Brussels Travel Guide: The Grand Finale

Hi Bloggy Friends. This is the last of my "Trip to Europe" posts. Thank you so much for coming by to read and watch the videos I've put together. Going back over the footage has been tons of fun for me. I hope you've enjoyed the retrospective. So, without further adieu, here's la grande finale:

Hi Bloggy Friends,

Well, as much as I hate to type it, this is our last full day in Europe. We're not going to sit around moping about it all day, though. We still have so much more of Brussels to see.

As I mentioned before, this is a bustling, industrial city. The charm isn't as easily found in ornate architecture and lush gardens, but in the grimy neighborhoods that are home to people from all over the world. Much of the diversity has to do with the fact that Brussels is the capital of the European Union.

We began our excursion heading uphill from the Grand Place toward Little Africa. On the way we picked up a few souvenirs at a lively street market that had everything from paintings to jewelry and everyday figurines to exotic African trinkets. It looked like someone had wandered into some of the world's best granny attics and poured all the awesomeness on the street for us to buy. Most of the items were available at a pretty decent price. I wish we had more room in our suitcases.

Continuing uphill our surroundings turned from gritty to regal as we strolled into the vicinity of the Place Royale. Here we acted like fools, skipping freely around the ridiculously immense Palace of Justice and devoured a Belgian waffle in the Parc de Bruxelles. Instead of getting a touristy waffle with whipped cream and strawberries piled on top, we opted for a plain one. It was a deliciously gratifying choice; so warm, gooey and sweet. Kind of like a funnel cake but less lard-y. We've eaten really well here.

We spent a few more hours checking out sites like Notre Dame du Sablon Church and the Place du Petit Sablon, which is a garden surrounded by ten statues of Brusselian scientists, poets and other intellectuals from the 16th century. Alan's favorite was the sculpture of Gerardus Mercator, a Belgian mapmaker who he says "devised a map that would accurately display the spherical Earth on a 2D piece of paper." I didn't have a particular favorite, but I thought the park was lovely.

We had dinner at a Thai restaurant in a trendy, gayish part of town called Place Saint-Gèry. We also spent some time at a festive street party that resembled Philadelphia's artsy First Friday events in Old City. We stopped into some of the stores, but we mostly played the role of spectators. It was refreshing to see a hint of something that connects Europe with the place we call home.

It was late before we finally forced ourselves to wander back to the apartment to pack and ready ourselves for the return home. I'm SO not ready to leave.

Love, Josh

Bruges Travel Guide: The Perfect Day Trip

Hi Bloggy Friends,

We only have a few days in Brussels but today we decided to follow the advice of our guide books and take a day trip to Bruges (pronounced brooj). Located within an hour's train ride from Brussels, Bruges is a small, medieval town in northwest Belgium. When we arrived we threw open our map and set out to see as much of the city on foot as we could in one little ol' day.

Our first impression of Bruges is that it's a city driven by tourism. It's beautiful and genuine in so many ways, but there's a tinge of kitcsh that reminds me of Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. That may sound atrocious to some of you, but we did our best to bypass the cookie cutter chocolate, lace and frites shops to discover what happens in Bruges when all the sightseers go home.

Acting on the lessons we learned in Amsterdam, Alan and I began by taking side streets. On our way we visited some of the more frequented places, like the serene Béguinage, the Church of Our Lady and the Basilica of the Holy Blood, where we placed our hands and said a prayer over a vile that supposedly contained Jesus' blood. But the true magic began to unfold when we were at a distance from the heart of the city.

Out in the residential area of Bruges I was mesmerized by the beautiful homes lining the endless system of canals. These were some of the most beautiful sights I'd seen so far on our trip. We crossed stone bridges, skipped down cobblestone paths and sneaked a smooch or six on park benches hidden in layers of trees and flowers and sunshine. It was heartwarming. We found the magic.

For dinner we stopped in a tiny neighborhood pub where we had wine, fish and pasta. From there we sauntered back to the train station and caught the last train to Brussels - with about two bag fulls of that cookie cutter chocolate in tote, no less (wink).

