Colossal Waste: Around The World 2011 Day 39: Edinburgh, Scotland to Paris, France

Time to say good-bye to Edinburgh. Think of it this way -- I will not be forcing you to look at any more pictures of the castle on the hill backed by blue sky and clouds.

A last shot out the window. Among the three gentlemen to the left, who are walking to the right, you might note that the gentleman in front is wearing a kilt. Men in kilts have been walking that direction all morning. At the time I took this picture I did not know why; therefore, you have to wait to know why as well.

Everyone has their own way of saying good-bye. And I have no idea why these pictures got flipped upside-down, but considering the faces Tova and I are making I suppose that it is appropriate.

Jodie, Tova and Barbie saying good-bye at the door.

And then a second with yours truly inserted.

Taxi to the airport...

Our taxi driver might have had the thickest Scottish accent we had yet to hear, but we understood that he said all these men in kilts were headed to a rugby match.

This is a line of people waiting for the bank machine on the way to the rugby match. At the airport I saw a television with a rugby match between Scotland and Ireland. Okay. Now I get it. Clearly that has to be a huge game, even if it is a, "friendly." For people in the USA, think of a friendly match as a preseason game.

Pretty sophisticated, no? Order a cab and the iPhone's GPS tells the cab company where to pick you up. The do not even have this in NYC yet.

Airport shot is a must.

The elegance of air travel.

There she is, the third version of this suitcase this trip. It started as our original suitcase that matches everything else, and after Air France destroyed that one we asked for a credit and picked up a replacement on the streets of Rome. And after British Air destroyed the replacement, they shipped this silver guy to our hotel in Edinburgh. Let us hope that silver guy makes it all the way to Los Angeles.

Lunch at the William Scott Pub in the Edinburgh Airport.

It started raining as we left.

Bye bye, Scotland.

We flew easyJet, which is the European version of Southwest with the slight difference that Southwest employees seem to be the nicest in the air while easyJet employees seem to be intentionally rude. No joke. There seems to be a wave of hatred coming from the easyJet people.

The point is that easyJet does not assign seats. We paid for priority boarding, but the woman would not let Barbie on with her carry-on bag and backpack/purse, even though she let me on with my larger carry-on bag and larger computer bag. Go figure. While Barbie had to combine things into a single bag, I went onto the plane and sat in the center seat of three in aisle seven. And the great thing about being a nasty-looking male with a shaved head is that not one person even considered sitting with me. When Barbie finally joined me, we had the three seats to ourselves.

Barbie stretches out and takes a nap, using the extra seat that my football hooligan look earned us. And note that the boy across the aisle is a dead ringer for our friends' son. Aaron and Lisa, your second son has a twin from Ohio.

Hello, France.

Unoriginal and silly, but as I took this picture I thought, "easyJet? More like effyouJet."

Say what you will about Paris. They have the details well in hand.

We were not too excited to see that it is raining in Paris as well. From rain to rain? Sacre bleu.

You cannot escape the Swedes. They are in your base.

This little fellow did not take his eyes off me for the minute we sat at a red light. This is no candid. It is like he demanded that I take his picture.

Our home for two nights, the Hotel de Crillon. They are refurbishing the entry, or you would be seeing a beautiful piece of architecture that allegedly inspired the design of the White House.

The lobby of the Hotel de Crillon cold not be more classy and beautiful.

Upgraded to a suite! At long last, I realized that the best way to show you a suite is to stand between the living room and bedroom and shoot a panorama. Look at that space! Très bien.

Just outside our room the hallway is lined with mirrors on both sides. This makes for an infinity picture to blow your mind.

Time to step out into the neighborhood for some dinner.

Did I mention that our neighborhood is Place de la Concorde? Well, there it is. This is the sight right outside the hotel's front door. Yes, Paris' most famous obelisk sits outside our hotel, demanding to be photographed every time I come and go.

This is almost embarrassing. We are on day thirty-nine of what I believe is going to be a fifty-three day trip, and this is the first photograph I have taken during the magic hour just after sunset. Could there be a more beautiful moment in time? Or a more beautiful city? We have been in Paris a few hours, and already we are reminded why we keep coming back. (Although this year's visit is to see hotels and meet up with Sujay, who I have known since 1980. 1980? Thirty-one years? Sheez.)

Just around the corner from us, facing Place de la Concorde, sits the Madeleine Church. We have never gone inside before, no matter how many times we have passed by. This trip we shall correct this.

We ate there for the best reason; it was open.

A cozy brasserie.

Croque monsieur for her.

Croque madame for him.

After walking in the rain to dinner, we walked in the rain back to the hotel. But when we came to the Place de la Concorde again, I stood there in the rain taking pictures for YOU.