Went to the Salt Mine outside of Salzburg yesterday. A one time thing to go to, but quite fun. The slides were fun and there was even a boat ride in the salt caverns. Funny that there was an escalator back up down there. They also pass out white uniforms for us so our clothes don’t get dirty; reminds me of the outfits for the TV room in Willy Wonka. The mine itself causes me to recall the one the Delorean was stored in as well as causing me to think that Indy and Short Round would come flying past. The video was slightly odd as we learned about the kind who held the rights to the salt mines that are actually under Germany (we crossed the border 2x underground). The video ended by telling us about the 15 kids that the archbishop (or king) fathered. A lot of fun though.
Pre-story about the journey to the mines: On the train ride there we got off 4 stops too early and had to walk to Hallein for at least a mile and a half (felt like it). Bit annoying but luckily they held the tour for us (the next one would’ve made us late for the bus ride back).
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Salzburg 4/22/10
So we made it back taking the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam and then various trains to Salzburg arriving at 10:30 pm last night. Big relief.
Newcastle, England 4/19/10
Arrived in Stranraer, Scotland yesterday from Belfast and spent the night there at a nice B&B called the Thistle Inn. Small town with a peaceful atmosphere, though I could see how the locals could get bored of it. Ended up in the bar next door run by the B&B with Francesca and Valerie. Got into a bit of karaoke and scored free drinks from the local police who came by to celebrate after a charity football match for someone’s daughter who has cystic fibrosis. The bartender was particularly nice and funny (wasn’t actually the bartender either). He performed Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire and gave us free drinks as well. A Scotish beer I tried was McLachlan’s. A drink mix that the cops (who actually weren’t supposed to be drinking after 5, but they are the law) introduced us to was a Scotch soda called Irn-Bru mixed with vodka. One of the cops drank Budweiser, which prompted me to inquire as to why. He answered that it was the poor man’s Carlsberg. I already enjoy Scotland; the people are hilarious and remind me of Craig Ferguson.
Woke up at 6 am to prepare for the start of our day’s train rides. The “bartender” was even up to see us off (although because we left early we couldn’t get the breakfast). Nicy guy. Luckily we made all our connections from Stranraer to Ayr Station, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and finally Newcastle. Scenary was beautiful. It was here that I found my green fields with sheep and cows. I laughed when I saw a golf course; reminded me of Robin Williams’ tirade about Scotland. I’ll have to come back someday. While walking from one station to Queen Station in Glasgow I didn’t notice any Glasgow smiles on the passersby.
After arriving at our hostel we immediately went to confirm out 16 hour ferry to Amsterdam for tomorrow since we hadn’t been sent confirmation emails and the phone lines were busy. Luckily we are confirmed. I will be much relieved when back in Salzburg; highly stressful each day making some connection or another. Good thing we’re doing this as our 2nd Ryanair flight to Berlin was canceled as Ryanair extended their Monday ban (originally took out our flight to Munich) to Wednesday.
Got lunch after the ferry business. Pizza Hut is a fancy restaurant here, somewhat comparable to CPK. Afterwards I decided to sightsee along the River Tyne. I saw the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Castle Keep and Black Gate before crossing the High Level Bridge. From there I saw the Swing Bridge, and Historic Tyne Bridge. Cool new structures on the river include The Sage Gateshead (a bubble-looking building) and the Millennium Bridge which rotates so sometimes you can’t cross it.
Woke up at 6 am to prepare for the start of our day’s train rides. The “bartender” was even up to see us off (although because we left early we couldn’t get the breakfast). Nicy guy. Luckily we made all our connections from Stranraer to Ayr Station, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and finally Newcastle. Scenary was beautiful. It was here that I found my green fields with sheep and cows. I laughed when I saw a golf course; reminded me of Robin Williams’ tirade about Scotland. I’ll have to come back someday. While walking from one station to Queen Station in Glasgow I didn’t notice any Glasgow smiles on the passersby.
After arriving at our hostel we immediately went to confirm out 16 hour ferry to Amsterdam for tomorrow since we hadn’t been sent confirmation emails and the phone lines were busy. Luckily we are confirmed. I will be much relieved when back in Salzburg; highly stressful each day making some connection or another. Good thing we’re doing this as our 2nd Ryanair flight to Berlin was canceled as Ryanair extended their Monday ban (originally took out our flight to Munich) to Wednesday.