Have a great night. Stop by soon for a full report of our very last day in Europe. Boohoo.

Love, Josh

Brussels Travel Guide: A "Grand" Arrival

Hi Bloggy Friends,

This morning we tore ourselves out of bed early enough to catch a mid-afternoon train to Brussels. With our Euro-Pass in tote, we effortlessly hopped on a car and were at our destination in less than three hours.

We didn't have luck finding an apartment in Brussels, so we decided on a chic, modernly-decorated hostel called 2Go4 (lobby pictured left). We didn't know what to expect moving into a boisterous hostel, but we were fortunately able to snag a private studio located on the top floor away from the dormitories. It's decorated with fun, colorful furniture and the ceiling slopes triangularly. Thankfully, there are windows on the roof, which, when opened, provide a more open, airy ambiance. We love it.

Our living quarters are situated in the heart of downtown Brussels, which makes it easy to see most sites on foot. The first item on our agenda was to try a Belgian beer. Being nescient about the world of suds, I did some research on the subject prior to arriving. That's how I discovered lambic. For those of you who don't know, lambics are fermented with different fruits to give them a lighter, less beer-y taste. They come in a variety of flavors, such as framboise (rasberry), cassis (black currant) and pêche (peach). I tried a kriek, which was blended with cherries. The taste was light, almost champagne-like, and intensely flavorful. I loved it, but I can see how true beer drinkers may not consider it a "real" beer. Oh well, it's the best I could do.

Located within a hop, skip and a jump of the bar was the Grand Place (pictured right), a luxurious, old world oasis that is perhaps Brussels' number one tourist stop . It was truly grand in every sense of the word. Looming all around us were immense, intricately-designed structures, like the Town Hall and the Breadhouse. Situated in-between were smaller Guildhalls, which house posh chocolate stores, frilly lace shops and bustling restaurants. It was a breathtaking experience.

Keeping with our sightseeing tour, we headed toward the little peeing statue called Manneken Pis. If we didn't know to look out for it, we probably would have passed right by. The no-frills fountain is located discreetly on a random street corner, but it's one of the city's most sought out attractions. On occasion, the little man is dressed in costumes sent from all over the world. Unfortunately, he was stark naked when we saw him but he's been costumed in all kinds of threads - once even decked out as the King himself, Elvis Pis-ley.

We had dinner at a fabulous Ethiopian restaurant called Kokob (pictured left) and stopped by one of the chocolate stores in the Grand Place before turning in for the night. We're excited to see what else Brussels has in store. Our first impression is that it is a grittier, more industrialized city than Paris or Amsterdam. Besides the vicinity immediately surrounding the Grand Place, the architecture is largely more contemporary and less ornate than what we've seen so far. I'm anxious to take in the new perspective.

Have a great night. I'll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

Amsterdam Travel Guide: A Perfect Last Day

Hello Bloggy Friends,

Since our first day here, Amsterdam has continued to grow on me. By now I'm head over heels in love and I'm not ready to leave.

To kick off our final day we headed out on bike in search of another food dish that came highly recommended: pannekoeken (pronounced pan-a-koo-ken). Pannekoeken is essentially a cross between a pancake and a crêpe. It can be prepared savory or sweet and is usually enjoyed in the morning. The restaurant we chose was unfortunately presided over by a pushy waiter, but the person in the kitchen was on their A-game. Our food was scrumptious. We each took the savory route, choosing a pannekoeken with eggs and ham. As you can probably tell in the picture to the left, it was an indulgently heavy meal, but perfect for the strenuous day we had ahead of us.

After some planning, Alan and I decided to take a bike trip outside of the city. Our first thought was Haarlem, but our landlord Daniel suggested we take a quicker, more pleasant route to a village called Durgerdam.

Durgerdam is a tiny seaside town that consists of a single mile-long street littered with adorable Dutch homes. We took that street past the town, which turned into a bike lane running parallel to the water. We rode for miles breathing in the fresh, salty air and listening to the mass of sea-dwelling birds flying all around. It was great.

