And She's Off

I am now off and running in Europe. This is a summary of some of the things I have done and seen so far:

The flight was brillant. I almost find turbulence now comforting because at least I know that I am in the air and on my way. It was fine. The flight to Vancouver BC was a little flight with only 100 seats. I did end up meeting Dom and Greg there and it was a lot of fun. We had coffee and English muffins, and all wa

Paris was also brilliant. My choice of hotels was great because even though it was in a dorm style, I was the only one there almost the whole time, so I had a space to myself with my own bathroom and a place to lock up my stuff while I went out on excursions. The area around the hotel could have been better, but it wasn't a problem until I tried to go to take a walk at around 2:00 am which I don't recommend at all anyway.

I went to the Rodin museum, then I went to the Eiffel Tower (but not up) and walked around there. I explored side streets, took pictures of flower vendors, and used and abused my museum pass (which was totally worth it by the way) in all sorts of ways. I got to go to the top of th Arc De Triomphe (or however you spell it). You could see all of Paris from there and it was just amazing. It rained the whole time, but that's not something that I'm not used to anyway, so no problems there.

On my second day, I spent 10 hours in the Louvre and only did a little bit of it. The next day, I spend another 6 hours in the Louvre. I went in almost every part, but I loved the Greek and Roman stuff. The mideavel stuff was also very cool. The cartoons about that time period are actually based in some fact. I didn't take photos though because I hate being a typical "tourist" and they aren't anything I can't buy in a book already. Unless they want to hire me to take product shots of all of the art, it's pointless. I would say that even though the Mona Lisa was a masterpiece that it is one of the lesser interesting things in the museum. I adored the place. The only problem is that it would take about a week or two full time to see it all, and by the end of the day I was so overrun on walking and looking that it was hard to keep the art appreciation hat on without getting very tired and hungry.

I also got to go to a cafe and have a ham and cheese sandwich the Paris way, which was very unique. I've never drank so much coffee in my life, but it's not polite to shove it off. I don't mind it and it has helped me get over the jet lag (I am fully recovered). The food is of course brilliant, and I love it.

I am in Brussels now. I like it here a lot. I went out to eat last night with some of the nicest people in the world.

The house I am staying in should be a museum. It is beautiful. I will take some photos for you, but it's four stories and it's just amazing. I love it so much. I have the top floor all to myself with a very large skylight and a sloping cieling. Very cool. You would love it. I really do as well.

However, I learned I know nothing about eating. At breakfast, I didn't know how to cut bread, stir coffee or break an egg. I had to watch other people first because I realized that I really was a sloppy American with no table manners.

I love the culture here very much. Brussels has come with a lot more haggling and all of that kind of thing, but I will be fine.


OK. I am going to go to a museum and walk around. I hope all is well.