Aimer et Paris

Paris Trip Report

Thursday was a bad day.
- I was leaving for Paris. Airport. Missing my all-hands/fire your ass/industry/merger/bullshit meeting ... getting updates from my BFF Jennifer Sandoval ... finally it's all revealed ... no job ... after December 31. OUCH. OKAY... okay ... Joe Cool enters the scene. Deal with this when I get back. Focus on the fact that I'm GOING TO FRANCE. The plan ... Plane to Philly. Plane to Paris. Vacation. However, flight is delayed. Delayed again. Delayed again. Delayed again. 10:00A.M. flight leaves at 1:00P.M. Plane lands in Philly at 6:50P.M. Missed connection to Paris by mere minutes. Stuck in Philly over night. No luggage. No future employment. No Deb. I cried. Big FAT Crocodile Tears. Took the Stinking Butt Hole-Scented Shuttle to the Stinking Cheap Sketchy Hotel in Nasty Ass Section of Philadelphia. Managed to fall asleep.

Mentally/Emotionally/Physically exhausted.

(*sorry - no pictures of the emotional trauma)

Friday was a good day.
- Get up. Eat breakfast. Go to the airport. Leave for Paris.

(*sorry - no pictures of me trudging through this day)

Saturday was a GREAT day.
- Luggage makes it (thanks to Jen's prayers). Deb and Lionel greet me with open arms... and WE'RE off.

Breakfast at home. Lunch in Paris. Sight seeing. Dinner in Paris. Bar hopping. Awake for day break.









Sunday was a fantastic day.
-Eiffel Tower. Spent the day with Deb, Lionel, Max and Marie. Dinner at home. Concert.















Monday was another fantastic day.
- The Louvre. Lunch in Paris. Dinner in Paris.















EVERY DAY in Paris ... involved Nutella, bread, cheese, wine, Helmut Fritz - ça m'énerve, Lily Allen and the word SORTIE.

Tuesday was a travel day.
- Back to USA.

Back to reality.

Ouch.

Big Fat Crocodile Tears.

Job Situation Update

Official last day with Gilead is December 31.

All scientific projects are transferring to Palo Alto, California.

Normally, I would be funny/melodramatic/sarcastic/witty ... but right now ... I've got nothing.

I just wanted to update everybody.

National Get Outdoors Day

National Get Outdoors Day is a new annual event to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun. Participating partners will offer opportunities for American families to experience traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities. Prime goals of the day are reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting our youth to the great outdoors.

I reconnected with the outdoors today! :) This was my first epic road ride in Colorado.

Left Hand Canyon Challenge
55 mile loop
Classic Front Range Hill Climb Route

DAMN standard double crank.
(I think there's a triple in my future ... attached to a brand new road bike).


Hwy 36 out of Boulder.


THE home of the Giant Prairie Dog.


Left Hand Canyon Road.


Snack Stop.


Snacker. (That's sNacker ... not sLacker).


The Giving Tree on the side of the road (Left Hand Canyon).


Now HOW IN THE HELL are the homeless people supposed to get up here to get this stuff? At this point I was about 20 miles outside of Boulder ... been climbing on my bike for well over an hour. Nobody comes up this way but bikers (on $2000 bikes). Hmmmmm. Makes no sense to me.


Greetings from the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.


The WALL.
Mile 25: "Now you are climbing a big wall upon which sits the town of Ward." - Road Biking Colorado's Front Range


Ward, Colorado. Population: 169.
Ward General Store. I LOVED this place ... however, it smelled a lot like marijuana. This is after 20ish miles of non-stop climbing. I was pretty damn delirious myself at altitude (9,450 ft).


These chocolate chip cookies were advertised as FAMOUS Ward Chocolate Chip Cookies ... well, it had to be the best cookie I've ever had! I initially felt bad about my food selection after working so hard to get to Ward (I had 30 more miles of riding to go at this point) ... but then a very Pro-Looking Female Rider came and sat down right beside me ... with a bottled Coke and a cookie :) ((Based on the bikers blowing my doors down, I think matching biking shorts/jersey/socks makes you faster ... I'm convinced to buy myself a matching outfit)).


SUPPOSEDLY, this was the first car EVER in Ward.


Classic Peak-to-Peak Highway view.
"The Shangri-La of road cycling".


Peak-to-Peak Highway.


Looking back toward Nederland (Highway 119).


Boulder Creek.


Rock Climber.


Rock Climber.


Boulder Creek.


What a wonderful day.