not be impressed by Paris due to all of the hype the city gets. I had purposefully put off that trip - I didn't get to Paris until my 4th time to Europe. Once I got there, I smacked my head again and again for not having been earlier. And all the Paris talk has me looking at cheap flights from Barcelona to Paris for the last three days of my work trip...

java, have you been to Barcelona before? If not, make sure you give yourself enough time to explore. We only had a day and a half, and it was. not. enough.

Nope, Fred I haven't! I'll be there Friday before my conference and the conference is from Monday - Wednesday. I do want to spend a lot of time sightseeing in Barcelona, so I probably won't make it to Paris this trip (I don't want to come back tired, I want to come back feeling rejuvenated). I fly back to SFO on Sunday the 4th, so that should be enough time to really see the city, yes?

When I go to my graduation ceremony in London in March, I think I'll make it a Paris and London trip. I love that Aerostar dealie.

Ha! ETA it's Eurostar, not Aerostar!

Barcelona is really cool. If you haven't seen it, I'd leave time for exploring. And that is the place for food these days.

That's right. I said it.

::contemplates Paris and London in March::

Woo -- that's going to be quite a trip.

This "work trip" is my company's thanks to me for working 14+ days every day of my first 1.5 years of employment with them. It's been pretty much normal hours since this February but before that...not so much. So this trip is presented to me as a big "thank you" and I really appreciate it. The conference is only 3 days but I am getting a real vacation out of it.

That's really great -- there are plenty of people who work those hours and don't get jack!

(My lawyer cousin was just telling me she was in the office 300 hours in June. Of course, she gets a fat paycheck, but she was just doing what was expected...)

there are plenty of people who work those hours and don't get jack!

Absolutely. And though my work is demanding, it's generally enjoyable. I am thoroughly fortunate these days.