european bonanza le finale

we arrive in paris and move into our first apartment in the latin quarter. the district (arronidisement) turns out to be a hugely popular tourist trap with small streets and shops jumbled together. the location was good as it was close to the notre dame, ile st louis, and various other sites. actually, the location really didn't matter because the subways were the best i've ever seen anywhere. the subway network was as dense as new york's, clean as londons, and as efficient as hong kong's.

sigh...


gargoyle on notre dame. why o why was i born with a church for legs?



Quasimodo's bell



the garden of versailles was beautiful. it was hard to appreciate the grandeur of the gardens while walking in it but taking a step back, and noticing the beauty was an experience. the palace itself was amazing too. a tour de force in architecture and lavishness. but where are the bathrooms? i learned the other day that people took shats on the friggin stairs. that's why the french used to put on so much cologne... Because they loved the smell of crap so much, they put the scent of shit around their necks.

garden of versailles. good luck finding doggy doo on this lawn


gardens... throwback to the days long past...


friggin gnomes live in versailles!


overhead shot of versailles. cute images of dogs were popular back in the day



the louvre was, simply put, the best museum i've ever been in. i was actually very anxious to see all the works displayed in rooms that were works of art themselves. despite walking around the museum for 5 or so hours, i was not tired. Musee d'Orsay was cool too

arch, glass pyramid, and louvre in one grand shot


moanuh. stop staring at me!



i was expecting the eiffel to be a lot smaller and possibly overhyped. maybe it was my low expectations, but it was breathtaking to stand under it, on top of it, and next to it.

eiffel tower garden


wow... it's so big


all that glitters is not gold



After Paris, we headed back to London for our flight out. We had one full day there so I took a trip to Windsor Castle because I felt a duty to Francisco and myself to see it for the both of us since we missed it last time. The Queen lives here!