Got lunch after the ferry business. Pizza Hut is a fancy restaurant here, somewhat comparable to CPK. Afterwards I decided to sightsee along the River Tyne. I saw the St. Nicholas Cathedral, Castle Keep and Black Gate before crossing the High Level Bridge. From there I saw the Swing Bridge, and Historic Tyne Bridge. Cool new structures on the river include The Sage Gateshead (a bubble-looking building) and the Millennium Bridge which rotates so sometimes you can’t cross it.
Belfast, Ireland 4/18/10
While stopped here we decided to lunch until our ferry leaves in 5 hours. At Burger King we saw 4 girls run out, one of whom was grabbed by a man and held outside for a good 10-15 minutes. Apparently his daughter ran away with two other girls and the one he grabbed was perhaps a friend. Bit of a struggle as she bit and kicked to get away, but he held her long enough till the cops came and took here away in an unmarked car. Originally we had thought that they stole something from him. Ridiculous scene to see outside the windows.
Walked around a little bit before catching the ferry to Stranraer. The Titanic monument was obstructed from view by a Ferris wheel that they were taking down next to city hall. Been there 2 ½ years as some kind of tourist thing. Odd in a city known for a sinking ship as our cabbie described Belfast.
Walked around a little bit before catching the ferry to Stranraer. The Titanic monument was obstructed from view by a Ferris wheel that they were taking down next to city hall. Been there 2 ½ years as some kind of tourist thing. Odd in a city known for a sinking ship as our cabbie described Belfast.
Dublin, Ireland 4/17/10
Bit of a stressful day (haven’t been this bad since getting to Krakow). I intended to go on a free walking tour of Dublin, but since we had to book ferries and buses in order to get back, I stayed in order to see that through. We only left to try and get a ferry/bus package at Heuston Station (Guinness Factory so close yet so far; reminds me of Wonka’s Factory) and then Connolly both of which failed. Mad day of online bookings, but our final journey is a train to Belfast where we’ll catch a ferry to Stranraer, Scotland then to Newcastle where we’ll have a day and a half before we’re taking an overnight ferry to Amsterdam and then trains to Salzburg after which we arrive at night on Wednesday. I finished the night with a comparison test of Guinness and Beamish at John Lynch’s Swan Bar. Beamish wins (pity it can’t be had outside of Ireland). I wish I had a map with a red line following me on my travels like Indiana Jones. Saw the spire of Dublin tonight (the only sight I’ve really since due to this volcano).
Dublin, Ireland 4/16/10
Not sure if we’ll be able to fly out Sunday due to the volcano in Iceland that’s spread ash across Europe. More smoke than 9/11 and Europe hasn’t seen this much smoke since WWII. According to Axelle, Ireland has been cleared tomorrow and I saw on the news that the UK is cleared at 7:00 am. Worst case there’s a ferry from Dublin to Paris and London to Amsterdam. Long as we get to the mainland with trains we should be fine. 3rd time in Dublin is the "charm."
Cork, Ireland 4/15/10
Took the bus to the Blarney Castle 8 km away, home of the Blarney Stone renowned for giving the “gift of gab” to those who kiss it. Winston Churchill falls into the list of renowned orators who kissed it. I’d heard beforehand that the locals piss on it so I was tempted to flip and coin, but ended up just kissing it. It’s an odd experience: The stone is on an overhand at the top by the floor, so they hold you, while you grip iron poles, bending over backwards to kiss it over a grated hole. Slightly reassuring that they have Windex or some cleaning agent and wipes on site. Afterwards we toured the grounds which were peaceful. Kinda reminded us of the Village as Val put it: walls and woods bordering. There were green fields as well surrounded by the trees.
