June 11, 2001

PARIS, FRANCE (May 30 - June 1, 2001)

Dear Friends and Subscribers,

This morning we boarded an express train just a few blocks from our hotel to take us from Brussels to Paris. In less than the time it would have taken us to drive to the airport, check in, and wait for the plane, we were already arriving in Paris, and we had the bonus of enjoying the beautiful French countryside along the way. It must have been a wet spring in Europe, because I have never seen such lush green hillsides in any of my previous visits.

We are staying at the Tivoli Etoile Hotel, a small 3-star establishment just two blocks from the Arc d'Triomphe. When we arrived at our hotel, an American family literally filled the lobby with their loud debate on whether to go to Normandy or the French Open the next day. The only hotel clerk was animatedly joining in the debate, waiting for the family to decide so she could book the arrangements. Mom and Dad wanted to see Normandy and were waving the travel brochure in the direction of daughter and son-in-law, who were opting for the tennis (couldn't they just go separate ways, I wondered...) Meanwhile, we couldn't check in and get our room keys until the decision was made, because the desk clerk was so involved in the planning. I picked up a copy of the excursion brochure, turned to the page describing the tour to Normandy with a stop at Monet's home in Givenchy, and asked the daughter, "Is this the tour they want to do?" She nodded. I told her how much we had enjoyed seeing Monet's house on our last visit, especially because we went to the Musee d'Orsay afterward to see Monet's paintings. "See the ponds, gardens and ducks in the morning, and then see Monet's impressions of them in the afternoon," I enthused. "It is not to be missed! The tennis will still be there on Friday and Saturday. The weather is calling for sunshine all week." The daughter perked up, the mother smiled gratefully at me, and we had our room keys a few minutes later.

Did I say "small hotel"? This place is tiny! It reminds me of our first trip to London, when we stayed at a bed and breakfast so small that we had to inch sideways around the bed, our backs to the wall. Our room is on the second floor, with its only access up a small spiral staircase in the center of the sky-lighted atrium. Mark is traveling with a huge new suitcase that seemed much smaller at the luggage store than when he got it home. The desk clerk, who acts as bell captain as well as concierge, insisted on carrying it to our room. She pulled while the maid pushed, and together they heaved it into the room, where it takes up the entire floor space. We get to the bathroom by walking across the bed, not around it. But the room is clean and quiet, it's air conditioned, and the location is superb.

Our first stop today, as usual, is the Internet Cafe. We checked in with the children, filed my report from London, conducted some business, and checked prices on Travelocity for a flight back to London next month. I love the Internet! We also learned that our meetings in Istanbul have virtually fallen through. Rather than fly Paris-Munich-Istanbul-Frankfurt-Delhi (22 hours of flying for 36 hours in Istanbul) we decided to stay an extra day here in Paris and go to India a day earlier. So we took the subway to the United Airlines office, enjoying a leisurely stroll in the warm sunshine from the station to the office. We Americans miss out on so much in the United States when we can drive from place to place and park in front of each destination when we do errands! Along the way we selected some ties for Mark, talked nostalgically about previous visits to this romantic city, and ate lunch of white asparagus, sole meuniere and real French fried potatoes at a sidewalk cafe. The agent at the United office was very helpful and very pleasant, especially after we started talking about cloudberries (she is from northern Sweden and was quite surprised when we knew about that region's scarce delicacy).

Our host in Paris is Henri LePage of the Mt. Pelerin Society. His office is just a few blocks from our hotel, but the venue for Mark's lecture was two Metro lines away, so we walked, trolling Mark's box of books with us. The speech went well, although people straggled in throughout the presentation.

Interestingly, though not surprisingly, each question and answer period during this tour has focused in a different direction. The British were most interested in Adam Smith's contribution; the Swedes wanted to know more about central banking and Alan Greenspan; in Brussels the questions centered on the role of governments. Tonight, of course, the attendees were most interested in the contributions made by the French economists J.B. Say and Frederic Bastiat. We sold all the books we brought with us, and stood around talking after the presentation until the building manager literally turned out the lights. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with Bill and Elizabeth Bonner afterwards. Bill is the publisher of the Agora group of investment newsletters. He and Elizabeth moved their family to France about five years ago, first living in an old farmhouse in the country which they renovated themselves, and now living in town where their five children attend French schools and visit the farm on the weekends. Their youngest son, Edward, 7, has been studying cows all year and is currently on a 3-day field trip to the coast, where they will visit a dairy farm and a camembert cheese factory.

Ah, the French!

We've always wanted to see the beaches of Normandy but never had time. Now, with an extra day in Paris, we decided to book an excursion tour to the coast. Unfortunately our hotel clerk was unable to find two slots on any tour tomorrow (and I had to be so helpful to that family this morning!!) so we're going to take the train ourselves. The Bonners told us the military museum is right next to the train station, and we can catch a cab or a bus to the beaches afterward. So, tomorrow we head for the beach!

-- Jo Ann Skousen

email: jaskousen@mskousen.com

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