So it took me quite a bit of time (a month or so) to continue the recap of the amazing European trip...from over 2 months ago. Yes, I suck. But I endeavor to get these cranked out sooner than later, as hell, I'm beginning to forget just what it was we did! Part of my delay has been the fact that there are a TON of freakin' pictures to go through...still. This page and the next have a fuckton of pictures to look through so persevere with me!

Let me bring you back into the vacation mode though - that's the least I could do. The night before, we all (me, Jeff, Susan, Shannon and Brian) had gone on the kick-ass nighttime taxi ride through Paris. I must reiterate what a fantastic thing that is to do. Do it, if you are ever in Paris. We got back around midnight or so, but had to make sure to get some rest because we were going to get up first thing in the morning because it was time to beat the crowds to Versailles!

To get to Versailles, you actually have to take a train out to it from Paris, as it's not exactly right in town. We planned for this endeavor by making sure to leave early enough to get to Versailles shortly after opening, so we all met at our hotel lobby first. This morning, we added another to our crew, Mike. Mike is a friend of Susan's and is currently stationed over in Germany so he took the train over. He is a pretty cool guy and got along well with the existing group of us.

I ended up using some more of my admittedly limited French skills to buy a Versailles Rail Pass which gets you a round-trip ticket on the RER AND a ticket into Versailles, allowing you to bypass the ticket line there, which is a definite plus. Easily enough, we got there and walked the brief journey from the train station to the palace gates, which you arrive at and immediately are overwhelmed by the sheer grandiosity and Size of the Palace of Versailles. It was the retreat from Paris politics and hubbub that the Sun King, Louis XIV, built - and it's freakin' amazing in its scope and over-the-topness. It definitely earns its reputation as Europe's Top Palace, because while the palace itself is huge, when you actually get to the back of the palace, you see the immenseness of the palace grounds - which you'd need a whole day to walk around and explore on your own.

Anyways, we were able to walk right in and begin the self-guided tour throughout the palace. Jeff and I had downloaded the Rick Steves iPod walking tour which was very informative and fun to listen to - Rick Steves is kind of a dork. But it was a good tour, although the recording was based on an old tour route, as you see, Versailles' tour path has been reorganized because they've finished restoring some sections that you weren't able to visit before, including the Hercules grand entrance hall and, most exciting, the Versailles Opera House. It was amazing to see that, especially since it was featured prominently in the recent movie by Sofia Coppola called Marie Antoinette (boring movie, but beautiful). There was plenty to see in Versailles, but it mostly served to illustrate how much freakin' money was spent on lavishness. Incredible. Oh, but if you really want to know more about Versailles, here's a Wikipedia entry all about it! We finished the tour, walked around the top portion of the gardens briefly, but then headed soon enough back on the train to Paris, which was good timing on our part, as the place got PACKED by the time we were leaving. A Saturday is definitely not a 'light' tourist time for one of the biggest attractions in France!

March 31, 2007: Journey to and Exploring Versailles
Jeff and Susan are ready for their French breakfast	Keeping it real, yo	Guess I'm trying to keep things in control here	The map of Paris on the wall of our hotel's restaurant	Us in line to buy our Versailles passes	Walking the long plaza to the palace gates of Versailles	The Hercules entranceway	A better view of the Hercules' ceiling	Golden something or an other
Me lounging in the halls of Versailles	Jeff and Susan	Hanging out by the windows	Me in one of the many rooms	Looking outside to the gardens	A bust of Louis XIV, the builder of Versailles	Ornate red room in the palace	Seriously, a wing of the palace you don't see - can only imagine what's in there	The infamous Hall of Mirrors
Me in the Mirror (cue Michael Jackson music)	third time's the charm	After you exit the palace tour, you are at the rear of the palace	Right by the top of the gardens	These are ornately maintained - can't imagine how much work that takes	Looking to the East	And there you can see the MANmade lake	Cool, angular shot of some Versailles hedges	You can see the amount of restoration still going on at the palace
A look out at the immense gardens - the Grand Canal is what you see way out there	A view of very contradictory architectures; but still beautiful	Walking away from the palace and towards the town and train station

What visit to Paris would be complete without visiting a few choice sights: the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Champs Elysees .... and of course, the Arc de Triomphe! This was built to commemmorate the many victories of Napoleon Bonaparte - and it certainly has one of the premier locations in Paris to be situated in, as it is directly at the end of the Champs Elysees away from the Tuileries and Louvre museum. And it is amazing to see it as you travel up the Champs Elysees. Here's some more info on the Arc de Triomphe from Wikipedia.

