Domo Does Paris (Again)

Bonjour tout le monde! C'est Domo! Guess where Domo went last week? Paris! Domo went to Paris! Domo has a very busy summer of travel this year: Boston, Paris, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and San Francisco. No, Domo doesn't stutter. Domo is going to Vegas twice in June for work, and home to San Francisco twice in July for personal reasons. But now back to Paris.

Day 0 - Monday

Domo was on an early flight to Paris. A 6:25am departure time meant a 4am wake up call. Domo was very tired. Luckily Domo was upgraded to first class on his flight from San Diego to Philly which meant Domo had a nice big comfy seat to sleep in! After getting to fly first class about half of the time Domo travels, he has a hard time flying coach and always feels cramped.

Domo Doesn't Like Crowds

Domo's day of travel from San Diego to Paris was very long. 5 1/2 hour flight to Philly, 3 hour layover, and a 6 1/2 hour flight to Paris. During this travel time Domo read two magazines, half of a book, posted a blog on the GOTR Sparkle & Shine 5K, watched the movie Due Date, and slept. By the time Domo had arrived in Paris it was 7am local time. Domo was tired!

Domo Loves Monika's Mom's Microcar!

Day 1 - Tuesday

Domo had arranged for Super Shuttle to pick Domo up at the airport (super easy to book online!) and was hoping to be at Monika's mom's place by 9am. For some reason though the shuttle appeared to drive around the city multiple times while dropping people off. By the time Domo was dropped off it was almost 10am! Domo was even more tired than before. Domo unloaded his bags, had lunch, took a nap, woke up for dinner, caught up on work emails (Domo is so dedicated!) and then called it a day. Yes, Domo wasted his first day in Paris. Domo was tired! Back off!

Domo Enjoying the View of Paris

Day 2 - Wednesday

The next day Domo wanted to be productive and make the most of the day. Domo got up early to swim laps at the local pool.

Domo at La Piscine (the pool)

Uh Oh - Domo Doesn't Have a Speedo

Afterwards Domo was excited to be meeting his friend Devika down by the Eiffel Tower. What are the chances that Domo AND Domo's friend were in Paris at the same time?

Domo at the Eiffel Tower

Domo Took a Picture of Monika & Devika

Domo and Devika walked around by the Eiffel Tower taking pictures, sat at a sidewalk cafe and had a glass of wine and les moules, and spent the afternoon at the massive department store Galleries Lafayette. Domo loves to shop!

Domo at Galleries Lafayette

Day 3 - Thursday

The next day Domo got up early again to swim. Domo is so good about working on his fitness! Domo had to hurry to get his swim in since Monika's mom had a full day planned for them. First up was a trip to the American Cathedral in Paris to watch a harp concert (random, I know).

Domo at the American Cathedral

After this Domo and Monika's mom drove up to the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur to see the cathedral and to check out the view of the city. The cathedral was really pretty and was perched at the top of a hill with a view across all of Paris! People were hanging out on the grass and street performers were keeping the crowd entertained. Domo liked Sacre-Coeur!

Domo at Sacre-Coeur

View of Paris from Sacre-Coeur

The final plan for the day after Sacre-Coeur was a dinner party that Monika's mom had arranged at a restaurant near her house. Yes, Domo does a lot of eating on his trips.

Day 4 - Friday

On Friday Domo got up early yet again to go swimming! Domo must be half dolphin! Monika's mom must not have thought that the view from Sacre-Coeur was impressive enough, because on Friday Domo was taken to Montparnasse to go up the tower to get another panoramic view of the city. It turns out that the very top viewing deck isn't open at this time of year (although you still had to pay to go up) so Domo didn't get to see his second panoramic view of Paris. Oh well, Domo doesn't think it could have been that much better than Sacre-Coeur.

After leaving Montparnasse Domo headed over to the Arc de Triomphe. As luck would have it, you couldn't go up that either! The workers were on strike and the monument was closed for the day. Darnit! Domo was pretty bummed about this since he hadn't made it here on his last two trips. Oh well, maybe Domo can see it next year.

Domo at the Arc de Triomphe

On the streets leading to the Arc de Triomphe are several high end shops. Being the big baller that Domo is, he picked up souvenirs at Cartier, Mont Blanc, Swarovski... err wait. Domo didn't buy anything at these stores but did drool over some of the items through the window.

