Apr 4, 2006 - Paris... Part Deux

Yeah, I know there is a Paris entry already however I felt it deserved another guernsey when we returned with Diane. It was nice to return as I got to finish seeing all those bits I had never seen but always wanted to and the girls had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the wonders of EuroDisney. The other bits I was able to see this time were: The Grand Arch (the big white thing), Jim Morrison's grave, The National Library and Centre Pompidou (modern art gallery). Ah yes a geek fest it was! And in other news, the weather was sooooo...

Mar 22, 2006 - On to Paris and the Da Vinci Code Tour

CONNECTICUT TO FRANCE As expected, Connecticut in March was miserable. I'm glad I don't live there anymore — who wants to deal with such cold, depressing weather? It was nice to see everyone - I just wish they'd all move to California for the winter. Eighteen hours after I landed at Newark, I was back - this time on my way to Paris. Yeah, baby -- everyone get up and dance! I took Continental's 10:10 p.m. departure, and was amazed to find that it was a 757, filled to the brim. Can you believe they fly a single-aisle plane to Europe? Talk...

Mar 20, 2006 - back in russia.

so, i'm in a terrible mood right now, but i promised an update. also, i've been upset since i returned to russia and all i wanted to do was hang out on my computer and be all western... but today was a bad day and pretty much everything got screwed up and my computer won't work... so i have to use one of the internet cafe's computers, which also means i can't put pictures online until later this week. where did i leave off? i was actually upset to leave maastricht... it was really relaxing there, i had a lot of fun... but paris was ahead of...

Mar 7, 2006 - Caught In a Parisian Rutt...

Paris, je t'aime! Sneaking around my old haunts brings back great memories. We spent 4 days playing tour guide for Chris' parents, and luckily for them I remembered my way to favorite restaurants and cafés and quarters. It was Molly's first time in Paris and even though the weather fought back, we packed a lot in their short stay. We saw all the great sites: L'Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame cathedral, the Louvre (on a free Sunday), Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, Place des Voges, the Latin Quarter, and...

Mar 5, 2006 - Paris!

Chegamos em Praga a tarde, e pela estação de trem percebi que muitos rastros da época da Guerra Fria ainda estavam por lá.. Praga já virou um destino turístico bastante procurado, e esperava chegar numa estação com uma estrutura um pouco melhor.. A estação de Praga era IGUAL a de Cheb, só um pouco maior. Nem precisamos correr atrás de informação turística, visto que o Julio já conhecia a cidade! Fomos direto para o albergue que haviam recomendado a ele, que no fim das contas nem era muuuuuito bom, mas eu não estava nem ligando para isto já...

Feb 28, 2006 - Retour à Paris...

Et ben voila, c'est la fin ! C'est depuis l'aéroport de Sao Paulo que j'écris ces quelques mots. Je pars dans quelques heures et a priori tout va bien se passer avec mon billet retour... merci encore Sylvie pour toute ton aide, ta tres precieuse efficacite et ton pouvoir de persuasion aupres de BA... C'est un mélange de plein de sentiments differents. J'ai vraiment hate de rentrer. Je suis fatiguee d etre tout le temps sur la route, et j'ai tres envie de tous vous retrouver. En meme temps je sais qu une periode d adaptation va etre...

Feb 8, 2006 - Paris

This was the only part of the journey that we attacked alone. Upon arriving in Paris Gen departed for Eu (more about that later) and I went in search of my hostel in Paris. The hostel was about 15 mins walk from the Eiffel tower and went for a walk the night I got in to see both it and the Arc de Triomphe. I was really lucky in that when I was about to walk away from the tower it lit up with sparkling white light - which together with it's yellow lighting made for a pretty amazing sight. Over the next few days I managed to see the Lourve,...

Feb 8, 2006 - Paris

Paris !!!! Right off the bat , I love this city. It's gorgeous in a completely different way from London. Almost like the difference between Toronto and Montreal, and then some. Had a bit of a "Before Sunrise"esque conversation with this Julie Delpsy'ish girl on the train to Paris. Sadly though she had to get off two stops before I did.... c'est dommage! Figured, mistakenly, that since it's off peak season I really wouldn't have to book ahead for a room in the hostel I wanted... but completely lucked out in that they called a hotel they're...

Jan 24, 2006 - Paris Apartment, rue de Tanneries

These pictures aren't really the best but they show you what the basics of our apartment is like. It's quite big compared to most Parisian apartments so I guess you could say we are lucky, although all the space makes it difficult to heat. Utilities are pretty expensive here so we use the bare minimum...basically that means we are cold all the time. I have high hopes for when the warmer weather comes since most small places that are warm in the winter are probably stifling in the summer. Luckily we have many windows that open up to let in...

Jan 9, 2006 - Paris again

Returning to Peace and Love for a week I was determined to do a few things I had not done before. This amounted to a massive two new things, visit Napoleon's Tomb and seeing the Mona Lisa, and a whole lot of things I had definitely done before i.e. Chez Papa, O'Sullivans, la de da, deee de dee, etc. So no surprises there then. Fortunately I was also able to catch up with old friends Janine, Karen and Claire as well as all the staff at Peace and Love! Wa hay! My most important tourist visit was probably to Napoleon's tomb. I was telling...

Jan 6, 2006 - Korina's birthday present - weekend in Paris

Although Korina's birthday was in October, I decided to give her a mystery weekend in Paris. Due to advance booking considerations, we had to wait until early January to actually go on the trip. Budget airlines may have been a cheaper option from the North of England, however, we had never been on the Eurostar so decided to go for this option. We went down to London after work on Friday night then across the Chunnel on the Eurostar - arriving in Paris around midnight. Amusingly enough in our carriage there were about 20 middle aged Korean...

Dec 21, 2005 - And Finally, We're Off

Its officially Day One and our journey starts early as we meet up with the rest of the crew at 6.45am and head off to Dover to catch the ferry. Our travel vehicle is the very inconspicuous purple Contiki monster with around 48 fellow travellers. As usual the English weather means its grey and dreary making the white cliffs hard to see and a bit of a non event. I was one of the lucky few to obtain a stamp in my passport and during the process discovered the French have a sense of humour. I asked nicely if I may have a much sought after...