Back in Cork we visited the Cork Butter Museum and learned more than we needed to know about how important the butter industry is to Ireland. Kinda a waste but hopefully we get reimbursed (Update: we didn’t). Afterwards we went to the Church of St. Anne Shandon right by our hostel. We got to climb up its clock tower known as “the four-faced liar” on account of all the times being slightly different on its faces. This is due to some of the clock numbers having been made of thicker wood than others so the hands stick, except at the hour when they all come together. The inside reminded me of Back to the Future as I don’t normally see the insides of clocks. We also got to ring the 8 bells (a full octave) and use them in sequences to play songs thanks to the sheet list provided (Amazing Grace, Walzing Mathilda). Great view of Cork from the top; it’s bigger than I expected.
Tried Beamish Irish Stout as it was brewed here before Heineken took over the factory. I’m in love with stouts, it’s official. Murphy’s is apparently less bitter than both Beamish and Guinness. Sweeter as well (so says Wikipedia). The foam is the best. Funny: Murphy’s is mentioned as a distant cousin of the milkshake, which goes along with Eric Anderson’s perception of what Guinness looks like.
Back in Cork we visited the Cork Butter Museum and learned more than we needed to know about how important the butter industry is to Ireland. Kinda a waste but hopefully we get reimbursed (Update: we didn’t). Afterwards we went to the Church of St. Anne Shandon right by our hostel. We got to climb up its clock tower known as “the four-faced liar” on account of all the times being slightly different on its faces. This is due to some of the clock numbers having been made of thicker wood than others so the hands stick, except at the hour when they all come together. The inside reminded me of Back to the Future as I don’t normally see the insides of clocks. We also got to ring the 8 bells (a full octave) and use them in sequences to play songs thanks to the sheet list provided (Amazing Grace, Walzing Mathilda). Great view of Cork from the top; it’s bigger than I expected.
Tried Beamish Irish Stout as it was brewed here before Heineken took over the factory. I’m in love with stouts, it’s official. Murphy’s is apparently less bitter than both Beamish and Guinness. Sweeter as well (so says Wikipedia). The foam is the best. Funny: Murphy’s is mentioned as a distant cousin of the milkshake, which goes along with Eric Anderson’s perception of what Guinness looks like.
Cork, Ireland 4/14/10
Cork reminds me of Salzburg (layout-wise, the river with city on both sides and not too big). Little bit of a walk for Axelle and I from the train station our main goal was to ask people where the Shandon Bells were as Kinlay’s House (our hostel) is right by there. Luckily everyone is very friendly. Nice to have a private 4-person room with a bathroom: Don’t have to worry about waking others up. Tried Murphy’s Irish Stout—excellent.
Galway, Ireland 4/14/10
Getting here literally took planes, trains, and automobiles. Caught the Tube yesterday to Liverpool for the Stansted Express train then caught our flight to Dublin. Axelle and I intended to use our railpasses for the train to Galway. Unfortunately, at the rate the bus was going we didn’t think we’d make it to Heuston Station from the airport in time. After all the Italians got off the bus, though, we found that we just missed the train by about 5 seconds. As a result we ended up taking the bus an hour after Francesca and Valerie, and arrived in Galway at 11:30 pm.
With the amount of time here we probably won’t get to see the cliffs as Axelle and I are leaving on the 6:05 pm train to Cork (6 hours). We have seen the ST. Nicholas’ Church where Columbus prayed before hitting the ocean blue. I just want to see fields that are “fucking green” (Death and a Funeral reference). Turns out it’s a zig-zag to Cork (back to Dublin, then catch a train there to Cork).
With the amount of time here we probably won’t get to see the cliffs as Axelle and I are leaving on the 6:05 pm train to Cork (6 hours). We have seen the ST. Nicholas’ Church where Columbus prayed before hitting the ocean blue. I just want to see fields that are “fucking green” (Death and a Funeral reference). Turns out it’s a zig-zag to Cork (back to Dublin, then catch a train there to Cork).
London 4/12/10
Got to Buckingham Palace just as the band began marching so got to see that, but wasn’t able to get a spot by the gate to see the actual changing of the guard.
Went to a cheap department store at Marble Arch called Primark. Got a shirt and it’s a good thing I’m a patient fellow since I’m traveling with girls. Following this we traveled to Victoria Station so that they could get tickets for Wicked tonight. I dropped by a nearby fish and chips place recommended by Rick Steves called Seafresh Fish Restaurant. Delicious.
