Pathetic

Wow..this is just terrible. Okay...my goal this summer is to finish up posting stuff from last summer. Or maybe I should just give it up. Yeah, that'll probably happen. Ridiculous. And now I'm just really sad and depressed that it's almost been a year.

Coming soon...hopefully

I'm going to finish blogging about my Europe trip very, very soon. I promise! Sorry for the horrendous delay. Life is pretty mellow right now...I'm just living the life of an O.G. (Original Gangsta for my non-hip readers...ha..just kidding). School is going just swell.

Northern France

So the next morning we leave Paris and head to Château-Thierry and stop at a WWI memorial and cemetery. It was about an hour and a half from Paris, and I had some trouble staying awake from the cemetery. I was fine the day before in Paris, but those two hours of sleep in Oxford were definitely starting to catch up to me. I think it was the bus, though. Every time I got on it, I just wanted to fall asleep. It was a like a big giant cradle or maybe I'm a narcoleptic.









Paw-paw at the WWI cemetery...after I took this picture he told me that that is the best picture I'll ever take or have taken

Inside the chapel thing



After Château-Thierry we went to Reims where Eisenhower's headquarters were...this is the old school building that became Eisenhower's headuqarters and also where the peace treaty was signed to end the war...kind of amazing

All of the original massive maps are still up on the walls



The table where they signed the treaty...




Paw-paw and Mark looking on the maps to find where Paw-paw was stationed

An ancient Roman gate built during the reign of Augustus...karazee

Downtown Reims...

The restaurant we ate at... Paw-paw ordered pasta bolognese which set a trend for the rest of the places we went to. Pasta Bolognese in an Irish themed pub in France...


After lunch, we went to a .... CATHEDRAL! haha...I found this very interesting though, because it was the Notre-Dame de Reims...and it looked very much like Notre-Dame de Paris. The one in Paris was built first, though...so Reims really should've looked into getting a different architect. But I suppose imitation is the best form of flattery...so be flattered Notre-Dame de Paris. The one in Reims is where most of the French kings were crowned, so I guess that makes it special...haha. Oh and this one also had my favorite stained glass out of all the cathedrals I have seen thus far



Now that's just creepy



The coronation chair


Here's my favorite stained glass


I thought the drapery effect thing was neat-o.


Vineyards in Epernay, the capital of Champagne



That night, we stayed in Epernay in a nice little hotel overlooking the vineyards...

Paris, Day 1

I know, I know. I am a horrible person and I do truly apologize for not getting this done sooner. Now, I don't think I am going to be able to finish it all tonight, but I figured I should start. But I might finish it if I get all inspired. Maybe I'll make it like serial installments...like a tv show, keep you coming back for more...oh wait...isn't that kind of the point of a regularly updated blog? I kind of like the fact that I put it off until now because I haven't had much time to think about it since school started back, but now it's like going on the trip all over again. My first night away from Oxford was spent in Paris. So I suppose if I had to leave Oxford behind, Paris wasn't a bad place to start. Getting to Paris was somewhat of an interesting ordeal. First of all, if you kept up with all my posts, you will remember how I had to remove some stuff from another suitcase in order to make the suitcase under 73 lbs. Well, living in England in a month certainly does not make ones' suitcase become lighter (as much as my mother would have wished).

My last night in Oxford I went to sleep at 4 am, without packing a thing and figured I could just wake up at 6 am and pack and be done with it. So that's what I did. As my alarm went off at 6, it felt like I had only slept for like two hours. I jumped up and started throwing everything into my suitcases. My plan was to go to the train station and leave my two big suitcases in a locker thing for the week and then bring my laptop case, backpack, purse, and massive duffle/suitcase bag. Well, that was a great plan and all, but I somehow had to get to the train station. I got on the bus to London in Oxford and let me tell you (sorry Jonathan and Abigail) Rolly-metal suitcases aren't the best match for the mishapped cobblestones of Oxford. I made it on to the bus fully intact and rested for about an hour and a half...and then I got into London. The Eurostar was a really interesting experience...I think. I fell asleep right about the time we made it out of London. I did wake up once or twice, and I saw that we were in the chunnel, and that was pitch black so it's not like I missed much. Since I was only running on two hours of sleep, it took me a good 10 minutes to realize Paris was an hour ahead of London. I was trying to understand how my ticket said I would arrive in Paris at 1:00, but my watch said it was 12:00. I almost stayed on the train, thinking there must be another stop, exactly an hour away. That's really embarrassing to admit, but I'm just trying to show that even I, as unbelievable as it may seem, can think stupidly. As soon as I got off the train, Renee and our tour guide were waiting for me, and luckily they had only been waiting for about five minutes, so it all worked out rather nicely. I joined everyone on the bus and the parttaaay got started. For about two hours we drove around Paris taking a bus tour with our tour guide who knew everything...and when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Now, one of the drawbacks of waiting this long is that I don't actually remember what every single one of the pictures of the buildings were, but then again, if I would've posted this that night, I still don't think I would've remembered. Fred (our tour guide) was spitting out info left and right.

Let the pictures begin:


On the most expensive boulevard in Paris...

At the end of the expensive boulevard...it made a crescent aka a cul-de-sac and it was built by te Sun King himself, Louis XIV

I think this was a theatre

I didn't get much of it, but that is Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, ironically it means New Bridge. HA...

The backside of the Louvre. If you think the back's nice, you should see the front


Not sure...but I liked it

Same building...

Every August, the whole country pretty much shuts down. Supposedly there are no true Parisians in Paris at the time, only tourists. Well, they also make the sides of the Seine into beaches, where it is normally an car expressway

Notre Dame

Paw-paw waving at people on the street


The Notre Dame... Unfortunately, I went to quite a few Gothic cathedrals during my time in Europe, and I'm going to be honest...it became unimpressive. I walked into the Notre Dame, and was like "Oh...cool."

The Seine

Artsy

Another view of the cathedral

The Rose stained glass windows


Inside the Notre Dame



It was a holiday and people were already packed in there for mass

Street signs



Incase you missed the banner...the Musée d'Orsay

My buddy Tommy Jefferson

Probably my favorite picture of Paris...which I only discovered today


Champs- Élysées

So I was waiting for the bus to come right in front of it so it could be a perfect shot...and that's what I got...I found it quite hilarious but a bit frustrating

A Palace

Napoleon is buried there

A park

The Eiffel Tower