A graceful fall...

Shortly after awaking this morning, I went downstairs to make some coffee--a normal daily routine. Once the brewing started I headed back upstairs to check my email, another morning ritual. After reading my messages and hearing that the brewing was complete, I did the expected thing and headed back downstairs...only I headed down in a slightly different style. With what I faintly recall as being a slip of the foot, I plummeted down the steep, twisting stairs all the while trying to grasp onto the railing with my right arm. Try and try as I may, my arm only twisted with the rest of my body. Somehow I was alert enough to concentrate on not letting my head, back, or butt hit the stairs, which made for an extremely awkward fall. I let out a girly yell (what else can you expect!) and my two roommates came dashing down to check on me. I was completely faint for a few minutes, drank some orange juice to increase my blood sugar so I would not actually pass out, and then layed on the couch for a few minutes while my sight came back and my arm throbbed. Fortunately, after what was actually quite traumatizing, I am fairly well. I undoubtedly pulled my tricep muscle trying to hold on for dear life, and have scrapes beginning on the front of my arm twisting over to the back side of my arm and up my tricep. My toes on my left foot are bruised and stiff, but fine otherwise. My arm is bruising beautifully and is stiff, but not harmed further. I don't know if any of you have fallen down stairs, but it is one hell of a scary thing. It happens so quickly. On top of this, my roommate fell down them just last week. That tells you something about our stairs; check out the photo I posted recently of the stairs looking down from the top...would make for a better slide. Anyhow, I needed to vent and I hope you were somewhat entertained by my description of what was, at the time, frightening.

Another of the Eiffel tower...

I tried to capture the flickering lights, which occurs every first ten minutes on the hour. It's quite beautiful and I really like this photo...

Paris!!

Time goes by(a la Madonna)...in one of the wings of the Musee d'Orsay...

I traveled to Paris for a long weekend to visit a friend, Sravish. Since I visited the city a few years back, I tried to see some new sites. Of course, you cannot visit the beautiful city without passing the Eiffel Tower many times, especially if your friend lives nearby it! I took the elevator to the very, very top!!

Other highlights: walking up to Montmartre at night, drinking wine from glass baby bottles at a neat little fondue restaurant in Montmartre, meeting French men, eating fresh croissants, the Catacombes, shopping on the Ile St. Louis's cute streets, and just walking around with no specific plan. Enjoy the photos.














A view from the top






















Some nice face sculptures in the Musee d'Orsay which gave me a little creepy feeling inside for some reason...not as much as in the catacombes, though! The catacombes were constructed from an old underground quarry which became home to approx. 6 million peoples' bones in the 1700-1800's. You walk down some long, not very well-lighted, dirt and pebble-floored corridors to the consecrated site. What a sight it is too (cue x-files or another scary movie tune)...















A bit blurry, but you get the idea. I took the rest on my mobile but can't get them onto my computer...there were bones in various formations, a cross, a heart, etc. Corridors and corridors full. Before electricity, visitors just used candlelight--can you imagine?

More photos of our place

Since the sun is shining so brightly today, I thought I would update some of the old photos and add some new ones. We just love the place so much! Tonight (Feb. 9th) is our housewarming party and perhaps I will have some good photos from that later.













Our living room--perfect for entertaining, and even a dance party!














The terrace and steep stairs leading up to our bedrooms













And my bedroom...with the new addition of a 19.95 desk from Ikea!!