After taking a nap at the hostel, I decided to go see Avenue Q around Leicestor Square. For ₤10 it was a great deal although I later found out that my leg room was limited. You get what you pay for. I had two hours to kill before the show. Leicestor Square is where all the movie premieres in London take place. I got to see one for “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” from the same director as “Bend It Like Beckham.” Not too crowded and they had some kids perform Bollywood dances beforehand to “Thriller’ and the like before the celebs showed up. Mark Addy, Jimi Mistry, and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder from Heroes) were there and I’m pretty sure I saw John Landis. A couple guys were yelling all the celebs first names in hope of getting pics and autographs from them. It really is annoying and some other people in the crowd yelled the names just to make fun of the instigators. It really would deter me from signing if I was a celeb, as some of them did today. Pretty good time waster, though.
Followed this up with a free Monopoly meal at McDonald’s (Big Mac and apple pie). I’ve been picking up game pieces like I did in Switzerland and grabbed the apple pie sticker off an abandoned cup. Sweet deal.
Avenue Q is a riot. “The Internet is for Porn” is still the classic song, but the whole soundtrack is hilarious. “Schadenfreude” is a fitting “German” song. The British version tweaks certain things like mentioning unpopular prime minister Gordon Brown.
Went to a cheap department store at Marble Arch called Primark. Got a shirt and it’s a good thing I’m a patient fellow since I’m traveling with girls. Following this we traveled to Victoria Station so that they could get tickets for Wicked tonight. I dropped by a nearby fish and chips place recommended by Rick Steves called Seafresh Fish Restaurant. Delicious.
After taking a nap at the hostel, I decided to go see Avenue Q around Leicestor Square. For ₤10 it was a great deal although I later found out that my leg room was limited. You get what you pay for. I had two hours to kill before the show. Leicestor Square is where all the movie premieres in London take place. I got to see one for “It’s a Wonderful Afterlife” from the same director as “Bend It Like Beckham.” Not too crowded and they had some kids perform Bollywood dances beforehand to “Thriller’ and the like before the celebs showed up. Mark Addy, Jimi Mistry, and Sendhil Ramamurthy (Mohinder from Heroes) were there and I’m pretty sure I saw John Landis. A couple guys were yelling all the celebs first names in hope of getting pics and autographs from them. It really is annoying and some other people in the crowd yelled the names just to make fun of the instigators. It really would deter me from signing if I was a celeb, as some of them did today. Pretty good time waster, though.
Followed this up with a free Monopoly meal at McDonald’s (Big Mac and apple pie). I’ve been picking up game pieces like I did in Switzerland and grabbed the apple pie sticker off an abandoned cup. Sweet deal.
Avenue Q is a riot. “The Internet is for Porn” is still the classic song, but the whole soundtrack is hilarious. “Schadenfreude” is a fitting “German” song. The British version tweaks certain things like mentioning unpopular prime minister Gordon Brown.
London 4/11/10
Chinatown today for some Dim Sum! Oh how I’ve missed thee. The tasty custard filled dumplings were especially good. From there went to Abbey Road. ‘Nuff said. Then dropped by the Sherlock Holmes Museum but only went to the gift shop after seeing pics of the museum. Saw the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum (great building) before heading off to the National Gallery for some Rembrandt’s, Michelangelo’s, Van Gogh’s (Sunflowers were here, wonder if it’s permanent?), Da Vinci’s, and Monet’s. Then went to try and find the Temple Church stopping by St. Pual’s during a service; wish I could visit it more fully, but oh well. I trekked to Chimes English Restaurant and Cider Bar for their cider recommended by Rick Steves. Luckily afterwards I was able to make the 9:00 showing of Kick-Ass whose title does it justice.
Ciders tried: Chimes Traditional (better than wine), Merrydown Vintage Gold (Excellent, best, like Martinelli’s but with 7.5% abv), Biddenden Sweet (refrigerated, but like the Traditional), Henry Weston’s (not quite wine, slightly sparkly, but good).
