Hi!

Hope I'm not flooding anyone's mail box!  

I'm leaving Paris tomorrow to check out the scenic
Alps of Switzerland in Interlaken tomorrow.  Today, I
checked out Versailles.  If anyone is heading to
Paris, I highly recommend it as a day trip, to get out
of the choke of the city.  The garden there is so
large - I wish I had a bicycle.  And there's these
getaway "tiranons" in the garden that have amazingly
old houses with quaint architecture.  I stayed quite a
while doing some sketches.

The tourists are amazing there.  There's a flood of
them at the castle, all trying to find space for
pictures.  Then, suddenly at 7:00, the castle is empty
as everyone has to head back.  It's great then, at the
steps and garden of the enormous castle, enjoying it
all to myself.  The garden areas away from the main
center area is also a good way to get away from the
tourists.  That's my goal.  I like checking out the
main sites, but also like trying to find small, quaint
areas from the tourists - a hidden treasure.  I did
that two days ago in search of a real,
non-tourist-catering, French restaurant.

Some strange notes:

Lots of subway performers here - they perform actually
on the subway, hopping from car to car between stops. 
They're not bad, the musicians, and one guy just put a
cloth between to subway handle poles, and did a puppet
show.  One guy just went in, made a triumphant speech,
and people gave him money!  I wish I memorized it.

At the L'Arc the Triomphe, I'm always approached by
different Mandarin and Japanese tourists asking me to
help them buy another Louis Vutton handbag.  This
happened on many days.  They say that the store limits
tourists to only one itme, recording the passport
number.  I've seen the line at the store, it's pretty
long.  But has this happened to anyone - is this a
scam?

Saw Rodin's the Thinker ... and a wicked collection of
Impressionist and post_impressionist work (my
favourite!) at the Musee D'Orsay if I haven't
mentioned that already.

Also helped out some Canadians from Tisdale,
Saskatchewan (way out there!) down on there luck for
accommodations a few days ago, by sneaking them into
my room.  Good way of saving money too!  Speaking of
which, I almost got shafted for a place today...

Final note.  Due to popular recommendation, I'm going
to the Czech Republic for sure... need more info on
how to get a VISA though...

OK, gotta go.

Jesse