Hello, everyone! I'm loving life in sunny Paris right now. The weather was dicey the first few days -- truly bizarre in that Seattle sort of way with constantly intermittent rain and sun. Now it's just bright and clear and much warmer. Yay!

Our hotel is cheerful and charming. My sis and I are sharing a sunny yellow room on the 6th floor (former maids' quarters, I'm sure) that has two balconies overlooking Rue de Rivoli, which leads to excellent people watching in this bustling area. We can also see the top of the Eiffel Tower (the "Eiff" -- word shortening has gotten out of control) from one of the balconies, which is lovely when the lights start flashing on the hour at night. We're across the street from the Saint Paul metro station, a grocery store, a yummy patisserie, cash machines, taxi station, and many delicious cafes and restaurants. It's a great place to be.

Poor Lindsay has been suffering from a back spasm the past couple of days, which has her pretty much bed ridden right now. Such a bummer, but the one positive is that it's forcing her to take a much-needed rest. Sadly she is going to miss our trip out to champagne country (Reims) tomorrow. The important thing is getting well enough for the long flight home on Friday.

Mols and I have really packed in the sites the past couple of days. In addition to climbing the six flights of stairs at the hotel, we have been walking machines. We've been to the Orangerie, Musee D'Orsay, Musee Rodin, Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, La Tour Eiffel, the Louvre, and Arc de Triomphe, among general walking around to explore the city and shops. Today is our free day to see sites we want independently. In a bit I'm heading off to Sainte-Chapelle, Notre Dame, Place des Voges, Musee Picasso, and possibly the Musee Carnavalet. I'd also like to have some quiet time to just hang out on the balcony reading, or at a cafe sipping coffee. Oooo, and I must try some ice cream at Berthillon. It's going to be a full, full day. I'm looking forward to having time to wander around, engaging in the day, and being in my own head.

I gotta tell ya it's been a lot of fun checking out the fashion here. I've noticed that it's easy to see what the Parisians deem fashionable, particularly the women, because they all pretty much run with certain items, probably more so than in the U.S. where fashion isn't quite as uniform. For example, there are definite preferences when it comes to shoes. There is one type of boot that you see almost everyone wearing, and it's kind of strange to see just how "in" it is, even if there is a lot of variety in what kind of clothes people pair these boots with in creating an outfit.

This vacation is proving a good head-clearing and stress-reducing time. I think the past couple of months I've gotten so busy and narrowly focused that I needed this broader perspective to get out of that mode. And, it's just lovely here.

My class in winter turned out well, so I'm getting really excited to start the autism one when I return. I'm reading Autism's False Prophets by Paul Offit while on vacation. It's one of my class books, and it is just so incredibly interesting and eye-opening. I'm disturbed how quickly and easily the medical community, the media (especially), and the public will run with theories as fact when there is little scientific evidence to prove it. And, the faulty science that happened in this book scares me, because if it's happening in this one particular area, what else is going on? I'd recommend this read to anyone, whether you're interested in autism or not.

While on vacay, I'm taking a break from online dating, of course. My subscription ran out a couple of weeks before Paris, so I decided to give myself a rest until I got back. I've met quite a few nice and interesting people so far, but so far I haven't experienced major chemistry with anyone yet. Dating is fun and funny, at times, and I'm enjoying it for what it is right now. While poking around on MSN the other day, I came across this article, and the author's experience and viewpoint just resonated with me so completely. I too am prone to "unwitting hormonal bonding stronger than rational thinking" with the wrong men who aren't capable or who are unwilling to give me what I want. While this is ok, and I've learned a lot from doing this, having greater understanding of who I am and how I connect can allow me to make smarter and healthier choices for myself. I like this line because I'm right there: "My frequent experiences with the Wrong Man also taught me what I wanted this time around. I was looking for someone who could see my best self despite my imperfections. A gentle but strong man with the capacity to become as deeply devoted to me as I would be to him. In a word: available." Yes! Available is key! Also, "When the soap opera actor or the triathlete didn't call — both of whom had looked deep into my eyes and proclaimed their attraction to me — I did nothing. I let them go. I wanted a man whose actions matched his words." Exactly. Pretty words alone are just that. Empty pretty words. While I haven't dated anywhere close to 100 men yet, and, honestly, I'd rather not, coming across this article made me hopeful that I'm on the right track. If it takes dating 100+ men to find what I'm looking for, so be it. With greater clarity on who I am and what I want and my own personal boundaries, I have greater confidence that I will recognize the right person when he shows up.

On that note, I'm off. Or, as my sis and I now say, I'm sortie (right or wrong, we say it exactly as spelled, "sort-ee") More soon, my friends!