My European Trip

What a trip! I started out flying to Boston to stay overnight and take the first flight to London. The flight went really well due to my recent purchase of a PSP and the remake of the original Final Fantasy (20 year edition). Once in London, I was struck by how crowded it was (and dirty). Being a country boy, I really missed the open spaces and trees. However, this was an adventure through Europe and I was going to see what I could see. So, we took a cab to our hotel (near Waterloo station) and had dinner. It was around 10pm and I really wanted to go to westminster and walk around. So, I went to take the underground (subway) and away I went to see how it worked. Personally, I think it's a bit dangerous and there are certainly some shady characters around (I've seen some movies start out like what I was experiencing) but overall the trip to Big Ben went well.

Coming out of the underground puts you right at the base of Big Ben.......within 20 feet! First impression: it's huge! Man, pictures just really don't do it justice. Also, the parliament building as a whole has exquisite architecture, and is really nice to see. Buildings just aren't made like that anymore because it would take so long an is not really cost-effective. It's a shame. I called Celena and the boys from the bridge over the river Thames and headed back to the hotel.

My trip back to the hotel on the underground at 11:30pm was odd. I saw a dude that was really interesting. He was a Goth, and looked the part wholeheartedly. Long black hair, black fingernails, black clothes....you get the picture. His laptop bag had 3" spikes all over it, and could not have been comfortable. Anyway, I said, "Hello" and he smiled and said "Hello" back. I figured that would suffice in order to stave off an attack. :)

After getting back to the hotel I crashed. It was 11:45pm (6:45pm EDT) so I really wasn't tired but needed to sleep. I was out by 12.

Getting up at 5am and packing up to take the train was easier than I thought. Those who I was traveling with weren't so lucky. Pete and Carl were both really bad off and were having a hard time adjusting. I really didn't have a problem. From my point of view I just had 5 hours of interrupted sleep. Having 2 small children means that this is a rarity and I was well rested!

So, onto the train station to take the train to Paris. We decided to eat at the train station and I noticed that there were no napkins to be found....odd. Anyway, we had some bagels and loaded up. The train ride was.......a train ride. It was nice to see the european countryside, and the French countryside was really quite nice. Going under the English Channel was kinda fun too.

So we arrived in Paris and took a cab to the office. Work, work, work. Finished around 6pm and went to check-in to our hotel. It was nice, but we didn't stay long. Marc and I headed out and walked to the Eiffel Tower. That was an impressive structure! Huge, Ginormous, etc... Whatever I write just won't do it justice. Then we walked over the river and up to the Arc De Triomphe. That was impressive as well, and the swirling vortex of doom that is the traffic circle around it was just plain scary.

The next day we worked from morning until dinner....which is apparently 8pm! And that was early! The eateries don't even open until 8pm, which is just strange to me. The dinner was exquisite, I had oysters and scallops. It was by far the fanciest meal I've ever had. Although it wasn't much at all, 5 scallops hardly makes a meal to me.

The next morning we arose late, ate breakfast and made our way back to the airport. We did some shopping (read: bought good chocolate) and took the plane back to Boston. I had a short layover and was home by 10pm.

3 countries: 4 days. My butt was really tired. :)