August 7, 2007 by tgill1.

I decided to try another of one the walking audio tours today since I enjoyed the first one so much through Saint Michel on Friday.  This time I walked through Saint-Germain des Pres, which is a district named after the oldest church in Paris.

The current structure is not the oldest, but the original church on the site was, and bits of it still remain in the garden.  Also present is a sculpture by Picasso in remembrance of his friend.

The small garden is also the the site where 321 priests were literally hacked to death by an angry mob during the revolution.  That’s always special.

I also took a nice long walk along the Seine, which was only interrupted by the increasingly bad weather.  Apparently rain is coming tomorrow.

At any rate, I was also able to check out the Plages de Paris, or Beaches of Paris, which is something the city organizes along the Seine for one month each summer.  Basically it is comprised of local merchants, restaurants and drinking establishments setting up temporary business along the bank of the Seine for one month.  Although the wind had started kicking up, I still was able to appreciate what a fun idea this is.

Afterwards, Jason and I had intended to hit up Disneyland but with the impending rain we decided to just grab some dinner instead.  It was a nice surprise to get back at 11pm tonight and realize that out electronic keys had expired at some point during the day and we had to call the maintenance person to let us in.  She actually was friendly about the whole situation, which was refreshing because she’s usually not.  Tomorrow, hitting up the Louvre for part deux.

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August 6, 2007 by tgill1.

Jason and I drove to Normandy this weekend to visit the D-Day beaches and sites.  It was an incredibly powerful experience, kind of like visiting Pearl Harbor but on a larger scale.  We stayed the night in Bayeaux, which proved to be a nice place to stay to visit the beaches and was so old and quaint it seemed unreal.

We first visited Omaha Beach, where the American troops encountered the most resistance on D-Day.  To look at the beach now, you would never guess that at some point so many lives were lost on those same shores.  It is a recreational beach now.  Hundreds of families and children were beached out with towels and umbrellas, playing games, running in and out of the surf.

The beach itself is beautiful.  It’s also long: 4 miles.  Neither of us had any idea how long the beach was, especially considering that Omaha was simply one of five beaches attacked on the same day.  As if it didn’t seem so before, the task seems even more daunting and impossible.  Making it onto the beach itself would have been an amazing feat considering the heavy firing, but the troops also had to climb up cliffs and steep embankments.

It’s no wonder why Omaha suffered the greatest casualties and took the longest to claim.  We visited the Point du Hoc memorial and site, where members of the U.S. Army Rangers had to scale up cliffs under heavy fire to seize German guns, only to find when they arrived at the destination that the Germans had already moved the guns.  They later found the guns about a kilometer away but had lost well over half of their men, (only 90 remained of over 225).  The area above the cliffs still has the remains of the German artillery bunkers and fortifications.

Also present are tons of enormous craters in the earth left over by the bombings.

We spent most of Saturday on or around Omaha Beach, walking around and driving by as much of it as we could.

Sunday we first visited the Normandy American Cemetery that overlooks Omaha Beach.  The grounds have an impressive museum site that talks about preparations and strategies in preparation for D-Day, as well as specific stories of soldiers who fought that day, both from the survivors and from those who did not.

We also went to see Pegasus Bridge, which was captured by the British to take control of the Caen Canal and and thereby seize control of a major port of entry.

Looking around it’s hard to believe what happened there just over 60 years ago, but reminders exist everywhere.  All over the names of streets, memorials and plaques thank the liberators for their deeds and sacrifices.  It’s a good thing, because the outcome was priceless but the cost was incredibly steep.

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August 3, 2007 by tgill1.

Today I decided enough with the museums for now: I wanted to walk around.  Fortunately, Andrea gave me some fantastic Paris walking tours that I loaded on my iPod.  I tried the second one today through Saint Michel.  I also ate a delicious lunch and saw the skinniest house in all of Paris!

Not too many photos today since my camera died quite early in the day, although I did see cool stuff like the Sorbonne and Jardin su Luxenbourg.  I’m planning on going back with a fully charged camera at some point.  Jason and I also had some delicious Indian food and later tried out the local Disney Village club Hurricanes.  Super overpriced but fun all the same.  Tomorrow we will be heading out to Normandy to check out the beaches and monuments of the D Day invasion.  We both are really looking forward to it.  Plenty of pics to come on Monday!

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August 2, 2007 by tgill1.

