ryyannon

Maisons Lafitte is easily reached by suburban trains. You should allow yourself plenty of time to get out there, however - especially the first day. You might have to take a taxi from the station upon your arrival, depending on where your meeting is. As for the Foie Gras, is that to go, or for a sit-down meal?

For a starter: http://www.relais-christine.com/ or http://www.hotelpavillondelareine.com/ or http://www.slh.com/france/paris/parlho.html or even this, one of the world's most perfect hotels - situated in the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles and just a stone's throw from Maisons Lafitte: http://www.tablethotels.com/Trianon-Palace...els-France/3440

It depends how much local color you're looking for. There are some nice, very upscale boutique-style hotels in much more interesting neighborhoods (Saint-Germain-des-Pres, for instance) where you'll really feel the charm and pulse of the city somewhat more than in the neighborhood in which the hotels indicated above is situated. Check out TripAdvisor for a starter: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g187147-...nce-Hotels.html Or Frommer's. How will you be getting to Maisons Lafitte? This could be determinate in your choice of location. As for dinner, try to reserve at Le Grand Vefour. It will blow your mind (and your budget): http://www.grand-vefour.com/fr/diaporama.htm

An iPod. With some decent earbuds. And my best regards.

In praise of convenience-store coffee. A dollar a (paper) cup, self-serve. I'd trade every espresso machine in Paris for it. I sometimes think you people are total whacks.

You can take the man out of The Shortest Thread, But you can't take The Shortest Thread out of the man. Or something like that....

I've never been a huge fan....can't exactly say why. Much more Jacques Brel (early period) that Piaf (any period, except maybe when she was an authentic street singer - and I, a little kid in Chicago). On the other hand, I've always appreciated Grace Jones' nighmarish version of La Vie en Rose, as arranged by the very talented Frenchman Jean-Paul Goude: Two for the price of one: the real Edith, singing the real thing in 1954:

Heard it before, but still funny

We really have to cease all this bullsit and stop posting.

It's nice to see you posting about straps again, Vicky! Don't let the Blue Meanies discourage you

It ain't over until the fat lady sings. I'm expecting some surprises on Super Tuesday. In the meantime, a simplified guide to the candidates for our non-U.S. members: http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/526482501.html

I see it as the end of a long period of constipation.

I'm not a fan, but I was touched by what I took as a moment of truth. Also, I don't know if her fingers are fat, but do we get to question her sex?

There's nothing so satisfying as succeeding at a DIY home-improvement project, no matter what your religion is

What's the plumbing like at your place? Please check in regularly.

I beaner as I weener....

One down, only 685,000 to go.

It's good that we become progressively energy and environment-conscious - and given Yankee ingenuity and market forces, I'm confident that we'll succeed in overcoming the challenges ahead of us. I also believe that give or take a bump or two in the road, America's children will lead better lives than their parents - and in ways which are not only material. In short, my own feeling - particularly from my vantage point here in Zeropa - is that the reports of the demise and death of the United States are largely exaggerated. And to be perfectly honest, I'm amazed that right or wrong, I can come up with such a line of malarkey! Vote for ryyannon in the next presidential elections!

At least when America is totally bankrupt and we're all flat busted poor, we'll all finally be equal. A miracle of democracy thanks to the Prez! A wiser man than many imagine..... You gotta learn to look on the bright side, seank1

I can't imagine why you would say that....

Absolutely true: just as Canadians speak and pronounce a type of French which is closer to what was spoken in the 18th-century, so do (or did) much of the original English-Irish-Scottish populations of the Appalachians - many of whose descendants later fanned out through the South - speak a variety of English often laced with Elizabethan-up-to-eighteenth-and-nineteenth-century words, expressions and pronunciation. This shows up most beautifully in the so-called 'traditional' songs from the Appalachians that were collected, recorded and preserved by various scholars, including musicologists from the Library of Congress. I don't have the time - at the moment - to offer some examples, but I'll come back to this post later and do so: not to win a point, but just to offer some lovely music in a wide range of styles - from scholarly to commercial - to those who appreciate it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQg4k0GCHpk And:

1 - 100. (As proved by actual clinical tests in this very thread ):

I'm not sure I get it. Cindy Sheehan masturbating her ear on Jesse Jackson's back, right?

It's been a tough year for many of us...we could do with a little holiday...in pleasant circumstances...among friendly people