We got back from Versailles and hopped off the Metro at the Champs Elysees in order to walk up it a bit towards the Arc. You have to approach it in order to really get a good look at it. The weather started to turn a little dreary and when we were up on top of the Arc, it actually did start to rain. But even with the dreary weather, there's nothing like being on the top of the Arc and seeing all of Paris in 360 degrees. It's amazing to see the crazy road turnabout that lives around the Arc but you can also see every main tourist landmark from the top as well. So here are some pictures from our time atop the Arc!

March 31, 2007: Living Large at the Arc de Triomphe
The Arc from the Champs Elysees	An even closer view	I had to take another picture that was similar to one I took in 2002...	...which was this one from my trip with Jason and Wendy. Not exact, but still funny.	Looking up at the Arc from the ground	More detailed shot	At the top and looking out	There's Sacre Coeur in the distance	Looking straight down at the turnabout
Looking toward the modern Paris business downtown	You can see La Grande Arch - the hollowed out square building in the middle	A view of the rainy Arc roof	More Paris scenery	The Eiffel Tower!	The Champs Elysees	A comprehensive view of the Champs Elysees	Another view of the Tower	The top of the Arc, again
Where the Champs Elysees begins	ME	Me again	Shannon and Brian	sans Umbrella	Jeff and Susan in their hooded glory - no umbrellas for them	Our 'candid' conversation shot	The gang headed down the stairs	The Ghosts of the Arc
The spiral staircase from the Arc's top level to the street	The French Tomb of the Unknown Soldier	There's my friends....	....and now I am getting pointed at! I have finally arrived.

So a part of Paris that I had always wanted to see was more of Montmartre, especially after seeing the movie Moulin Rouge. Within Montmartre, I've always wanted to see the cathedral of Sacre Coeur, mainly after seeing it in Amelie and just having seen it in the many guidebooks of Paris. So while we were strolling around the Champs Elysees in the rain, and everyone was kind of like "What Do We Do Now?" (and at the same time, driving Susan insane...), I suggested going to the Montmartre area and seeing not only that eclectic neighborhood but the Sacre Coeur cathedral. So off we went on the Metro to Montmartre!

Arriving there, you get to street level and are immediately enveloped in a sense of exciting activity and 'alive'ness. It is a very interesting neighborhood to say the least. Lots of vendors and lots of people. To get to Sacre Coeur you have to walk uphill through the area, eventually getting to the main plaza below the cathedral. And then you have even more uphill walking to do to just get to the cathedral, but it's well worth it, as the view from the top of Montmartre is stellar, just like from the Arc. Unfortunately the weather was still gloomy, so while the view was still great, it could have been better with some clearer skies. A few of us toured the inside of the cathedral, which is amazing in its own right, but in a town full of ancient landmarks, this one is almost a baby: it was built in the 1800s, but you wouldn't know it by looking at it. Again, more information to be found at Wikipedia.

After visiting the cathedral, we met up with everyone and started walking along the main street in Montmartre, which takes you through the red light district of Paris (where all the sex/porno shops are) and to the illustrious Moulin Rouge! It is certainly interesting to see all those strip clubs and stores - interesting things that are sold there!

Finally, it was dinner time and we found a cool restaurant in the area that served us great food, but most importantly, red wine and chocolate mousse (our first round of chocolate mousse for the trip - but rest assured, there would be more chocolate mousse, let me tell you!).

