SALLY ROUND THE WORLD!

“The Paris Heist, Rome Ruins and Cemetery Confrontation….”

After the excitement, stress, exhaustion from my Hair Metal Awards, a rewarding trip awaited me. I had always wanted to go to Paris and Rome and I was finally going to make it a reality instead of watching videos of “Rick Steve’s Europe!”

With the plane touching down in Paris, I could barely contain my excitement! I easily found my luggage, my shuttle and then it was on to my dream of seeing the Arc De Triumph! I booked a hotel right next to the Arc so I could look out the window and see it every day I was there. And off in the distance was the Eiffel Tower! I hopped on my sightseeing bus and saw the Louvre, and finally seeing the Eiffel Tower was dream come true. I rode the carousel, got on the boat tour, bought armloads of souvenirs, then got back on the bus to shop for clothes and jewelry. Later in the evening, my best friend on the trip with me, Stevee Ashlock and I went to the Metro station to head over to The Moulin Rouge. Down inside the Metro, a poster of the band EUROPE, caught my eye. I was completely captivated with this cool rock poster written in French. I didn’t want to go to jail for stealing it, so we continued on to the Moulin Rouge area to look at sex stores where I saw a fight in the street. Upon returning to the Metro, I was so sad to leave my poster behind and I continued into the street with a heavy heart. But just as we approached the exit, two Frenchmen asked me and asked me if I had a piece of gum.  I said that I did and handed it to the one whose throat was obviously dry from the unlit joint he was holding. After presented him with my orange flavored Trident treat, I asked him if they put people in jail for stealing posters in the subway.  The gentleman, just looked at me and said in his thick French accent: “Where is it?” So me and the two Frenchmen took off down the tunnel and I pointed out my intended target. They started talking among themselves trying to analyze  the situation for “The Heist”. Although, being very nervous and scared of getting caught, At some point, I turned on my video camera. The criminal act was caught on my camera with the one Frenchmen presenting me with the torn poster: “Here, you have a piece of Paris!” “Merci Beau coupé!” I yelled as I took off running with my precious possession. This was a perfect end to absolutely one of the best days of my life!

The next day, it was back on the train to the Palace of Versailles. I was transfixed by the Marie Antoinette stories. I greatly identified with a woman of power being a target for public disdain. The inside of the palace was amazing and I was so happy to view the famous Hall of Mirror’s room. A train ride through the gardens until sunset, then it was back to the heart of Paris.

The next day was a real treat to see Mont St. Michel. We got on a shuttle to Normandie with our handsome tour guide Jean Phillipe. On the way there, we stopped at gas station where I bought a stuffed animal I named after Jean Phillipe. Little did I know that this stuffed rabbit would soon become my travel  video co-star! It was a long way up the stairs to the 800 year-old Abbey in the middle of the English Channel, but it was an unforgettable day! Later that night, I stepped into the night streets of Paris which came alive on Champ Delysse Blvd. The lights of the street, the energy of the people seemed to sizzle like the Eiffell Tower which was glittering in the night sky.

Then it was on a plane to Rome! The coliseum awaited as I walked the ruins of the Romans from hundreds of years ago. My second day in Rome was one of my happiest. I rode the tour bus, shopped and visited the Vatican. As I was posing in front of the Vatican, I grabbed two young boys who were dressed up as schooling priests to pose for a perfect picture. Then it was on to my favorite site of the day: The Trevi Fountain! Just beautiful! I found some really cool jeans and jewelry and then the next day I was on a high speed train with Jean Phillipe to Venice! The water Taxi was not there to meet us but Jean Phillipe took on his own personality and started talking and the fun was back on! The Gondola ride, more shopping and lunch under the Rialto Bridge was a historic treat! Then it was back on the train to Rome! I really enjoyed The only television channel I could understand which ran music videos from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s in our hotel room. That was a plus but I gotta say, the food sucks in Rome! I got drastically sick on their lousy spaghetti and found a Big Mac at Mcdonald’s a welcome life saver!

After four days in Rome, we headed back to Paris. But after warm weather in Rome, Paris met us with freezing weather and torrential downpours. The day was the last day I had to visit Jim Morrison’s grave so I took a taxi to make sure we got there. But upon arriving, I was told it was closed because of the flooding! I tried to bribe the people to let me in and they just laughed at the crazy American. Then the military cars arrived and I pleaded my case with them to let me sneak in with them. I was so upset, I couldn’t sing to Jim Morrison at his grave but the video I filmed is pretty funny as I watch it now! Through the rain, the city was in chaos, with sirens blaring, and me pressing on through cold wind and rain trying to find a jewelry store that had a necklace I wanted to buy. On the tour bus we stopped at a stop light and the driver got off to look over the river bank. I asked him what he was looking at and he said the water was flooding over the banks of the river. They had stopped all boat service because the boats could not fit under the bridges with the water level so high. Over at the Louve, someone told me they had started evacuating paintings out of the basement to escape the flood. It was the worst flood they have had there in a century.  But as much as I loved Paris, with the cold wind and rain, I was looking forward to heading back the next day to Sin City. This was definitely a trip of a lifetime and I look forward to heading back to Europe. Me and Jean Phillipe want to visit Switzerland, Germany, Spain and oh, yeah…. I still need to get back to Paris to see Jim Morrison’s grave!

Watch all my great travel action and excitement of this trip at VEGASROCKSTV.COM!