Paris

I've been really bad with blogging of late, but I will try to get back on it.
Last week on Sunday Gerard and Marisa, cousins of my grandfather, picked me up from the train station. I had taken a TGV (high-speed) train from Strasbourg to Paris, where I sat next to and had a long conversation with a very nice and friendly Parisien.
The LeClairs took me out to eat, insisting on paying, which was the start of what has been the most hospitable stay in a foreign city that I have ever experienced. After lunch we drove around Paris and saw all of the famous sites, a grand tour that I replicated by foot the next day, despite the consistently terrible weather. We went out to dinner as well, where I had a very good Chukkus plate, and then went to bed early (or tried to; jet lag was killing me).
On Monday I spent the day walking almost all of Paris, seeing, from the outside, almost everything there is to see, though I did go into the Pantheon where I saw the graves of Rousseau and Voltaire. I also got to join a tour after I was able to quote Guy de Moupassant (I quoted him but I don't think I can spell his nale correctly). The guide was really psyched that an American barbarian knew something about French literature; it was kind of funny. The French are very proud of their history, language, and culture, and they fight tooth and nail (or try to) to protect it.