March 31, 2007: Exploring Montmartre and Sacre Coeur; having dinner in town.
The bustling neighborhood of Montmartre	There's Sacre Coeur atop the Montmartre hill	Closer view	ME	The carousel at the bottom of the hill - it was in Amelie too	The cafe at the bottom of the hill - and Susan crossing the street	The same curvy walkway up the hill to Sacre Coeur as seen in Amelie	Sacre Coeur	There's Mike hiking up the hill
Jeff and Susan making their way up too	Looking down the hill to Montmartre district	looking right close at the cathedral	At the top of the hill	You can see the Eiffel Tower if you look just right	When looking to find where Susan and Jeff were, I found them sitting at the cafe through a telescope. I'm that good.	Oooh, the Sexodrome! Yep, this is the Red Light District.	The Moulin Rouge!	Me and the Red Windmill (aka Moulin Rouge)
Jeff points too	I think that this would have been the building Ewan McGregor's character lived in in the movie	Ah, the glorious red wine we drank at our restaurant/cafe	Susan and Jeff enjoying some French food and ambiance	Shannon, Brian, and Mike enjoy it too	Me, Susan and Jeff	A finished meal	Me and Susan	The waiter took our picture. Ah, Paris!
An accidental shot of the nearby bar	I love me some Chocolate Mousse	So does Shannon

After dinner, I invited myself along with Brian and Shannon to go visit the Eiffel Tower at night - it was time for Jeff and Susan to have some alone time....

We Metro'd over to the Rue Cler area and proceeded to walk to the Eiffel Tower from the L'Ecole Militaire section, so you get a good long approach to gaze at the wonder that is the Eiffel Tower at night. As you'll see below in the pictures, the Eiffel Tower is truly amazing to see at nighttime with all its lights on. We also went and walked up the first two levels of the Eiffel Tower via the stairs which is always a fun experience and I think Shannon and Brian enjoyed doing it. To get to the very top though, you do have to take the elevator, which is not exactly my favorite thing to do...but at least at night, it's not nearly as scary as it would be during the day. The night we were there, it was still a bit murky out there, so the view wasn't as crystal clear as it sometimes as (see Jeff's pics from the next day).

Well, there are lots of pics to see, so no more blathering on by me...this has been a lot of freakin' webpage to write. To say the least. And there's still THREE MORE DAYS to write about!

March 31, 2007: Journeying to the Eiffel Tower at night with Brian and Shannon
Looking at the Tower from the Ecole Militaire area	There's Brian	We would soon be walking this distance to the Tower	Shannon poses with her umbrella	A WWII memorial at the end of the lawn	Getting closer to the Tower	So cool - even with the spotlight	Different flash settings of that same pic	Here's the Tower again (notice the theme)
Doing my impression of the Eiffel Tower	Brian and Shannon sing a happy French song for the occasion	Even jumping to show their joy	Getting real close	and now we're under it	Some more shots as we climb the Tower	Getting up to the first level	Me too	More stairs
Illuminated awesomeness	Barely made it up the stairs	Shannon the spidergirl	I messed up the shot - but this was Brian's Spiderman shot too	Looking down to the ground from the first level	Shannon makes sure she looks fantastic for the next set of stairs	The signs to the next set of steps	There's the second level mocking us from above	A mockup of one of the guys who made the Eiffel Tower
All the elevator people LOVED my camera	View from the second level	Shannon and Brian rejoice	Me too	While waiting in the LONG line for the top elevator, I took this pic looking straight up to the top	Another shot of the amazing architecture	Parisian cityscape from the top	Looking back towards the Ecole Militaire	More Paris cityscape shots
Another shot of the grids in the Paris landscape	Seine River shot	Me enjoying the top of the world feeling	There's the Arc de Triomphe	Shannon and Brian enjoy the scenery too	The Seine river again	There's the Trocadero (where we took our awesome shots from the night before)	Me again	Looking right up the Eiffel Tower from the ground
		Videos Section: - Video of Shannon and Brian and me while climbing up the stairs - Video 1 from the bottom of the Eiffel Tower -Video 2 from the bottom
Sparkle time	Whoever dreamed up Sparklevision for the Eiffel Tower was a genius