* We had a fabulous time and did lots of fun stuff. But we're thinking maybe next time, we'll only do TWO weeks and TWO countries. We're tired.
* Airbnb is definitely the way to go. Even though we got some funky apartments and had to climb up and down a very narrow winding staircase to get to bed and the bathroom, we had a blast and saved money cooking our breakfast in the apartments. Plus we had refrigerators keeping late-night snacks cold for us and didn't have to constantly put out a "Do Not Disturb" sign. There are advantages to a hotel -- having a concierge, for one -- but renting a flat is a great idea.
* Somewhere along the way, the French became nicer and the English a tad surlier. Perhaps their economy makes them a bit cranky? Our hostess was wonderful, as were isolated shopkeepers along the way, but overall, the English seem to have gotten just a little less bubbly than I remember.
* For traveling across countries and between cities in Europe, the high-speed train is really the only way to go. The seats are roomier, you have more leg room and there's less hassle getting to the station and on the train than to the airport and on a plane.
* Paris remains the most beautiful city in the world. Seriously. The architecture is spectacular, the Seine runs through it, there's history everywhere you look, the Eiffel Tower twinkles -- TWINKLES!!! -- it just can't be beat by any other city, imho.
* Selling off half my jewelry to help buy 3 weeks of great memories including the hereafter referred to "meal of a lifetime" was absolutely worth it.
* The French & English, especially the French, take their escalator etiquette very seriously. If all you're going to do is stand there, no problem, but you STAND ON THE RIGHT. In fact, way on the right, so the more compulsive travelers, who can't bear the thought of waiting 5 more minutes for the next train can race up or down the stairs as quickly as possible. The English place signs. The French will tap you and remind you "tenez votre droit" (keep to your right) as they push past you. The Spaniards? Oh my. So loosey goosey. They're all over the escalator, standing wherever they please. Man, 1 week, hell 1 DAY in France and those Parisians would whip them into shape.
I have a couple of photos that for whatever reason I didn't put in the blog, but I don't really want to lose them and who knows when I'll actually go through all the photos I took and organize them. So these are the ones I don't want to lose:
ENGLAND
This is the top of Harrods. When we exited the store, the sun was hitting it while the rest of the store was in shadow. I thought it looked pretty swell.
This is what London looks like at 9:30PM. 9:30!!! I never got used to the sky still being light enough to walk around at 10. Paris got a little darker a little earlier because it's more south, but even that was still pretty light, pretty late. And in both countries, it started getting light around 5AM. 16-17 hours worth of light. wow.
This is what a gate at Buckingham Palace looks like when it's closed. This one doesn't appear to have those fancy handles & locks, however. I never did get back there to look at each one of them.
Still pretty cool, though.
This was just a miscellaneous residence I spotted during the Cambridge bicycle tour. It looked so peaceful (this one's for you, Kebba!). I wondered what it must be like to have a cute house like this on the river Cam in a college town like Cambridge.
Finally, a close-up of Henry VIII (yeah, that one)'s suit of armor. Think he might be over-compensating for something? Well, they didn't have Porsches back then, so a king's gotta do what a king's gotta do:
FRANCE:
A few more swell crypts.
This is Heloise & Abelard, the star-crossed and tortured lovers. When their affair was discovered, supposedly she was sent to a convent and he was castrated. But they spent the rest of their lives writing love letters to each other. They were reunited after death. Just as people (used to) kiss Oscar Wilde's tomb. People leave love letters on the fence here. There were a few visible when we were there.
This one was featured, but it's a good angle of the guy holding his wife's head. This crypt will remain my fave for now
This is just to give you an idea of how the crypts are stacked. Such an old old cemetery. Some graves probably older than the United States! Just fascinating to me to walk among them and see how much money must have gone into paying tribute to loved ones:
I found it curious how the man had such a great bust made of himself and the woman? not so much. And is it me or does she look eternally pissed off?
The Eiffel Tower at dusk when they light it up. Later on, it twinkles for 5 minutes or so at the start of each hour.
The subways of London, Paris & Barcelona are full of musicians just trying to make a living. These guys were playing in the Paris Metro. They sounded pretty damned good, too. They were Hungarian and were selling their CDs. I would have bought one, but they were a tad overpriced at 20 euros. That was just a little too much at the time.
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