So when we left off, we had just finished visiting the Eiffel Tower at night and were heading for a slumber. The following morning we woke up a little late, due to our lack off sleep the night before. We decided to tour the Louvre and brush up on our classical art. The Louvre is enormous, ornate, and a bit overwhelming. Instead of giving you our thoughts, I will post some of the art work we really liked, and allow you to interpret, or gag at, as you like.
The above paintings we like, but a trip to the Louvre, and the subsequent post about it, wouldn't be complete without the MONA LISA. Which is not that impressive to me, but very famous, and all humans have a weakness for the popular.
The part of the Louvre we both really liked was Napoleon's Apartment. It was a showy display of arrogance, especially when you consider the conditions his subjects lived in, but no point in wasting all that beauty. I hope the pictures below can do justice to what we saw.
The museum was tiring, so we went back to our room and took a nap, and some pictures. The room was rather small with hideous wall paper, but really close to where we wanted to be.
After a quick rest, we set out for another nice walk. We strolled down the Champs-Elysees, which is a beautiful area. The shopping caused Allison's eyes to grow wider and wider, and potentially my wallet to grow smaller and smaller. She ultimately decided window shopping was enough, and that we don't have a house to take out a second mortgage on anyways. Following this route, you run right into the Arc de Triomphe, which I was excited to see for the history behind it. It was nice, but looked better from afar. Our next destination was Mont Marte. It is a huge white cathedral overlooking all of Paris. It was a long walk, I felt like we had been hiking in the mountains when we arrived, but it was worth it. We then walked back to the hotel, had a nice dinner and lamented leaving such a beautiful city. Below are pictures of the Arc and Mont Marte.
The following morning we caught the train from Paris to Brussels. It was an easy trip as they are both in the European Union, making security nil and the currency the same.
The weather in Brussels was rainy, and it felt like Eastern Europe. We were there for a total of 7 hours, and that was all we needed. We were happy to go, the architecture was brilliant, and it was nice to hit Belgium. We spent the day shopping around the Grand Palace, window shopping all the chocolates, and hopping from cafe to cafe trying to stay warm and dry. Below are a few pictures from there, including a statue called Mannekin Pis (I know how to spell mannequin, but this is how they spelled it), which is very famous, but not that cool to see.
That night, we arrived in London and hung out with our host. The following day we slept in, had a disgusting English breakfast, visited Hyde Park, Harrod's and revisited what we had seen before. The English breakfast consisted of fatty ham topped with baked beans, french fries, runny eggs, and nasty sausage. It was fun to try, and did remove our hunger, but more from nausea than nutrition.
Our last day in England was spent at Brighton. A short train ride took us to this nice city on the English Channel. James was able to go with us, which was really nice as we hadn't hung out with him since our first day. We walked the beach and enjoyed the weather, it was a nice relaxing day capping off a very hectic week. Below are a few pictures highlighting the day.
After a quiet train ride back to London, we readied ourselves for the long travel day that lay ahead. The following morning we left London. We departed grateful to our wonderful host, full of wonderful memories to last a lifetime, and with a bug that left us yearning for more. Traveling is more than just an escape from every day life, its a yearlong course in culture accomplished in a week. It is a chance to think about your way of life, and things you are happy to have in your home. It is a way to gain a knowledge of people, a knowledge only gained when you leave your preconceived notions at the door, and realize the myriad of ways people choose to lead their existence. Life is an adventure, and must be treated as such, you cannot wait for experiences to find you, you must aggressively tackle the dreams in the back of your head. Alli and I will always fondly think upon this week, while at the same time forging ahead into what lies before us. What other wonders we can see, what other cultures we can learn from, while always remembering our culture, and the wonders in our backyard.
The following morning we caught the train from Paris to Brussels. It was an easy trip as they are both in the European Union, making security nil and the currency the same.
The weather in Brussels was rainy, and it felt like Eastern Europe. We were there for a total of 7 hours, and that was all we needed. We were happy to go, the architecture was brilliant, and it was nice to hit Belgium. We spent the day shopping around the Grand Palace, window shopping all the chocolates, and hopping from cafe to cafe trying to stay warm and dry. Below are a few pictures from there, including a statue called Mannekin Pis (I know how to spell mannequin, but this is how they spelled it), which is very famous, but not that cool to see.
That night, we arrived in London and hung out with our host. The following day we slept in, had a disgusting English breakfast, visited Hyde Park, Harrod's and revisited what we had seen before. The English breakfast consisted of fatty ham topped with baked beans, french fries, runny eggs, and nasty sausage. It was fun to try, and did remove our hunger, but more from nausea than nutrition.
Our last day in England was spent at Brighton. A short train ride took us to this nice city on the English Channel. James was able to go with us, which was really nice as we hadn't hung out with him since our first day. We walked the beach and enjoyed the weather, it was a nice relaxing day capping off a very hectic week. Below are a few pictures highlighting the day.
After a quiet train ride back to London, we readied ourselves for the long travel day that lay ahead. The following morning we left London. We departed grateful to our wonderful host, full of wonderful memories to last a lifetime, and with a bug that left us yearning for more. Traveling is more than just an escape from every day life, its a yearlong course in culture accomplished in a week. It is a chance to think about your way of life, and things you are happy to have in your home. It is a way to gain a knowledge of people, a knowledge only gained when you leave your preconceived notions at the door, and realize the myriad of ways people choose to lead their existence. Life is an adventure, and must be treated as such, you cannot wait for experiences to find you, you must aggressively tackle the dreams in the back of your head. Alli and I will always fondly think upon this week, while at the same time forging ahead into what lies before us. What other wonders we can see, what other cultures we can learn from, while always remembering our culture, and the wonders in our backyard.
