Paris NSVs....

My trip to Paris was so much fun! My friends Marjorie, C and I shopped, ate and walked the heck out of that city and loved every minute! We'd all been to Paris a number of times (Marjorie actually lived there for 3 years), so we agreed not to the typical tourist sites.

Flowers at the beyond-amazing George V Hotel.... this is not where we stayed, since it's incredibly expensive, but we did go for a drink... and I bought an umbrella at the gift shop shown on the left of the photo.

I only have a little time this morning, so I'm just going to post about the amazing NSVs I experienced during this trip. I lived in France for a year as an undergrad. I'd studied French for ten years before I went, and when I got there, my classes were pretty basic, so I un-enrolled in my study abroad program and enrolled in the law school with the French students. It did wonders for my French, and I speak it fluently to this day. That background will take us to NSV No. 1....

1. When I lived in France, I was on a seriously tight student budget, so I didn't get to shop at all. . . and, by the time I could afford to shop there during trips over, I was too big to fit into the clothing they sell. So.. this trip was the first one where I both (a) had money to shop; and (b) could fit in the clothing. Very exciting stuff for me! (Though I actually didn't really buy much!)

2. This was my first post-surgery trans-atlantic trip, and I was very comfortable in my aisle seat on the way out. On the way back, however, the woman next to Marjorie got very ill (vomiting... not festive....), so I scooted over into a middle seat and let Marjorie take the aisle. In the past, the idea of being in a middle seat on any flight would have had me so stressed out, but I fit just fine. It wasn't the height of comfort, but it was fine.

3. In a cute boutique in the Marais, a French saleswoman saw that I'd pulled a size 40 for myself (I think that's roughly a 10) and said "Oh no! You are smaller than that -- I will pull you the 38!" (Meanwhile, the 40 fit and the 38 did not, but it was nice to hear anyway!)

4. They had clothing in my size in every store I visited.

Me, at Place de Vosges

5. We had no problem at all getting into the very hip bar at the Hotel Costes on a weekend night. (I doubt they would have been so quick to let me in at my start weight, though you never know.)

6. At lunch one day, I looked at the tables next to us, and realized that there was a French person who was substantially heavier than me at each of the 2-seater tables on either side of us.

7. At a wonderful restaurant one night, the very attractive maitre d' brought us a complimentary extra dessert. When we exclaimed that it was "too much" because we had eaten so well and so much already, he said that we shouldn't worry about it because "vous avez une marge" (meaning .. "because you are all thin enough to get away with it"). Yes. A hot French person told me that I am thin enough to have a second dessert.

8. Despite that I had a souffle and/or foie gras every single day of the trip, I did not even gain 1/10th of a pound. Thank you, band. And, thank you to all that walking I did!

9. I walked around all day, every day that we were there, and my feet and back were just fine. Pre-band, they would have absolutely been killing me.

Foie gras at Cafe de la Paix.... I highly recommend going there for this!

10. I got to enjoy the food during this trip and to be a bit decadent, without having to feel guilty about it. I just enjoyed it to the fullest, and knew that if the scale was up a bit at the end of my trip (which it wasn't), I'd get off the 1-2 pounds when I got back home.