Domo Does Cartier

When Domo got home that night Domo finished reading his first book of the trip - the Harvard Business Review book on Brand Management. Domo liked this book and recommends it if you are in Marketing.



Day 5 - Saturday

Guess what Domo did as soon as he woke up the next morning? Domo went swimming! Again! Yay Domo! Domo isn't sure if he was so tired because he had finally worked his way up to 2000 meters in the pool, or if he just had delayed jet lag ... but Domo was really tired again on Saturday! Domo has fun sightseeing and being out and about, but sometimes Domo just wants to stay home and do nothing. Domo is extremely busy at home between work, Girls on the Run, and marathon/triathlon training. By Saturday Domo was getting tired of being busy on vacation too and just wanted to stay home and read.

Domo started AND finished his second book of the trip on Saturday - Cocktails for Three. (Written by Madeleine Wickham, also known as Sophia Kinsella who wrote the Shopaholic series.) Monika's mom didn't accept Domo's tiredness as an excuse by Saturday afternoon though and dragged Domo out for one bit of sightseeing.

Domo at Les Frigos

About a 15 minute walk from Monika's mom's place is a large building called Les Frigos (The Fridges) which was an eclectic building full of artists studios in what used to be cold storage rooms. Once a year the artists in the building open their doors and invite people inside.

Fridge Door Entrance to a Studio

 

Graffiti Staircase at Les Frigos

What a weird and interesting place! The walls of the hallways and stairwells were covered in graffiti and murals, there were funky art installations everywhere, and each studio was totally different from the rest. Domo got to see studios of painters, sculptors, musicians, and jewelry makers to name a few.

Domo Likes Art

Painter's Studio

Another Painter's Studio

Day 6 - Sunday

On Sunday Domo did not swim. Sunday is a rest day! Instead Domo ran! haha! Domo can't seem to rest. For Domo's last full day in Paris he had a nice easy day planned. First Domo went to see a matinee showing of Midnight in Paris (Loved this movie! And Domo doesn't usually even like Woody Allen films) and then Domo went to a lunch party for Monika's uncle.

Monika's Uncle's Family

Monika and Cousins

After lunch Domo relaxed around the house a bit before going out to dinner with Monika's mom for La Fetes de Meres (Mother's Day) which occurs a few days later in Paris than in the US. For Mother's day Domo and family went out for Thai food at a place near Monika's moms. By the time they got home it was time for Domo to pack and get ready to leave the next day. Where did the week go? Domo was sad.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Day 7 - Monday

Monday morning was another early flight day for Domo. Super Shuttle picked Domo up at 7am and took him to the airport. Last year Domo felt rushed by only arriving at the airport 2 hours in advance. They really  mean it when they say give yourself 3 hours for an international flight. Do they really need to check your passport 4 times? Anyways, upon getting on the plane Domo was faced with two pieces of bad news. 1 - the plane was older and didn't have individual TVs. 2 - the flight back to Philly was 8 1/2 hours instead of the 6 1/2 like it was on the way out. Nooooo! Domo was going to be so bored! :o(

LOVE the French Cigarette Warning "Fumer Tue" (Smoking Kills)

Domo managed to sleep a little bit on the flight but not much. He tried watching the Chronicles of Narnia but got bored. Instead Domo finished a few magazines and then start and finished the book Delivering Happiness.

Domo LOVED the Delivering Happiness book and thinks everyone should read it! Its the story of Zappos.com and is an easy and insightful read. Domo doesn't want to give away too much of the book, but if you want to read a summer check it out here. 

Domo felt like he was on the first flight FOREVER and was so sad to be getting on another long flight. Luckily the second flight had internet so Domo was able to waste time catching up on emails online, reading articles, and Skyping with David! Unfortunately the connection wasn't fast enough for video to work, but Domo got to instant message with David for several hours on the flight. How fun!

Skyping on the Plane

Domo got back late Monday night (after being up for almost 24 hours) and was back at work the next day. Domo sometimes thinks you need a vacation from a vacation. Domo was stressed out the days approaching his vacation because he was trying to tie things up at work to enable him to take a few days off, and then once Domo was back at work he was all stressed out trying to catch up on things. Vacation seem to mean stress, fun, stress. Bleh! Anyways, after two days back in the office Domo was back on the road and headed to Vegas for a tradeshow. Viva La Domo! More on that trip in Domo's next blog.

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