Paris and Wrapping Up

Old with the new (or newer, with graffiti on it)

Saving the best for last may not have been our best idea. After a month of traveling the last thing you want to do is drag yourself out of bed early and go to another monument or museum. Compacting that was the fact we were in Paris on and around Bastille Day, in arguably the height of tourist season. I definitely felt we'd accomplished more in other places on the trip (cough cough Rome), but maybe sitting around in parks in Paris is what you're supposed to do there anyway.

We first lounged around in one of the larger and more famous cemeteries in Paris, which happened to be a stone's throw from where we were staying (with yet another in a series of fantastic hosts).

The entire place looked like this, and it was huge

 

Occasionally you'd run across famous people, but only if you looked them up on a map and actively sought them out, because the graveyard seemed deliberately designed to confuse

We spent an entire day at the Louvre, which was easy considering its size. Admission to the Louvre is dirt cheap if you take in to account how much stuff they have there.

Loo-vruh

Lookin good

Can't tell us apart

Some girl left her bag on a bench in the museum and they shut down the whole wing. Culture AND entertainment

We went to as many places as we could muster the willpower in Paris, but the crowds bested us at a couple locations, most notably Musee d'Orsay and the catacombs.

Crowds bested us here too

People shoving each other for space in a church

We also didn't go to the top of this, or the Eiffel Tower 

because we were so done with crowds

Not that the sheer volume of people we had to deal with was anyone's fault other than our own. The dates we ended up choosing to be in Paris were on Bastille Day, on a weekend, in the height of tourist season. Oops.

Not going to the catacombs had an upside though, it means we'll be allowed to return to the Carlsbad Caverns before ten years have past (refer back a few blog posts if you need a refresher, it has to do with bats)

We ended up spending Bastille Day at the Versailles Chateau.

I loved the idea of stumbling around Versailles sweaty and confused on Bastille Day

Wanted to wash off my peasant dirt in the lake

The crowds weren't unbelievable at Versailles

Also of note in Paris, in all of the tourist destinations, were the straight soldiers on patrol with automatic rifles. Nothing makes you feel safe like a group of dudes glaring at you as they walk slowly by carrying guns you've only seen in video games and action movies.

Despite being in Paris with less than favorable conditions, it didn't stop us from enjoying moments like these:

Doesn't get much more French than this without delving into the realm of political incorrectness

Ashley and I parted ways with Conor and took the Chunnel back to London to catch our flight out of Heathrow yesterday. Today we're back in New Jersey and using jet lag as an excuse to do absolutely nothing (and loving it).

Only a few short weeks until we're back in Los Angeles, where the work begins. Taking that into account, I'm going to unceremoniously end this portion of the blog, and promise more in a few weeks once we're back on the road driving across the country AGAIN.

Brendan