Only 4 days until I'm back in the US!
Can't wait to see everyone.

Things are going very well here. Work is still very slow. I have a final evaluation before my last day on Thursday, and I'm a bit nervous, because I haven't done much and can't imagine what they're going to have to say. "Well Mr. Ross, Dutch might not have been your strongest asset, but you sure can wear the hell out of a striped tie". Yeah, probably that. But at the very least, I'm being very proactive and asking everyone if I can help them, so I've covered all my bases and suppose I have nothing to worry about.

We went to Paris for the weekend. It was the most incredible city I've ever been to. Just as big and metropolitan as New York, but instead of filthy and ugly and faceless, it has charm, elegance, and the most beautiful architecture you can imagine. (No offense Ken, Lauren, Grady, and Marley.)
We got there at 11 on Friday night and drove to a hotel in the middle of the city that Felix's dad (Sven) really wanted us to see, but when we got there we found out there was a big fashion show that weekend, and without a reservation, bonne chance of finding rooms. We spent the next two hours driving around, getting farther from the heart of the city and into seedier hotels. Sven was not pleased ("I haven't worked hard the last 30 years to sleep in some youth hostel") but we eventually found something and it was fine. Dinner at 1 am (how European), drinks at a cafe on the Seine until 4, and then into bed for some much needed rest.
We woke up early on Saturday and saw the sights: Eiffel tower, Napoleon's grave, Notre Dame, various other buildings and parks I had never heard of, etc. The Eiffel tower, Notre Dame, and the Louvre (which we saw on Sunday) have 2-3 hour waits so we didn't go in, but just being there was impressive enough. And just wandering around the city is awesome enough, every street has a story, and Sven lived in Paris for 2 years, so he made an excellent tour guide. Every couple of hours we would stop and get coffee and food. We went to the best book store I've ever been to, an English one called the Shakespeare. The downstairs is very small and old and packed with people and books lying everywhere (think Harry Potter) and upstairs is a library with couches and big chairs for people to relax and read. After that we went across the street to a cafe where we got dinner as the sun set over the Notre Dame. Very pituresque.
We drove home late Sunday, and after three nights in a row of staying up until 6 am, I was very exhausted and went right to bed. It is taking my body some time to recover and I've been extremely tired for my first two days of work this week.

Back to work, see you in a few days!