Paris never disappoints!  Every day is a new delight.  We toured the Palace of Versailles....



It was so exciting to walk the halls and see the Queen's bedchamber and just breathe the air of history.  My French ancestors, the Menier family supposedly go back to the court of Marie Antoinette and Louis LVI.  I felt right at home. :)

My gay boyfriends took me dancing to Le Tango...such a fun club!!  I danced until the wee hours of the morning and they crowned me "Queen of the Marais".  I have the BEST friends!

The next night was a birthday party for the amazing Yaele.  She is one of the smartest people I know and I was so happy to celebrate her birthday with her.  But I was the one who got a present!!  Yaele, David, Jerome, and Charles presented me with a bottle of Glenlivet......AND a freezer full of ice.  I love my French friends. xoxoxo



The sun was out in full force today and so we went to Sacre Couer. the highest point in Paris, with a view of the whole city.  Then a stroll through the streets of Montmarte and a visit to the historic Moulin Rouge, home to Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, and so many other famous artists.



And no day out on the streets of Paris are complete without sitting in a café with a glass of wine.



Bonjour, mon amis.

We are here in our apartment and already made friends with Mathieu and Samuel who own our local bistro.  Omelettes and wine for dinner....tradition!  And crepes flamed with gran marnier for dessert.

Last year we created the "next time" list of things we didn't get to do.  One of them was to dine at the Le Jules Verne restaurant which is up in the Eiffel Tower.  We didn't know that you had to make reservations weeks in advance.  This year we are prepared.  The restaurant even sent out an invitation: Madame La Comptesse Cordially Invites you to dine at her table at Le Tour Eiffel. 

Paris, we are coming for you soon. xoxoxo

This past summer my friends Jenn Harris and Jimmy Gribbin came to The Castle Bedelia several times to photograph for a music video they were creating using Barbie dolls.  This video was for a song "Girls Like Us" on the debut album of The Julie Ruin, the new band formed by Kathleen Hanna, punk rock icon from Bikini Kill and Le Tigre bands.  We had so much fun filming all around the Castle including a pyrotechnic shoot in the driveway which involved throwing a Firebrick into a cardboard box to ignite some People magazines as it was too hot, damp, and humid for the paper to catch fire.  I am just so happy that they dressed me up and got a photo of me like this...


All summer, everywhere that Jenn and Jimmy went, they brought The Barbies and filmed them.  Jenn was constantly reciting the lyrics of the song and thinking up situations to use The Barbies to illustrate the lyrics.  I am beyond thrilled that she had a 'moment' and decided that The Countess Bedelia should be a part of this.

Here is the completed video.  So proud of Jenn and Jimmy for creating this.

New York City is such a small world.  I became friends with Kathleen because her husband Adam, who happens to be AdRock from The Beastie Boys, is my NYC roommate's band leader, etc, etc, etc.  Everyone knows everyone...it's really only 6 degrees of separation from anyone.  Thank you, Kathleen, for letting me be a part of this video. 

Next month I will return again to the City of Light.  When I was there last year, we couldn't fit everything there is to see and do into our itinerary so we made a "Next Year" List.  One of those things was a day trip to the Palace of Versailles.  The Palace is about 15 miles outside Paris so I thought signing up for an organized tour with transportation would be the thing to do.




There are a few companies online with tours. Viator has several to choose from.  Also this site called Tours Versailles.  I am also waiting to hear recommendations from our Paris friends. 

Tomorrow I will look at each option and see what looks best.  Bonsoir, mes amis.

This picture popped up on my facebook page this morning and I saved it.  Not sure who to credit.  It just touched me deeply because the ghost towers always seem to be visible to me.



Every year I post a remembrance of my friends who died when Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center on that fateful morning.  I don't know why I am extra sad today remembering the shock of 12 years ago, but I am.  I feel such a deep sadness for their loss and for all the people who lost their lives that day.

You can read last year's post here and if you want to read the others, just go back in my archives to 9/11 each year.

R.I.P. Janis and Dom. Keep on dancing!