PARIS — One last blog from the City of Lights.

Although Sen. John McCain raced back to the campaign trail (he is spending all week in California, America's ATM for presidential nominees), Sen. Joe Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, stayed around to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Yes, Mr. Lieberman had chosen to spend the actual day with Mr. McCain meeting with British PM Gordon Brown, but the couple got the night off in London and finished early the next day in Paris, giving them another night in a far less filthy city.

Now, a couple of travel notes: The Chunnel train from London to Paris is one of the easiest way to get between the two cities, but not one of the cheapest (especially if you don't book at least a week in advance). Flying can cost half what the train costs, but if you're going into London, you end up in perhaps the worst airport in the world — Heathrow. Not pleasant.

If you want to spend the night at a Heathrow airport hotel, there's only one actually on site: The Hilton. All the others say they're airport hotels — they're not. To get to, say, the Park Inn Hotel — which touts itself as right at the airport — a traveler has to catch a train from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1, then catch the H2 shuttle to the hotel (the whole trip took nearly 45 minutes). Pay the extra $50 and stay at the Hilton.

As for a nice hotel in Paris, your blogger stayed at Hotel 123 on Rue St. Honore, not far from the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. A perfect place to start a long walk through Paris — down the Champs (cool stores, including a Toyota place filled with concept cars, and walking through the Paris Gap is a hoot), along the Seine, across to the Musee d'le Armee, back across the river to the Tuilleries gardens that lead to the Louvre, and back up Rue St. Honore, past the most expensive shops in the world.

But one of the best kept secrets in Paris in the Rodin Museum at 79 Rue de Varenne. The massive old Hotel Biron fronts spectacular gardens filled with Rodin masterpieces, including the large-scale bronze The Thinker (yes, Americans sit on the pedestal and strike the same thoughtful pose, fist to chin, pensive look).

The hotel is filled with other famous pieces, like The Lovers, but it is Rodin's hands that are the real star. The gift shop even carries bracelets, necklaces and cufflinks featuring small reproductions of his hands.

But watch your step walking through Paris — on every sidewalk, every one, there are little piles of dog poo. A fun game is to sit down and watch until a tourist steps in it (which usually only takes a few minutes). Ah, the French.

— Joseph Curl, senior White House correspondent, The Washington Times