In regards to Fabric from last night. A very good club (esp. Room 3 with the Glimmers), but European or maybe clubs in general are kidna weird. Some people just awkwardly stand at times and the age gap can be 25+ years. I was pretty tired and had to leave at 2:30. Decent 3 hours, but it would’ve been nice to push for 5 am. The club goes till 8 am. Ridiculous. Not a bad night, but I’ve decided clubs aren’t my thing.
Ciders tried: Chimes Traditional (better than wine), Merrydown Vintage Gold (Excellent, best, like Martinelli’s but with 7.5% abv), Biddenden Sweet (refrigerated, but like the Traditional), Henry Weston’s (not quite wine, slightly sparkly, but good).
In regards to Fabric from last night. A very good club (esp. Room 3 with the Glimmers), but European or maybe clubs in general are kidna weird. Some people just awkwardly stand at times and the age gap can be 25+ years. I was pretty tired and had to leave at 2:30. Decent 3 hours, but it would’ve been nice to push for 5 am. The club goes till 8 am. Ridiculous. Not a bad night, but I’ve decided clubs aren’t my thing.
London 4/10/10
Hit up Westminster Abbey today. Very impressive considering it’s the coronation site of all the kings and queens since William the Conqueror was crowned there. It has the tombs of various kings and queens, such as Mary of Scotland, as well as famous people responsible for England’s history. Chaucer (Paul Bettany in A Knight’s Tale) and Handel are buried here and Shakespeare has his own monument. Following this we rode the London Eye the world’s tallest Ferris wheel that gives a great view of parliament and Big Ben. We saw Buckingham Palace afterwards. The St. James Park on the way was beautiful especially in this weather. Will have to see the changing of the guard in the next few days. It’s interesting to note that the walls around it have no graffiti or gum at all. I can only imagine the fines. Went to Trafalgar Square and then to King’s Cross. Nice little thing to see the trolley in between platforms 9 and 10 marking 9 ¾. Ate at “My Old Dutch Pancake House” where I essentially got a large crepe with duck and Hoi sin sauce inside. Tasty.
I left the girls at this point to try and find Fabric before tonight. Found it luckily. Then hit up Waterloo Station where The Bourne Ultimatum was shot (reporter rendezvous). Couldn’t find the transition sign where the asset shot from, but I might have found the bathroom newsstand where the reporter hid. Saw London Bridge at night afterwards. Nice.
I left the girls at this point to try and find Fabric before tonight. Found it luckily. Then hit up Waterloo Station where The Bourne Ultimatum was shot (reporter rendezvous). Couldn’t find the transition sign where the asset shot from, but I might have found the bathroom newsstand where the reporter hid. Saw London Bridge at night afterwards. Nice.
London, England 4/9/10
Took a Ryanair (Southwest cheap-type) flight to London Stansted from Salzburg. Although pricey, it is nice to not have to take a night train and instead arrive within 2 hours. After checking into our hostel and picking up a weeklong Oyster metro pass (very convenient, all you do is slide the card to open the gate like Tom Cruise in Collateral), we headed to the Tower of London. It’s the site of many executions for the royal family in addition to being a wartime castle and a monarch’s residence in peacetime. The crown jewels were a rich sight to see. The tale of the “Bloody Tower” about the two princes killed by Richard III (my guess as to who did it) was pretty interesting. The Torture tower didn’t have much aside from 3 main torture devices. Traitor’s gate was something interesting to see (think Man in the Iron Mask). Afterwards we walked over London Bridge (didn’t fall down) and then briefly visited the Globe Theater (will tour sometime later). We actually saw the original site of the theater afterwards. Interestingly, the Brits really like to drink outside as evidenced by the mobs outside of pubs. We hit up the free Tate Moderne where we saw some Warhol’s, Picasso’s, Dali’s, Pollock’s, Monet’s, and Lichtenstein’s for free. Pretty slick. I hit up a St. Christopher’s pub at the end of the day for fish and chips. Alright, but I’ll find better. The first pint I got was a Kronenbourg 1664 lager: excellent for a non-dark beer. The “semi-dark” Bombardier was only alright, though.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Paris 4/4/10
Ventured to Disneyland Paris today. Got a park hopper so that we could go to both the original Disneyland Park and the Walt Disney Studios Park there. The Rock’n Roller Coaster was alright as was Tower of Terror (seems shorter in height here, but the bellhop was funny cuz he messed with everyone before we went up: stink eye look/scare). The shows were more interesting to me than anything else we saw in the studio park. Cinémagique was a cool show that put Martin Short into several movies starting with silent films. Animagique was also a pretty cool Disney show with all the main cartoon characters and some form the Disney Vault singing classic tunes. Note: all shows are presented in English and French. Ex. Mickey will speak French (seems “gayer” according to Val) while Donald Duck will speak English; Star Tours’ robots speak French, but everything else is in English.
