gay paris, official start of my big adventure!

the red-eye delivered me to paris' doorstep saturday moning just as markets were beginning to buzz. all that fabulous cheeeeeese...yummm.

got settled into a cute little b&b kitty corner to the city's most famous cemetary, le pere lachaise, which boasted of an impressive list of long departed residents the likes of eugene delacroix, max ernst, edith piaf and jim morrison to name but a few. a few days earlier, a friend (tip of the hat to you geor-g!) had so thoroughly dramatized oscar wilde's sordid and sorry tale that a visit to his resting place topped the list. a dandy in both life and death, even his gravestone was right off the scale in flamboyance.

my forays took me out to the 14th century place de la bastille, then down to paris' waterway artery, la seine. how is it possible to cram so much fantastic architecture in so few square kilometres? notre dame, sainte chapelle, the stunning hotel de ville...a mere stone's throw from the louvre and its pyramids, now landmarks in the post-davinci code era. as the sun set, i spotted l'arc de triomphe down the champs elysees as the eiffel tower hovered over the left bank.

one bridge after another shouted out the history of the city. pont neuf was the first of la seine's many bridges to outlaw the construction of houses on its surface. until 150 years ago, packing real estate into every last little nook and cranny was considered de rigueur. imagine living with the ever-present sounds of the river rushing underfoot and the frequent bellow of foghorns shaking the foundations over breakfast!

these days, the bridges are tourist attractions complete with artists, chochka hustlers and mimes. one frenchman even pledged his undying love to his girlfriend, proposing on the spot while cameras flashed all around and supportive friends and strangers sheered him on.