Well another trip has come to an all too soon end. It was glorious, I must say and put me in the Christmas spirit too. I will say that I hope when my friends travel the world they attack it much like I do. I make every effort to immerse myself in the culture. I go to restaurants and struggle with menus that aren't always in English, I take chances and depend on the kindness of the people whose country I am visiting. It continues to sadden me that I find things like a Disney Store on the Champs Eleysee, a [View Full Entry]

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Okay today was the last day in Paris for the three of us; we have been pushing hard, and it showed today. But today was Louvre day and so we pushed on. Let me say if you are a complete lover of the Louvre, you might want to stop right here. I am going to make some very personal observations based on my opinion, mostly as an architect. We are trained to critique our college's work and so it is difficult not to do so. I will say first that everything I say is prefaced with this, we had a FABULOUS [View Full Entry]

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Just a quickie follow up after our evening fun. What a joy to spend time with these two men. We had a lovely dinner and braved the cold and rain to view the Eiffel Tower lights... to no avail... we missed them. But along the way we saw Notre Dame and the lovely bridge lights all of which cannot help but warm your heart in spite of the cold weather. This is truly a city of joy that resides within its soul. [View Full Entry]

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I am beating Kenneth to the punch today. We are back from our day out before we go to dinner so I am capatilizing on the opportunity. We were all late risers this morning, so we didn't stumble into the streets of Paris until almost 1 PM, tres parisienne of us. :) We had coffee at our, notice the term, cafe, and then journeyed by metro to the Arc de Triumph. The question of the day, what would they have built if they lost, would it have been the Arc du desole? Our "do you speak English" women were there, but [View Full Entry]

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It is day two of our adventure, actually day three but last night Kenneth needed to blog and I didn't bring my own computer, so I am up this morning blogging before we start day three officially. Yesterday was glorious, not becuase of the weather, though it broke towards the end of the afternoon and we saw sunshine, but because we had a wonderful time exploring. Up and off to have coffee at Cafe Flore, Kenneth and Carlton assure me it has no relation to the one in the Castro, but I somehow think it must be related. Then on to [View Full Entry]

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Well it is the end of the first day. We have soldiered through all day without even a nap and everyone but me is sleeping away. We had a great trip over the country and then over the pond, without a hitch. We arrived to a very cold and cloudy day, but we didn't let that deter us. We went out and had coffee and lunch. Grabbed a shower and went out to see the Place de Veaux and Notre Dame and finished with a roast chicken, assorted cheeses and a baggette from our neighborhood. It has been a truly non-tourist [View Full Entry]

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Well, the night before is here, and it is always so hard to not over pack. It is only for four days after all, how much can I need? I just remembered that we have to pay American's STUPID bag check in fee. UGH. Nothing infuriates me more than being fee'd to death. Oh well, Paris is just a day away. Stay tuned! [View Full Entry]

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So in two days, I will be on my way to Paris for the first time in 28 years. It is hard to believe that it has been that long, and it is most certainly a lifetime ago for me. To add to the fun I get to travel with my two of my best friends in the world. This is what crazy queer men do for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am so looking forward to my turkey wrap dinner, thanks American Airlines. Who says flying isn't glamorous any more? ME, that's who! So, stay tuned, I will blog when I [View Full Entry]

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Okay so today it was off with the bears for a windward side adventure to Secret Island... which I don't think is much of a secret considering that Lost is filmed here, Jurasic Park was filmed here and there is a whole wedding industry here. None the less, it was beautiful. We had lunch on the beach and hung out for three hours. After Secret Island it was off to another part of Kualoa Ranch for a luau with the bears. Lovely local talent and local cooking... it makes commercial luaus look like a waste of time. Finally back to the [View Full Entry]

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Okay, so it is day two here in paradise and somehow for the second time that I have been here on Waikiki in the past year, there is a parade. In December it was, of course, the Christmas parade, this trip it is the Okinawian Festival parade, who knew Okinawians had their own festival? Early in the morning I visited Ala Moana Mall that was engineered by my papa. It had been YEARS since I had been there... and my how it has changed. It was a quiet day otherwise, I loafed around the pool and then finished the day with [View Full Entry]

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