Chris Visit, Part One: Paris

So way back, 2 Thursdays ago, I headed back up to Paris to take advantage of Brad's hotel room. I met him at the Bibliotheque Nationale, where he had been working, and we got in to an exhibit they were holding; basically, it was porn through the ages. Quite amusing, and interesting. Dinner, then bed. Brad got up the next morning for work and a couple of hours later I was on my way to CDG to pick up Chris.
Navigating CDG is never an easy task, but imagine my surprise when a gendarme (military-type cop) stops me from passing through this one section of walkway. There is a group of people gathered around, and another group about 50 feet away being blocked by another gendarme. After a few minutes, they told us to cover our ears. POP! And we were free to go. Uhh...
So I got to the arrivals gate and got to talking with some other people. Turns out a bag had been abandoned and they decided to blow it up. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
About an hour later Chris emerged from the customs exit. Yay! We promptly headed to the hotel, as Chris was desperate for a shower (can't blame him). We had lunch, he took a nap for a bit, then we headed to the Louvre, which is free on Fridays for people under 26 (mind you, that is UNDER 26, and contrary to popular belief, my carte professionelle did NOT get me in for free). But anyway, Chris was delighted to wander amongst the old Roman, Egyptian and Greek artifacts. We walked around a bit and headed back to the hotel.
On Saturday, Chris, Brad and I headed to Versailles. I had never been before, and Chris was dying to go. If you go to Versailles, my advice is to buy your admission tickets BEFORE you get there. It was a total mob scene. Tour groups fighting to get through the narrow doorways, people walking right in front of your camera... c'est la vie I guess. The gardens were lovely but it was so cold outside we didn't walk around as much as I would've liked. Oh well.

The gang at the Hall of Mirrors- Versailles

That night we splurged on an amazing fondue dinner in the Latin quarter. Soooo yummy! I've definitely gained wait thanks to Chris visiting (and us travelling and therefore, having to go to restaurants all the time). The three of us headed to a pub near Brad's hotel and played billiards.

Good times!

The next day was just wandering. We met Brad at the Eiffel Tower, walked along the Seine to the Arc de Triomphe, walked along the Champs Elysees and tried to see the catacombs but they were closed for renovation. Lame, that's the THIRD time I've tried to get into that places and couldn't. Lamecore indeed. We then headed to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur (I warned the boys to keep their hands in their pockets, lest they fall victim to the overpriced string bracelets like Jess & I did in January).
On Monday, which I had off because of Easter, we spent our final afternoon together going to Pere Lachaise cemetary. Paid our respects to Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Moliere, and the other famous residents.

RIP Jim!

Then it was time for Chris and I to head back to Troyes.
We got back to my place around 8PM. We met up with Rich and had some wine, then called it a night. After all, some of us had to work the next day! ;)
I apologize I can't be bothered to post more pics; if you're interested, check out my Flickr. Stay tuned for Part Two: Prague.