leweb | Musings from Kiki

I mean, come on…how can you go to Paris and NOT visit the Eiffel Tower?

The ticket line was insane, so Heuer and I decided to save the three hour wait and just walked around the grounds for a bit. I figured the overcast skies and long lines were a sign I was meant to simply admire the tower from afar…so we’ll plan to take the elevator ride next time, and yes – there will be a next time.

Earlier in the day we met up with Patrice (a local entrepreneur) who walked us through the Montmartre district and into Sacré-Coeur, which is quite an amazing basilica sitting atop a hill over looking all of Paris.

Next was a trip to La Cantine (Parisian co-working space) for the Social Media Club Happy Hour hosted by our local chapter leader, Pierre-Yves Platini. Great to meet many of the folks from the local community and hear what the innovation is coming out of Paris.

A fantastic dinner at La Petite Chaise followed thereafter with Colette Ballou, Mike Sigal, Cathy Brooks, Chris Heuer, Dana Oshiro and Robert Scoble. Have to say…probably my favorite meal of the trip so far (I had the lamb) and the Margot….oh my God…the Margot. Yum.

We stumbled home, fired up the internet and hosted the first live webcast recapping our days activities and sharing our plans for tomorrow (today). I don’t remember much of what was said, and that is probably a good thing. I think we were all a little toasty. 🙂

Yesterday was a really good day. Thank you Paris.

When discussing activities for our week in Paris, we thought what better way to break the flat in than to host a small dinner party on the first night we are here. We are fortunate to have an amazing market called La Grande Epicerie du Bon Marche, similar to our Whole Foods, just a few blocks away from our flat – so Cathy, Chris and I took a stroll over on Sunday afternoon and picked up some tasty bits for the group.

We invited Mark and Laurant from PayPal over as a way to thank them for their support of Social Media Club House then Heuer headed into the kitchen and whipped up a stellar meal of salmon, potatoes and asparagus.

These are the type moments I love the most, getting people together from all around the world, sharing great stories over good food and wine. It’s the beauty of Social Media Club House. It is not only a work place. Or a sleeping place. It is the perfect gathering place.