The main Disneyland is much bigger than the studio park (smaller than California’s, though) and has its variations on rides and design. As Vincent Vega puts it, “Over there it’s just a little bit different.” The majority of the coasters have upside down loops, smoking is allowed, park staff is less friendly, and you can purchase beer. Adventureland’s entrance is Arabesque, Tomorrowland is called Discoverland, and Fantasyland even has an Alice in Wonderland maze. Pirates seems more modeled after the 1st movie with the outside resembling an island fortress, the pirates speak French, and the biggest bummer: the man with the shack at the beginning is gone. Indiana Jones has a mine car roller coaster instead that’s pretty fun for the time it lasts. Space Mountain is definitely superior here: you’re shot through a telescope and go through a more roller coaster-based ride (loop is awesome).
The Haunted Mansion is known as The Phantom Manor and resembles Norman Bates’ house. There is no French Quarter and so the Frontierland where it’s situated reminds me of Knott’s. The Knott’s influence can be seen on the ride by the abundance of skeletons that are more ghoulish. The layout of the building is the same, but the aesthetics aren’t. The stretching paintings differ; the narrator is gone; one corner resembles a route on Indiana Jones in California with all the skeletons; the bride theme is that of her suicide (seems like she lived a Miss Havisham life).
Surprisingly overall the experience, though enjoyable was different from the typical Disneyland.
The main Disneyland is much bigger than the studio park (smaller than California’s, though) and has its variations on rides and design. As Vincent Vega puts it, “Over there it’s just a little bit different.” The majority of the coasters have upside down loops, smoking is allowed, park staff is less friendly, and you can purchase beer. Adventureland’s entrance is Arabesque, Tomorrowland is called Discoverland, and Fantasyland even has an Alice in Wonderland maze. Pirates seems more modeled after the 1st movie with the outside resembling an island fortress, the pirates speak French, and the biggest bummer: the man with the shack at the beginning is gone. Indiana Jones has a mine car roller coaster instead that’s pretty fun for the time it lasts. Space Mountain is definitely superior here: you’re shot through a telescope and go through a more roller coaster-based ride (loop is awesome).
The Haunted Mansion is known as The Phantom Manor and resembles Norman Bates’ house. There is no French Quarter and so the Frontierland where it’s situated reminds me of Knott’s. The Knott’s influence can be seen on the ride by the abundance of skeletons that are more ghoulish. The layout of the building is the same, but the aesthetics aren’t. The stretching paintings differ; the narrator is gone; one corner resembles a route on Indiana Jones in California with all the skeletons; the bride theme is that of her suicide (seems like she lived a Miss Havisham life).
Surprisingly overall the experience, though enjoyable was different from the typical Disneyland.
Paris 4/3/10
Trekked to Versailles today to see the palace and all that jazz. I thought Disneyland Paris’ lines would be the worst we’d encounter this weekend. Apparently not. Arriving around 12, we waited in line for at least 70 minutes to get tickets and then another 40 to get through the main entrance and security. Once inside, though, we set a meeting point and time (Eiffel Tower 7:30 pm) in order to get together again since I had purchased a ticket for all the major sites in Versailles, while the girls had only purchased tickets for the Château. Once you get past all the paintings and into the rooms of the Château (especially the Hall of Mirrors) you really begin to understand how richly indulgent Louis XIV was with his dad’s former hunting lodge. Apparently, the girls only spent an hour there due to the crowds. I must’ve missed the major crowds as I wasn’t shoved (although it was busy). The grounds outside, particularly the gardens which stretch for a mile or two, are very grand. The palace from the back view with the steps is reminiscent to Wayne Manor in Batman Begins, but 1000 times bigger. Bering there on the weekend, I also got to see the Musical Fountains Show, which was period-esque. Wandering down the gardens I ended up at Marie Antoinette’s estate, a home away from the home away from home of the royal family. It’s alright to be honest; I felt like I could’ve skipped it after seeing the Château. Around here it started to pour and then got sunny (weather is wonky this trip). Nice rainbow over the grounds afterwards. The Trianon was another thing I stopped by on the way back.
