My first trip to continental Europe

After work on Thursday I packed my bags (well not really my bags, as I still haven't received my duffle bag in the mail from Mom and Dad)and headed to the bus station with about 12 of my friends from the program. On the walk through the bus station, one of the girls spotted a KFC, which we decided was going to be a necessary stop on the way back on Sunday. There will be more on that later.

Anyway, we got on the bus around 10:30 and arrived at the entrance to the Chunnel, which is the tunnel going under the English channel connecting the UK to France, an hour or so later. After having our passports checked we spend nearly an hour waiting on the bus, then getting off the bus, then getting back on etc etc. Needless to say, everybody was already fed up with our coach ride and we were only 1/4 of the way through. When we finally got moving again we had to wait another hour for the Chunnel train to show up. Our bus then drove onto the train, which inside looked a lot like some sort of spaceship. I slept almost the entire way after that and then woke up in Paris.

We arrived at our hostel early in the morning, with everybody having got about an hour or two of sleep. Needless to say, the sight-seeing on our first day was quite labored by our fatigue. On the first day we went to the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Roman Crypts below Notre Dame and then went back to the hostel for a quick recharge. My mom certainly wasn't lying when she said that it would take literally days to see all of the Louvre. The museum is unlike any other collection I have ever seen. I really only made my way through a couple wings which held Greek/Roman sculptures, medeival art and egyptian statues. Of course I saw the Mona Lisa, which actually kind of disappointing. My favorite piece was an oil painting of David and Goliath. If any of you have access to my facebook you'll be able to see the pictures I took of it.

Later that night, six of us went out to eat at a French cafe across the street from Moulin Rouge. I had my first piece of steak in nearly a month, which is probably the longest I have gone in my entire life. With dinner I had my first glass (and by glass I mean half a bottle) of red wine. How fitting is it that my first time getting drunk on wine is in Paris? I'm sure my mother would be so proud haha.

The next day we all went to Chateau Versailles, which was the palace that Louis XIV built in 1630. It was an absolutley amazing piece of architecture and landscaping. No picture could ever do this estate justice. It was the most beautiful and amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. In my opinion, a trip to Paris would not be complete without seeing Versailles. I hope to go back during the spring sometime, as I'm sure it would be even more breathtaking then. Places like Versailles show just how dramatically different the US is from Europe. We simply don't have the tradition and history since we are such a young country. The old money that is all over Europe lends to the amazing pieces of medeival and renaissance architecture.

On our way back from Versailles, we stopped at the Effiel Tower and the Arc du Triumphe. Unfortunately I didn't get to go up the Eiffel Tower. The lines were very long and the elevators only went up to the 2nd story due to construction. But the Arc du Triumphe was probably my favorite piece of architecture in Paris. We walked to the top and I got some great pictures of the Tower and the Paris skyline.

The next day we took the arduous 9 hour journey back to London. This time our bus went across the channel on a ferry rather than the train. This was much more enjoyable because we were able to walk around the ship for an hour or so. The best part about the ferry was that there was a duty free shop on it and I stocked up on some vermouth to make manhattans for the remainder of my stay in London. I'm sure grandpa would like to hear that part.

We got back to London late Sunday night and as promised, I stopped at KFC. I didn't have Cole with me to finish off the entire stock of chicken but I did manage to put down a family bucket which is about my body weight.

Well my day in Parliament is coming to an end and I've got some work to do still.

This week I will hopefully be making plans with Cole for him to come over and visit me on his spring break. I think that it's an opportunity that he shouldn't miss out on. Not to mention it will have been 3 months since I saw him last by then. Of course the availability of frequent flyer miles will determine whether he is going to make the trip. So keep your fingers crossed for us and hopefully we will be in London in two months time.

I may be taking a bus tour of Stonehenge and Bath on Friday, so I will be sure to update you all on more of my travels.

Goodbye!