"Dear American Girl, Welcome in my little Parisian flat. You have some fresh champagne (if you meet a nice French boy) and ENJOY YOUR STORY. Francois."

1987 Diary Notes: "Dropped Jeff and my parents at a groovy club with Hubert, Le Bain-Douche. They were filming some sort of movie out front. We got home at 5am. Got up late and went to the D'Orsay Museum to see a great Impressionist show. Back down to the Pompidou in the Beaubourg area. Walked everywhere and now our feet are killing us. Had a lovely dinner at Jeffrey's favorite place, Le Petite Victor Hugo, then went to a jazz club with the parents. We dropped them back at Castel, a private club, and we went to Le Locamotive, next to the Moulin Rouge. Downstairs they played Parisian oldies and the top floor lounge had a movie screening room playing The Graduate dubbed in French."

After Paris, my family and I drove out to the Loire Valley. We stayed at the haunted Le Prieure where I woke in the middle of the night to a ghost in a white robe, three-corner hat holding a pewter beer mug, floating in the corner of the room. I woke my sister. We turned on the lights and the ghost was gone. Turned off the lights and the ghost reappeared. I ran to my brother's room and refused to return to my room. When I asked the hotel front desk about a ghost, they denied any hauntings. They did, however, explain that the floor we were on used to be a ballroom during the time period of three-cornered hats and pewter beer mugs.

In 2002, my dad wanted to see Normandy and the beaches of WWII. As we drove around the quaint French countryside from Honfleur to Le Havre and Mont Saint-Michel, I begged my dad to pull the car over so I could take photographs of French cows. Reluctantly, he agreed and that's when I took my famous cow picture that ended up being the centerpiece of the ABC hit sitcom, The Middle.

Paris is misty and moody—a bit shady and hazy. There is wining and dining and croissants at noon. Parisien men are like peacocks—the women are fashion—the Eiffel Tower sparkles in the distance from my room. Museum hopping, Notre Dame, tower climbing, trekking along the Seine, lovers kiss, grouchy men hiss, late night cafes, don't miss.