Leaving Versailles I was lucky to catch the 6:50 pm RER back to Paris so I could make it to the rendezvous at the Eiffel Tower. It really is a cool structure. Skeletal and larger than I had imagined. We took the stairs up the south leg to the 1st level, after purchasing tickets for the top. After reading some displays and deciding to head up, I stupidly waited 10 minutes in the line to take the elevator back down. Didn’t matter for the crowd — the elevator was packed every time so they didn’t make much progress either. Felt bad because we’d told Francesca that we’d be down after 30 minutes; ended up being there for 70 minutes. After walking up yet another flight of stairs I met some Canadian girls on a class trip from the “redneck” (central) part of Canada. The friendly chat with them calmed my nerves with how pissed I was at Paris at that point. Finally made it to the top and got pictures. Quite freezing, windy, etc. Great view though. Had one of the Canadians try to get pics of me without flash, but they were very blurry due to the high winds. Getting back to Francesca around 9:20, we decided to get our crêpes we’d been craving. Nutella and banana. Delicious.
The girls decided to head back to the hostel, but I wanted to see more sights so I took the metro to the Arc De Triomphe (wasted 1.60 € by entering the wrong station). The thing is impressive, though. Walking down the Champ-Elysées (long walk, feet hurt: in the words of the philosopher Cash, “I’ve been everywhere.”) to the Obelisk and finally the Louvre (Jardin des Tuileries was closed, probably because of the bums at night) I can still see the thing. The Louvre at night was cool due to the lit up pyramid. I then headed to the Pont Neuf bridge (“New Bridge” so named because at the time it was the first built without houses on it) because Bourne sent Conklin there in The Bourne Identity. Wondered which building Bourne spied on him from. Got the metro back to Riquet and arrived at the hostel around 12:45 am. Long day, but fulfilling. I understand and am inclined to agree with Francesca about why she doesn’t like Paris. I’m done with Paris for awhile, but I will be back for the Musee d’Orsay Mom recommended.
Leaving Versailles I was lucky to catch the 6:50 pm RER back to Paris so I could make it to the rendezvous at the Eiffel Tower. It really is a cool structure. Skeletal and larger than I had imagined. We took the stairs up the south leg to the 1st level, after purchasing tickets for the top. After reading some displays and deciding to head up, I stupidly waited 10 minutes in the line to take the elevator back down. Didn’t matter for the crowd — the elevator was packed every time so they didn’t make much progress either. Felt bad because we’d told Francesca that we’d be down after 30 minutes; ended up being there for 70 minutes. After walking up yet another flight of stairs I met some Canadian girls on a class trip from the “redneck” (central) part of Canada. The friendly chat with them calmed my nerves with how pissed I was at Paris at that point. Finally made it to the top and got pictures. Quite freezing, windy, etc. Great view though. Had one of the Canadians try to get pics of me without flash, but they were very blurry due to the high winds. Getting back to Francesca around 9:20, we decided to get our crêpes we’d been craving. Nutella and banana. Delicious.
The girls decided to head back to the hostel, but I wanted to see more sights so I took the metro to the Arc De Triomphe (wasted 1.60 € by entering the wrong station). The thing is impressive, though. Walking down the Champ-Elysées (long walk, feet hurt: in the words of the philosopher Cash, “I’ve been everywhere.”) to the Obelisk and finally the Louvre (Jardin des Tuileries was closed, probably because of the bums at night) I can still see the thing. The Louvre at night was cool due to the lit up pyramid. I then headed to the Pont Neuf bridge (“New Bridge” so named because at the time it was the first built without houses on it) because Bourne sent Conklin there in The Bourne Identity. Wondered which building Bourne spied on him from. Got the metro back to Riquet and arrived at the hostel around 12:45 am. Long day, but fulfilling. I understand and am inclined to agree with Francesca about why she doesn’t like Paris. I’m done with Paris for awhile, but I will be back for the Musee d’Orsay Mom recommended.
