My dogs are barking

These are the dogs I am living with, and anyone who knows me (which is all of you), knows that it is a huge event for me to be living with three dogs. I actually really like them.

These are not the barking dogs to which I refer in my blog title. I meant my sore feet! I went to Paris this weekend and walked all over the city. Yes, poor me. I stayed at the same hotel where I stayed when I went with students six years ago, so I could get my bearings easier. I have the faculties to remember the name of the Parisian hotel where I stayed years ago, but I can rarely find my keys each morning. Figure that one out. Here are the views from my hotel window.

I also apparently cannot dress myself properly. Now, granted, I was really tired at this point; however, in the photo below, my jacket is on upside down. Again, let's review: am able to pull the name of the hotel where I stayed in Paris six years ago out of my ass but am unable to dress myself properly. Yes, that is correct.

I wanted to send you all a postcard. To save on postage, here it is:

We did every iconic thing you can think of in Paris. Of course, I loved the Eiffel Tower. Instead of showing you an up-close picture of that since you all already have the image in your mind, I am going to show you a picture of the scene below the tower on the grass. I think you will agree that it is very French!

Not one, not two, but three random couples making out in a row on this one section of grass by the tower. There were more couples, but I couldn't get them all in the photo and didn't think it would be fair to ask them to get up and move for my shot.
        We went to the Louvre and spent hours there, which is what you have to do. It is huge. Thousands upon thousands of pieces of art live there. I don't want you to judge me too harshly for what I am about to ask, but why is the Mona Lisa the hands-down winner of "most popular art piece" in the Louvre? Did she hire a publicist? Don't get me wrong. I love her. But I loved a lot of the art in the place and just thought it was a little Lady Gaga-ish that the Mona Lisa was the only piece that had a million signs with arrows pointing you in her direction. The picture below captures the constant crowds that surround her. There should have been a red carpet. I asked one of the four guards surrounding the Mona Lisa if he was just sick of this painting. In very charming French fashion, he said, "No, madame, it is for you."

I loved Paris for all the obvious reasons. You can't help but love this city even though every nook and cranny smells like an ashtray; the waiters are rude; the metro smells of unbathed bodies and bodily excretions; thieves abound, and the cost of everything is ungodly. You even have to pay to go to the bathroom. My weekend in Paris will probably mean I have to take out a second mortgage on my condo. But if given another chance, I'd go back again.