I figured that I would check out the Louvre today, and if there was some Versailles-esque ticket queue I would head over to the Dali Museum instead.  To my surprise, although there were a ton of people present, ticket sales are much more streamlined, thanks to multiple entrances and several ticket machines.  Within a few minutes I had my ticket, a map and absolutely no clue where to begin.  I was so impressed with the entrance in Napoleon Hall underneath I.M. Pei’s famous pyramid that I decided I would start with Denon Hall today.

There are three sections of the Louvre altogether, and since I enjoyed today so much I decided that I will spend one day on each wing.  Don’t get me wrong, this STILL does not truly allow me to appreciate all there is to offer, but it’ll be enough to say that at some point I walked through every open hall of the Louvre.

Having covered all floors of the Denon section today, I must say that it seems impossible to take it all in.  You’d have to be a freak, and I mean that in a good way.  Still, the only way to take it in is to glance at everything and select only the pieces to catch your eye for further appreciation.  One could go insane trying to read and study everything.  It is truly an amazing collection of the world’s art.

My favorites today were the Italian sculptures,  large French paintings and Egyptian funeral portraits.

I saw the Mona Lisa today and was not terribly impressed.  Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s DaVinci, I know it’s incredibly famous, especially now with the DaVinci Code hype, but still.  It’s nice but I was more impressed by other works in the same section.  What seriously bothered me though was that you’d think the Mona Lisa has a strobe light focused on her face.  At this point I’m going to get on my high horse for a moment.  There are signs EVERYWHERE that photographs are not to be taken of the paintings because the flashes are damaging.  And yet, that’s exactly what most people are doing.  I don’t even think they are looking at the paintings.  They just take the flash pictures.  Surprisingly, the Louvre docents don’t say anything.  They all look like they want to shoot themselves, so perhaps they’ve just given up.  Anyway, I think it’s irresponsible and selfish for people to snap photographs they’ll probably hardly look at and won’t even turn out worth a damn, meanwhile irreparably damaging the paintings for future generations.  Okay, rant finished.  The Louvre is really fantastic and I’m looking forward to my other two visits, although I haven’t decided yet which days I’ll go back.

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August 1, 2007 by tgill1.

Today I visited the Musee Rodin, which was the home of Auguste Rodin and now houses many of his most famous sculptures and other works.  The sculptures are gorgeous.  He really understood the human body and how it moves.  The mansion and the gardens are beautiful and peaceful.

Some of the most notable works displayed are The Thinker, The Kiss and The Gates of Hell, although most of the others are fantastic as well.

Tonight we’ll be having our favorite meal again.  No, not last night’s andouillette, but frenchiladas!!  To close today, I thought I’d post a picture of what is arguably the stupidest looking car I’ve ever seen.  This one takes the cake.

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July 31, 2007 by tgill1.

After yesterday’s event I was rather tired to say the least.  However, I did manage to make it into town to check out the Opera Quarter and the Paris Opera House.  It is a very impressive building fitting of impressive operas.  The area also has quite a bit of shopping, and I managed to find what is the closest thing I’ve found to a department store, although it was really a collection of many stores in one building without the walls of a mall.  Very posh stuff: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Tiffany’s, etc.

Normal stuff as well, but they certainly like to promote the fancy stuff up front.  I also checked out a church dedicated to Madeleine, or Mary Magdalene.  It really looked more like a government building than a church.

Tonight we went to dinner with Blake and Andrea to an adorable restaurant in neighboring Serris.  We all enjoyed our dinners.  All, that is, except for Jason.  He ordered what he thought was andouille sausage, but it turned out to be andouillette, which is a bit different.  The main ingredients are colon and pig stomach, and it is known for its feces aroma.  Faaaaaantastic.  I was getting ill just looking at it.  If you’d like to know more about this mouth-watering dish, check out this link.  After, Jason and Blake had a karaoke jam with Jason’s portable karaoke machine, while we all enjoyed some delicious mint chip ice cream.

No plans yet for tomorrow.  Perhaps the Rodin Museum?

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July 30, 2007 by tgill1.

Andrea and I had a great time in Brussels today seeing the sights, eating, seeing more sights, eating some more, walking around, then eating again.  We took the TGV train, which is one of the high speed trains in France that truly hauls.  It cuts the travel time to Brussels in half when compared to a car, and that’s including a stop at the airport.

When we first arrived at the train station we had a bit of trouble getting our bearings and figuring out which metro train we had to take in order to get to the locations Andrea had found on the internet.  When we finally figured it all out we first saw this cathedral, (yes, it has a striking resemblance to the two Notre-Dame cathedrals I’ve already posted.  The design is apparently a common one among the monster cathedrals in these parts).

Eventually we made it to the main plaza, which we would end up walking through 50 more times before we left.  If the city was initially designed to have this plaza as a main hub, they succeeded immensely.