Paris, France 4/2/10
After arriving in Paris from the night train, we set out to reserve tickets back to Salzburg as the office there wouldn’t allow us to do that. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the train we wanted (it’s Easter weekend), but we did reserve a train to Stuttgart so hopefully from there we can make it back. We needed a subway ticket for the day, though, so we could get to our hostel and to all the sites we wanted to get to. Spent about an hour waiting for the one ticket machine at Gare de l’est that would take Visa or Mastercard as all others only took coins (we needed 9 € worth and I’m not Gringott’s) or European credit cards. Right when we got to the machine, conveniently the guy ahead of us got his card stuck in the machine. What a pisser. Fortunately, ended up getting tickets from the info desk.
Checked into the St. Christopher’s Hostel, which is a pretty nice chain in Europe. This one shares space with a Holiday Inn Express (located on the back). Decided to see some sites so we took the metro to Notre Dame and saw the outside of that (the Easter or tourist line was ridiculous). We then decided to see “the other Statue of Liberty.” It’s located on a small island under a bridge and is actually bigger than what I anticipated from National Treasure 2 (maybe there are two of them in Paris). It was raining pretty heavily at this point and I forgot my umbrella at the hostel so I was soaked (my head at least). Due to the weather we decided to hit up the Louvre. I used the Rick Steve’s iPod tour that I had downloaded earlier which gave me a pretty good overview of the important sites. Venus di Milo was cool and the Mona Lisa actually impressed me more than I thought it would. The painting seemed more colorful and she had more of a grin. The crowds taking flash photos king of shocked me. Maybe the guards have given up on trying to stop the crowd after so long. The girls weren’t able to find the connecting spires or w/e from the Da Vinci Code.
Tired we headed back to get rest, but ended up talking to the other occupants of our room: two Americans Michael and Gerard, whose respective friends were also arriving that night. I actually ended up talking to our roommate from Scotland more in depth than either. Andrew was traveling for business/pleasure from Scotland and we got to talking about Sean Connery (hypocrite for being a proper Scotsman, but living in a tax haven), Up in the Air (relating to Andrew’s lifestyle right now), beer pong (they don’t know of it), and Top Gear. Really cool guy and funny especially when he started messing with Axelle after she told him about Taken. Asking her to say “whatever” was a real kick to him.
Checked into the St. Christopher’s Hostel, which is a pretty nice chain in Europe. This one shares space with a Holiday Inn Express (located on the back). Decided to see some sites so we took the metro to Notre Dame and saw the outside of that (the Easter or tourist line was ridiculous). We then decided to see “the other Statue of Liberty.” It’s located on a small island under a bridge and is actually bigger than what I anticipated from National Treasure 2 (maybe there are two of them in Paris). It was raining pretty heavily at this point and I forgot my umbrella at the hostel so I was soaked (my head at least). Due to the weather we decided to hit up the Louvre. I used the Rick Steve’s iPod tour that I had downloaded earlier which gave me a pretty good overview of the important sites. Venus di Milo was cool and the Mona Lisa actually impressed me more than I thought it would. The painting seemed more colorful and she had more of a grin. The crowds taking flash photos king of shocked me. Maybe the guards have given up on trying to stop the crowd after so long. The girls weren’t able to find the connecting spires or w/e from the Da Vinci Code.
Tired we headed back to get rest, but ended up talking to the other occupants of our room: two Americans Michael and Gerard, whose respective friends were also arriving that night. I actually ended up talking to our roommate from Scotland more in depth than either. Andrew was traveling for business/pleasure from Scotland and we got to talking about Sean Connery (hypocrite for being a proper Scotsman, but living in a tax haven), Up in the Air (relating to Andrew’s lifestyle right now), beer pong (they don’t know of it), and Top Gear. Really cool guy and funny especially when he started messing with Axelle after she told him about Taken. Asking her to say “whatever” was a real kick to him.
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