You lit up my night

They call Paris the "City of Light." And between the hours of 8 and 11:15 p.m., for approximately 15 minutes, most of that light comes from the Eiffel Tower.

Having never seen the Eiffel Tower Light Show, we (my mother, who has lived in Paris the last 12 years yet also never witnessed the Eiffel Tower Light Show, the spouse, my daughter, et moi) decided to check it out last Thursday (aka Thanksgiving), despite the fact that is was pouring.

And were we glad we did. I even was able to record some of the highlights of the show with my little Canon PowerShot SD890 IS, though it was difficult for me to shoot while holding the camera in one hand and my umbrella in the other. But still, IT'S THE EIFFEL TOWER! ALL LIT UP IN PRETTY COLORS! (And I love the conversations the camera picked up, some in English -- mostly J-THREE-O's running commentary -- some in French.)

Be sure to watch all three videos, which are less than two minutes all together, to get the full effect.







Note: If you missed my "Paris, city of pastries and chocolates" post, featuring mouth-watering pictures from our Paris Chocolate (Walking) Tour, click here.

P.S. How many of you started hearing Debbie Boone sing "You Light Up My Life" when you read the title of this post? (You're welcome, Dave S.)

Paris, city of pastries and chocolates

Warning: This post contains serious food porn.

On Friday, as is our Thanksgiving tradition (since last year) we went on a chocolate tour, given by Paris Walks, on the Right Bank of Paris. Our guide, Mary Ellen, an expat who has been living in Paris for 17 years, has a Master's in French History and teaches French school children English, was very good -- as were the pastries and chocolates.

If or when you next go to Paris, I highly recommend the Paris Chocolate Tour. In the meantime, here are some highlights.

First stop Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Gosselin à Paris (Jon and Kate bake great?):

















Note: We went to the branch at 125, Rue St Honoré, near the Louvre, and their Opera pastry was the best all of us ever had, which is saying a lot.

Next stop: Le Côte de France chocolatier at 25 Avenue de L'Opera:

Ensuite Chocolat Michel Cluizel:






















Et enfin Jean-Paul Hévin, where we tasted lime-infused chocolates (you put the lime in the choc-o-late you mix 'em all up...):

















Mon mari (aka "the spouse"), ma mère (aka "Granny"), ma fille (aka J-THREE-O), et moi also stumbled across a marvelous (and some say the best) macaron (and chocolate) shop in Paris earlier in the week, Pierre Hermé, where we sampled several different macarons:















Here's hoping you had a sweet (or at least tasty) Thanksgiving....

Next up: My Eiffel Tower obsession.

Talk about getting nailed

Literally. Ouch.

Junior and the spouse are having dinner avec ma mere, so I am catching up on the news (after avoiding it the last five days), and came across this hard-hitting story from The New York Times about Swedish nail beds (or nail mats). Talk about getting nailed in the sack.

But to get to the point, apparently, after the initial pain wears off, nail beds (or nail mats) can be quite relaxing, even therapeutic, alleviating sleep problems and migraines (two of my favorites).

Per The Times article, the mats typically measure about 16 by 28 inches and contain 4,000 to 8,000 spikes.

Four thousand to 8,000 spikes?! Yikes. But apparently fewer would really hurt.

In any case, the nail bed/mat sounds like the perfect gift for all you sadists to give -- to the masochists in your life. (Less than 30 shopping days until Christmas and only 17 until the first night of Hanukkah! Order your nail mat today!)

In the meantime, wishing you and yours a very happy (and healthy) Thanksgiving.

Watching American football in a Canadian sports bar in Paris

Giants beat the Falcons. In overtime. 34 - 31. On a 36-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes.

If the Giants had lost (and frankly, they should have clobbered the Falcons -- but their defense has been AWOL the last four or five games), the game would have sucked. But the Giants won. Hurrah. And we enjoyed our time at The Moose, as well as our hamburgers and fries, which were suprisingly good, though the Canadian beer was not.

We now resume our regularly scheduled Parisian vacation. (Cruised the Seine on a Bateaux-Mouches yesterday and walked around the sixth arrondissement, where we are staying. Went to the organic outdoor market and to Montmartre today. And are heading to the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and chez Little Miss Cupcake demain.)

Au revoir, mes amis. A bientot....

P.S. As I type this, the spouse is trying to see if he can find the New York Jets vs. New England Patriots game, but I'm not holding out much hope.

Fear of flying

And I ain't talkin' Erica Jong, people.

Seriously, between computer glitches, pilots checking out each others "itineraries" in the cockpit, terrorists, geese, and ridiculous fees... it's a wonder anyone gets on a plane anymore. But get on a plane I am scheduled to do, later today (along with the spouse and kid), even though I have yet to pack a thing and have appointments to attend and errands to run.

To say I am feeling a bit anxious or stressed about our imminent trip is an understatement, even though I exercise regularly, which, according to one of the most popular/emailed articles in The New York Times this week, should make me practically anxiety and stress free, which makes me shudder at what I'd be like if I didn't work out every other day - YIKES.

Anyway, it's over the Atlantic and through customs to the kid's grandmother's apartment we go -- providing we don't experience any of the aforementioned flying hazards. And on Sunday I hope to be live blogging the Atlanta Falcons vs. the New York Giants game from a Canadian sports bar in Paris (because that's the kind of football fan and neurotic blogger I am).

So for now, au revoir, mes amis. Hopefully I will see you on the other side. In the meantime, please enjoy this video of Michael Buble singing that Frank Sinatra classic "Come Fly with Me."

Why did the turkey cross the New Jersey Turnpike?

To get to the other side. (Duh.)



After weeks of trying to catch her, this afternoon New Jersey State Fish and Wildlife officials finally manage to capture Tammy the Turnpike Turkey. Tammy, who officials believe wandered over from Staten Island, had taken up residence among the tollbooths at Exit 14B/Jersey City on the New Jersey Turnpike and was the source of much brake slamming and cursing from New Jersey drivers.

Having driven many times on the New Jersey Turnpike, what is truly amazing to me is that Tammy the Turnpike Turkey wound up at a zoo and not as the Blue Plate Special at one of the state's famous diners.

What's black and white and cute all over?

Presenting Yun Zi (pronounced "youn zhay" -- and meaning "Son of Cloud"), the San Diego Zoo's latest Giant Panda cub:



All together now: Awwww.

During a recent physical, Yun Zi, the fifth Giant Panda cub born to proud mama Bai Yun, weighed in at 12.5 pounds and measured just over two feet. When full grown, "little" Yun Zi will weigh over 300 pounds, which is about 285 pounds (and a heckuva lot of bamboo) more than I can handle. Still... very cute.

Need more panda cuteness? Check this out.