In Paris!!!!

As opposed to "Mad Donnoe" as I am it seems to be the new Starbucks in Paris...so here I am blogging in the plush executive seats that they are furnished with!
France has been welcoming me with constant showers since my arrival via the Eurostar Sunday evening. I was met by my good friend Frederik whom I have not seen in 9 years! After a quick catching up and a few metro rides around, we arrived at the Blue Planet Hostel where I dropped off my stuff and quickly changed for the evening. Frederick planned to escort me to an evening hosted by the Belgium Embassy for the results of the European Union elections held this week. But first we took a quick detour to the neighborhood where I lived when I was here in 2000 for my study abroad semester. Although it was late in the evening during the summer months it doesn't get dark until around 10pm. As we walked I saw brasseries and tabacs which seemed as though they had been frozen in time, unchanged. The biggest difference I noticed was in the cleanliness of the buildings and the lack of prostitutes...that sounds bad as I write it but they were as much a part of the Parisian experience as the distinct smell of the metro. (I'm not ruling out that the two are some how related...) When we arrived at my former home Alexandra was there to greet us. She has been working there since it was home to me but has since settled down with a husband and had a baby:) She invited us for dinner at her house the following night so I could meet her family. I had no idea what I was in for...Monday night was unbelievable. We got to catch up, I got to meet her daughter and her husband, not to mention the largest spread of Serbian French fusion you could imagine. The meal was so expansive it took shifts where everyone literally took a break, got up and walked around before the next course. What a treat being able to enjoy good conversation, good company and good food:) I'm still tring to talk Freddy into going out to the Rex Club where the group of us used to go dancing all night when I lived here. Years ago there would be a point in the night where we would need to make a decision as to whether we wanted to take the last metro or continue to party and take the first metro in the morning. What fun!!!