Visiting Rue Rice

So, you have to download the Texas version of World Maps for your GPS, but once you do, Rue Rice is very

easy to find. Slap bang in the centre of Paris.

We took our vacation to Paris this year to visit Peggy and Brandon, college friends of Patty's from UNR. Patty was so excited when she learned that they were going to move to France. It’s such a wonderful thing to have one of your best friends in the same country from you…even though Paris is a long 6 hour drive from here! Tis much closer than a drive from Reno to Dallas!

We took our puppy Poppy to Rue Rice, upon request of Mrs. Rice as she thought the kids would love it since they do miss Tamius. I like to throw in the fact that Peggy did invite the pooch, as poppy decided to throw a little puppy pooping contest.

in the mix. Our little competitor won. Angie’s dog only weed twice, ours, like five times. Oh, and please let's not forget to count the poop present Poppy left at the foot of their bed. Yeah, Peggy like that a LOT! Those flowers on the table, those are the flowers "Poppy" got Peggy for taking the right to utilize the house as a toilet. Apparently, Peggy didn't really appreciate Poppy's contest. Fortunately, the kids appreciation of having a puppy there outweighed the pounds of poo in the house.

Friends from Reno, NV had to rely on the BBPS [Brandon Beer Positioning System] – rather than relying on satellites for pinpoint accuracy, the BBPS uses Brandon’s highly tuned bar radar to navigate. Travis and Celeste were guided in series of elegant bar moves all the way across Paris to the Rice arondissement. With everyone that steps to their roof top terrace, their were absolutely amazed and astounded at the views....with plenty of photos of the Eiffle Tower to take home. It's a special treat in life to share the adventures of travel with friends from home. And, as Peggy can attest, such a heart warming thing to have friends visit you from the other side of the pond.e as memories.

As Peggy has illuminated in such an hilarious fashion over the last 18 months, Paris is an unique place – a city of contrasts: glorious Parisian architecture vies for your visual attention with the even more spectacular array of dog poop that lines the streets; honking traffic appears to snarl up every roadway – yet whole streets are closed off by stalls filled with fresh produce on Market Day; seemingly polite conversations on the street flare up into crazy screaming matches and, yet, just as the oral vituperation and aggressive gesticulation seem about to boil over into a full-on death brawl, smiles break out, kisses are exchanged and everyone carries on as if nothing has happened [in the USA, one of the argues would have shot each other way before it got to this stage].

Paris also has some of the most impressive streets in the world – wide, flowing boulevards replete with architectural grandeur, echoing in tarmac and concrete the axiom still resident deep within all French hearts that France truly is the most cultured country on the planet and Paris is the capital of that culture. Yet these broad, magnificent avenues like the Champs d’Elysee are misle

ading. In reality, Paris often feels condensed. Everything is packed tightly [I’d like to say efficiently, but, hey, this is France]. Apartments are compact, streets are narrow, shops are small, elevators are tiny (look at the photo of the four of us in that elevator. Can you imagine Peggy in that with a stroller, Aiden screaming and Jaylee dancing!:) ) – there is a sense of constriction to life in Paris. This even extends to the people – ladies are petite, men are lean, almost as if it would be unseemly to take up too much space in such a compressed city.

This remains one of the major contrasts to life in the US. Over there space is everything – life is built on a grand scale. Size in the US suggests success; in Paris it is style that suggests success.

[…which raises a thought - this analogy may extend to the people as well. The US may not have the highest numerical population in the world: BUT, given it’s 2 main rivals are India and China, both whose citizens are renowned for their physical compactness, it may well be that the US does have the largest population in the world. It’s a measure that needs to be made – in terms of sheer human blubber, sheer tonnage of flesh, it could easily be the case that America is the BIGGEST country in the world. Go USA!!]

One thing we have done on this blog, is have found photos of the Rue Rice clan from our trip there. So here you have it. More Rue Rice life through the eyes of our camera.