Scott R

I ran up from the valley floor one morning, climbed the stair thingy peaked out and jammed back down to the bottom. I started at midnight and after spending some good time at the top came back to the car in early afternoon. Yosemite is a trying place, big hikes, big walls and big challenges. A surprisingly large number of people go to the top of Half Dome.

Awhile back I climbed the Nose and wanted to climb Half Dome as a training climb but couldn’t find anyone to do it with; so i ended up soloing the Leaning Tower instead. It’s great to be on top of Half Dome when climbers top out and Yosemite never disappoints.

Paris living at it’s best. Beautiful shopping street where you stock up your daily supplies, from cheese, to meats, flowers, bread, wine, birds and fresh produce. Delightful people.

Hemingway did get it right, Paris is a Moveable Feast.

Rue Cler deserves it’s own section here. It’s right around the corner from the Real Mcoy, which is right around the corner from the Eiffel Tower and Parc du Champs de Mars. Rue Cler is the Paris local shopping district for gastronomic delight (arguable I know, there are tons of these). Great fresh delis, cheese stores, birds of all types with feathers and without – great prices on all foul these days with the avian bird flu and they are now vaccinated in some non-standard way that they are still arguing over in the Hague. La Fermette for your cheese, tons of flowers and produce and the famous LeNotre for all your patisseries and to get your chocalate on. Davoli is arguably the best choucroute in Paris, aptly named the House of Ham (La Maison du Jambon).

Within close walking distance you have Pain de Poilane, whose founder died in a tragic helicopter leaving the business to his very capable doctor. It’s on Boulevard de Grenelle, not to be confused with Rue de Grenelle which is where you’ll find the Real Mcoy and some decent wine merchants.

Berthillon is THE place for glace, ice cream knocked out of the stadium by half a mile, just down the road out the back of Notre Dame. They actually make it on the island with no preservatives. You’ll be in this neighborhood when you have an obligatory croissant at Les Deux Magots, Hemingway style.

Keep walking into the Marais, infused by the alternate lifestyle, and you’ll find outstanding restaurants inside the small courtyards with Fresh Paris cooking.

For an excellent Spanish dinner, El Chuncho is a block and a half from the Odeon Theater. Walk past the bad Tex Mex joints, dart down that cool little alley and look for El Chuncho on the right at the end. Tasty margaritas too. Plus you have the ability to get this massive two person thick steak they serve on a board. Tasty, but no burger.

Need to get your club on? Buddha Bar is great for drinks, bad for food, so kiss the big gold statue and go on to previously the resataurant formerly named Man Ray but still owned by Jonny Depp. Miguel Cancio designed them both, and he probably drinks at Buddha Bar and eats at Mandala Ray.

Oh, and please don’t offend your palette or the French waiter by ordering a martini. You just can’t get a good one in Paris. go to New York or London. Stick to Vodka or indulge in Champagne and delight with wine. Negative houston on martinis, the French seemed to have some confusion over the value of vermouth versus fine Gin and Vodka, so even with good French skills you’ll likely pass out from Vermouth on the breath.

I like to work through the night, so I dig the throughout the city Pizza Pino always satisifies, pizza margherita style. A bottle of Champagne when that’s in order, and the waiters are always there in mostly together but sometimes shabby attire throughout the night. It’s typical European style pizza, one size fits all where you get your own and the option for some weird fixings like corn and several types of ham.

If you need other American style fixes, then on the other side of the Eiffel tower there is the Real Mcoy at 194 rue de Grenelle. A must stop to get your turkey around thanksgiving, complete with Stouffer’s stuffing and cranberry sauce. They stock American grocery style stuff circa 1980, and their turkey sndwiches (dinde, you’re in Paris now) aren’t half bad. Glorious actually when you need the fix.

Need some directions from a policeman or woman? Try “Monseiur or madame L’Agent”, and they will carry you on their back to the Eiffel Tower. A little French and cultural adaptation goes a long way in Paris and France. Don’t be an outsider and think that the people suck anywhere.