Good morning. It is 9:10pm Seattle time, and we’ve woken up, which is good because it’s also 6:10am in Paris. I’m not saying we pummeled jetlag; all I’m saying is that if we to kept score (and the one thing I do well is keep score), we are 1-0.

After a crucial nap yesterday, we met GWEC (Gloria, Will, Erik, and Gloria—and, yes, I wasted valuable brain heat on that acronym) for dinner. Will and Erik (along with Scott in Seattle) are my remnant friends from graduate school. We adhered to Rick Steve’s guidebook for our restaurant selection, and braved the cold, snowy night to walk from our hotel, which is near the Louvre and US Consulate, to the Eiffel tower neighborhood in Rive Droit. Okay, Rive Droit isn’t really a neighborhood but translates to the right side of the river (so useful having Doolies around), which doesn’t give you much information because there are plenty of neighborhoods on that side of the river. I just wanted to show off my memory skills.

Many tourists read the same guidebook, and the first restaurant we visited turned us away. The second restaurant (Will and Cecilia, being consummate travelers, had a plan B), was a few blocks away, reasonably priced (especially the wine), and delicious. The highlight was my wonderful paté appetizer, served in a large white bowl with toast. It was different from other patés I ate, seeming fresher and more authentic. I guess what they say is true: everything tastes better in Paris. (Okay, I’ve never heard anyone say that, but it sounded good as I was writing it, like a cliché, a topic we spent much time discussing during our fun dinner talk.)

Wine filled our heads as we strolled back to the hotel with frozen ears and feet. They lit the Eiffel tower with sparkling, flashing lights, and a large spotlight turning parallel to the ground on its top. The rain and snow illuminated the path of the spotlight, which reminded me of the eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings movies.

Doolies finished planning our day, and we plan to shower and start early. We’ll meet GWEC tonight for dinner and rehash our days.

Addendum: after Doolies scheduled our day, she realized that few places open before 11am. We’ve made the executive decision (since what is a decision if not executive) to sleep a bit more. I know, it smells like a mistake, but we’re rebellious. Very rebellious.