Venice & Paris

This will be a huge update to make up for all that I have missed.

Last Saturday we took the train to Venice, which of course is beautiful. We didn't have much time there but we roamed the city, got lunch, visited Piazza San Marco and took a gondola ride. There is tons of Murano glass there, and not much else. Here is a picture a la gondola:

Sunday Kristin and I went to church in the Duomo which was really cool, it's amazing to be in the heart of the Roman Catholic faith.


Last week flew by, as we were very excited for our trip to Paris. We left on Thursday and arrived in Paris at about 5pm. The plane ride was interesting because we were in row 14, but at the back of the plane...


Took the metro to our hostel (not that bad, had our private room and bathroom) on the edge of the city. Immediately began to roam aimlessly toward the Eiffel Tower, got lost, and jumped into a taxi to get there. It was nice to find taxis all over the city, they are a rare commodity in Florence, but also not needed because it's a much smaller city. We got to the tower right at sunset:

We were starving by this point so we had a very good, but very expensive dinner at a restaurant nearby. The next day we woke up early to do the Louvre and Notre Dame, both beautiful. We didn't spend a ton of time at the Louvre because it is so overwhelmingly humongous, but we did see the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa, "La Joconde." I learned that the artist who created the Venus de Milo is still unknown, and it was found by a Greek peasant in the ancient ruins of the island of Milo in 1820. The statue was originally found in two pieces. Here's me and my girl Mona:

Friday afternoon we took the metro to Disneyland Paris, obviously a necessary trip. It was very similar to Orlando: the castle, Tower of Terror, the teacups, "it's a small world," and the Aerosmith rollercoaster. But, it just didn't compare in overall coolness and size, and none of the rides were as fun.

Saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to get to the Eiffel Tower before everyone else in Paris did. I think this was the morning we tried croissants at a patisserie by our hotel, which were delicious even though I really don't like croissants. It was freezing and raining, but there wasn't much of a line and the view was well worth it. Next we grabbed lunch and went to the Musee D'Orsay, which I really loved. Got to see lots of Monet and Van Gogh's work.

I forgot to mention that we took a "hop on, hop off" bus tour to get to all these places, so it was nice to learn about the city as we travelled around. We also drove by:

Place de la Concorde where a huge Obelisk stands where many were beheaded (including Marie Antoinette).

The Latin Quarter, the student section where many schools are located.

Champs Elysees, a famous street.

Arc de Triomphe, constructed by Napoleon, where his ashes were spread.

We took a quick stop at the Opera house and walked around a small part of the Galleries Lafayette, one of the world's largest department stores.

For our last night in Paris, Kristin and I booked an excursion tour which included dinner at the Eiffel Tower, a sunset cruise on the Seine, and a show at the Moulin Rouge. Well worth the money. Overall, I really loved Paris; it was a lot like Manhattan but with much more history and art, also it really made me recognize how young of a country the U.S. is. Contrary to the sterotype, the French were exceptionally nice, especially in comparison to the natives in Florence.

I'm leaving so much out, but it was a great weekend. Ready for Rome on Thursday!