On our way back to the city we took a detour through a peaceful village named Ransdorp. The people living here have it made, with canals flowing past their charming homes and a sense of separation from the hectic world. I wanted to sit there for hours, just soaking in the serenity. Sigh...

By the time we rolled back into the city we had worked up quite an appetite. We decided to walk to the Jordaan to try a soul food restaurant called Harlem Cafè. I had a flavorful veggie wrap thing-y and Alan had a big ol' plate of ribs. It was fantastic.

Amsterdam has been my favorite part of the trip so far. Our stay here was enhanced by an element of relaxation that we didn't choose to adopt to in Paris. Instead of running around like crazy trying to take in sites, we chose to sleep in, get lost on side streets, and take daytrips to get a feel for what's happening outside the city. That made for a perfect experience that will undoubtedly influence the way I travel for the rest of my life.

I hope you have a great night. Thanks for stopping by to read about Amsterdam. We still have one leg of the trip left - Belgium! We'll meet you there.

Love, Josh

Amsterdam Travel Guide: The Jordaan, Yo!

Hi Bloggy Friends,

We awoke this morning to torrential downpours and the weather report said it was going to last all day. It wasn't the most ideal of situations, but we couldn't sit around the apartment twiddling our American thumbs. So we threw on our rain jackets, grabbed a couple of complimentary umbrellas and hit the puddly street.

Our plan was to spend the afternoon indoors touring the Van Gogh museum. When we arrived, however, we realized every other tourist in Amsterdam had the same idea. The line was wrapped around the building like four times. It took us a split second to decide we'd be moving on. I'm not huge on impressionism anyway. Sorry, Vincent.

Ironically, our decision to ditch the museum coincided with a break in the clouds. Suddenly the sky opened up and the rain went away.....

With dryness and sunshine abound, we opened our guide book and headed for the Jordaan, which is perhaps the hippest, most artsy district in the city. Some of you readers may recognize the Jordaan from the Diary of Anne Frank. The home Ms. Frank and her family sought refuge in during World War II is located here. We saw it from a distance, along with the huge line streaming out from the front door. Needless to say, we didn't visit. Instead, we weaved our way through the streets checking out swanky clothing boutiques, a couple of galleries and a few well-placed monuments, including the Homomonument.

Strolling along the side streets and beautiful canals, we peered into the open-windowed homes of typical dutch families, who appear to be blissfully ensconced  in a life of leisure, modern practicality and really, really good taste. I was inspired by their slick, minimal approach to decorating. I passed one window that particularly touched me. It was splashed with one of my favorite quotes from Jack Kerouac's On the Road:

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes, "ahh..."

When the sun went down we had rijsttafel at a restaurant called Padi. Rijstaffel was recommended to us by everyone and their mother. It's a traditional Indonesian dish that resembles something you'd get at an Indian or Eritrean restaurant. We loved it. Thank you everyone and your mother!

Later we walked to the Red Light District. Part of me didn't believe I'd really see women wooing the crowd from behind red lit windows, but that's exactly what was going on. They'd be in their tiny spaces pretending to be fixing their hair, dancing to music or just pressed to the glass making cat calls and jiggling door handles to get people's attention. It was unnerving to catch eye contact with them. I didn't know what to do except smile and mouth, "hey girl." Of course, none of them figured I'd be shelling out money for a rendezvous, but I think some may have winked at Alan.

I was a little surprised to see that there were no men. Daniel, our landlord, explained to me that some entrepreneurs tried it a few years back but it didn't pan out successfully. I did, however, see a couple of trannies and drag queens.

And on that note, I bid you farewell for the evening. Thanks for stopping by to share one of my favorite days in Amsterdam so far. I'll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

Amsterdam Travel Guide: Doin' It Dutch Style!