We would end up running back into the plaza time and time again without even trying.  We took a huge walk around the perimeter of Brussels to visit the Royal Palace, but it turns out that it is closed on Mondays.

Apparently, several things are closed on Mondays.  Bummer for us, but we still had more to see.  Namely: chocolate shops!

I bought some delicious chocolates, and we also visited the Cocoa and Chocolate Museum, which boasted facts and artifacts related to the cultivation and harvesting of cocoa beans in Africa and South America.  It also had an artisan present who did demonstrations on how he makes truffles, and examples of clothes made of chocolate.

Show-offs. 

Part way through the day, Andrea and I couldn’t help but notice pictures and references to a fountain of a little boy peeing.  Souvenirs shops are filled with this stuff: magnets, keychains, pictures, post cards, t-shirts, bottle openers, etc.  We could not for the life of us find this little dude, but after a while it became apparent that if we didn’t find him before the end of the day, we clearly would have sorely missed out on a ridiculous tourist monument and neither one of us would have been able to live with ourselves had that happened.  Anyway, after some trial and error we found the little fountain, and I mean little.  His name is Mannekin Pis, and I’ve already read a couple of different legends on why he’s famous, although I suspect he’s mostly famous because, you know, he’s peeing.

If you’re interested in one of the legends, check out this link.  Of course, we enjoyed Belgian Waffles, or gaufres, as they are called, and I couldn’t resist a genuine Belgian beer whilst in Belgium.

All were delicious.  Had a great time, walked a lot, ate even more, and will be sleeping well tonight.

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July 29, 2007 by tgill1.

Just a quick blog tonight since I was gone all day I will need to wake up in less than six hours at this point.  Today we did indeed have Movie-Thon in the Bercy section of Paris with Blake and Andrea.  We watched both Die Hard and Transformers.  I certainly have my share of large explosions and gratuitous gun violence for probably a year or more, but I must say that I enjoyed each movie more than I thought I would.  Last night, however, Jason and I went to a really great restaurant that was so different than anything I have ever experienced before.  When you first walk in, two baskets await you: one filled with fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce and hard-boiled eggs.  The second basket has several types of salamis.

These are accompanied by a large knife, a cutting board and a wine bottle full of dressing.  You’re free to cut as many or whichever vegetables/meats you’d like.  Then, they bring out fresh bread, a bottle of wine, and a crock of soup.  You pick your main entree: Jason had the grilled beef and I had the burgundy beef stew, which was delicious.

After them main course we were served a cheese plate with five or six different cheeses for us to try as we desired.  Finally, you have a choice of desserts.  By the way, this whole process took about three hours.

One thing I’ve noticed about the French is that the meal is not the precursor to the whatever else you may be doing that night: it IS what you are doing that night.  Anyway, I thought it was such a unique and delicious experience.  Tomorrow Andrea and I are taking the train to Brussels, Belgium for the day.  Lots of pictures coming up tomorrow!

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July 28, 2007 by tgill1.

Today Jason and I took a day trip to go champagne tasting in Reims.

First, we took a bit of time to check out the Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims, which has an incredible history and was where the kings of France were crowned.

Afterwards, we walked through the town and saw the monument to the French resistance during World War II.

Also in the near vicinity were these Roman arches from waaaaay back in the second century when Reims was still a Roman town. Look close and you’ll see me in the center.

We experimented with some Latin cuisine again for lunch with some better results.  Afterwards, we visited the Piper-Heidsieck Winery and the limestone cave tour where they store the champagne until it is ready.

Apparently the champagne from this particular winery was presented to, and chosen by Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, and was later the official champagne of 14 French monarchies.

The best part was afterwards when we were able to taste three different types of champagne, all of which were quite good.

Jason bought a bottle for a later date.  Tonight we’re planning to have dinner in Paris.  Tomorrow we’ll have a movie-thon with Blake and Andrea to catch up on movies that Jason and Blake have been wanting to see, including Transformers and Die Hard 4.  Note that I said JASON and BLAKE.  Wish me luck.

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July 27, 2007 by tgill1.

Other than delicious crepes for lunch and some shopping at the outlets at Val d’Europe, I didn’t accomplish too much today.

However, today was Andrea’s birthday, so to celebrate we went to The Steakhouse at Disney Village, which is very good, although pricey.  I enjoyed a sirloin steak and afterwards some Bailey’s creme brulee.

It was all very delicious.  Up tomorrow: a day trip to Reims in order to tour the Piper-Heidsieck champagne cellar and other miscellaneous activities.

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