Hi Bloggy Friends,

It didn't take us long to realize that the preferred mode of transportation in Amsterdam is the bicycle. Every street, whether major or not, is equipped with bicycle lanes, which makes getting around in the city on two wheels safe and completely practical. For two ignorant pedestrians like us, though, it's a little tricky. After nearly being plowed over a couple of times, we've had to learn to look both ways twice when crossing every street. The bike lane comes first and then the road for cars. I need to drill that into my brain.

In our normal lives Alan and I aren't bike riders. Philadelphia just isn't as bike friendly as I need it to be. We couldn't come to Amsterdam, though, and not try out this efficient system for ourselves. Thankfully, our landlord Daniel (who is the nicest guy ever) has two bikes that he rents out to his tenants. So, this morning we plopped ourselves up on those bad boys and hit the bike lanes to explore more of the city center.

Despite the fact I haven't ridden a bike in years, I picked it up rather quickly. Alan will kill me for saying this, but he needs a lot more practice. Thankfully, beautiful Oosterpark is located between our apartment and the downtown area, so we had a chance to pedal around there to become more acquainted with our wheels. I'm already in love.

Once downtown we found a nice spot to park and chain before heading to a neat outdoor market. There we found a few doo-dads for our home and similar goodies for family and friends.  Then we browsed along some of the busy streets and wandered past the tulips at the famous flower market before stopping off at a herring stand where we each tried fresh herring with pickles and onions. It was good.

At this point our curiosity got the best of us. While checking out some street performers in a lively square called Leidseplein, we ducked into a cafè called The Bulldog to see what all the fuss was about. Come on, you're not living unless you see stuff like this for yourself. This particular spot is like the Starbucks of cafès in Amsterdam. There are several of them littered about the city, but this one is cool because it was once a police station. Sure enough, people were sitting around smoking pot and eating something commonly known as a "space cake," which is essentially a pot brownie. They also sold bottled marijuana drinks, energy enhancers and something called herbal extacy. It was pretty cool to see it so freely used and sold.

The rest of the evening entailed more browsing, dinner at a yummy Caribbean restaurant and a stop in a gay-owned cafè called Downtown - just for the sake of comparison!

We rode home that night in a torrential downpour. Needless to say, we were super soggy when we finally reached the apartment. Splish, splash.

Have a great night.

Love, Josh

Amsterdam Travel Guide: Seeing the Queen!

I hope all is well where you are. I just returned from a trip to see my family in Kentucky. While there I was able to spend quality time with my parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts and of course my darling little niece Kennedi. It couldn't have been a more perfect visit. But I'm back now and have a few more videos and journal entries from our European trip to share. I hope you enjoy. Here's Amsterdam....

Goedemiddag Bloggy Friends,

Our first day in Amsterdam was exciting but sleepy. We had to wake up at 5:40 in the morning to catch our 6:25 Thalys train, which at the speed of 300 km/h got us to our destination before we had a chance to catch some extra snoozies. The efficiency of the rail system continues to blow my mind. America needs to take a hint. Are you listening transportation czar?

The first thing on our Dutch agenda was to catch a bus to our apartment located in an area just south of the city's center. We booked this room on the same site we found our Paris flat, so upon arrival we were surprised to find that we don't have our own apartment but we're actually renting a room out of someone's house. It's not an ideal situation for either of us, but the owner seems like a very nice man. Plus, the room is immaculately clean and well decorated (think IKEA showroom). We'll see how this works out.

Despite imminent feelings of exhaustion, we couldn't wait to take in more of the city. To orient ourselves better we set out on foot toward the train station, which we thought would be a perfect place to begin a walking tour of the city center (Centrum). From there we traipsed down Damrak, a popular street packed with tourists. We took in a few of the sites, but were relieved when the street finally spilled into the more open area of Dam Square. It was here that we were ogling several important sites, like the Royal Palace and the National Monument, before noticing a crowd gathered behind New Church. Upon closer inspection we noticed a motorcade parked outside the door, so we began to ask people what was going on. No one had a direct answer, but most suspected a member of the royal family was inside....

Neither of us have ever seen royalty in our lives, so we decided to wait around to see who came out. Worst case scenario it would be some fuddy duddy prince or long lost royal cousin that no one has heard of, but then again, it could be the Queen. A gay can only hope, right?

Well, we waited around for about 15 minutes before cops started mounting their motorcycles and guards began shuffling around the door. Finally it popped open and out came a rosy little lady that looked like she was dressed for Millionaire's Row at the Kentucky Derby. It was Queen Beatrix! Everyone around began to clap politely as she scanned the audience with her perky eyes and fanned then with her dainty queen's wave. It was a surreal moment that was cut short by her quick escape into the regal black car that swiftly carted her away. Score one for the gays!

For the rest of the evening we continued to browse around. Everything in the center seems so touristy, but I later found out that it's actually an area where locals come to do most of their mingling in the clothing stores, groceries and (ahem) cafès. We had dinner at a seemingly popular noodle bar called Wagamama. It was good but I was becoming too sleepy to care. When we paid our check we began the lethargic walk home. Once there we crawled into our beds before the sun had a chance to say tot zeins, Amsterdam.

Have a great day. I'll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

Paris Travel Guide: Versailles Gone Awry

Bonjour Bloggy Friends,

This morning I hopped out of bed with an extra bop in my step. I couldn't wait to see Versailles. This is our very last day in Paris, so we thought it would be nice to get out of the city to get a feel for the French countryside. We finished our breakfast, freshened up and jumped the train to the nearest RER station that would transport us to our palatial destination.

While standing in line for our tickets, however, the attendant announced that Versailles was closed for the day. She gave no reason. It was just flat out closed. We stood dumbfounded for a moment, but when we finally pulled ourselves together we quickly decided on "Plan B" - a tour of the famed Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Ok, I know visiting a cemetery doesn't sound like an ideal second choice to Versailles, but this place is unbelievable. Not only are there hundreds of gloriously famous people buried here, but the size of the cemetery and architectural intricacy of some of the tombstones is astounding. We cruised by Maria Callas' plot in the crematorium, Oscar Wilde's massive tombstone covered in lipstick kisses, Edith Piaf's discreet family plot and of course Jim Morrison's grave, which is so popular that it has to be blocked off by guards and gates.

Fortunately, it was a rainy day so the cemetery wasn't nearly as crowded as it could have been. Yea, we had to walk around under umbrellas and raincoats, but what better way to spend the afternoon in the cemetery? It got even better when we pulled out the lunch we planned to eat in Marie Antoinette's garden in Versailles. Yep, we plopped ourselves on a bench near Morrison's grave, pulled out some bread and cheese and opened a bottle of wine. It would have been absolutely perfect if I didn't have to balance the handle of my umbrella between my ear and shoulder as I ate and sipped my wine.

Later that evening we met my old friend Thomas (pronounced Toomah) for dinner in the Marais. For two summers in the late 90s he lived with my family and I as a foreign exchange student. We lost touch for many years but finally reconnected through Facebook. That's how I was able to let him know that I'd be in Paris if he wanted to meet up. He took us to a quintessential French restaurant called Cafè Rouge. I can't hardly remember what I ate because I was so consumed with catching up with him after all these years. I'm  happy to see that he's living a wonderful life in Paris. He has a fantastic job near the Champs Élyseés and just bought a new flat outside of the city. He'll be moving there with his girlfriend soon.

It was also fun to drill him on the Parisian culture, which Alan and I have been trying to wrap our brains around the whole time. It comes to find out life isn't much different for young, working class Parisians as it is for us - at least in his experience. He says he doesn't take two hour lunches, he picks up his groceries in one quick stop and he doesn't drink nearly as much wine and coffee throughout the day as we had figured.

It was great to catch up with Thomas, but we had to cut the evening short because our train to Amsterdam leaves in the morning at 6:25 a.m. Stay tuned...

Love, Josh

Paris Travel Guide: Marie Antoinette & Getting Dissed by Mona Lisa

Bonjour Bloggy Friends,

Today we walked to the Île de la Cité, an island on the Seine that is home to Notre Dame and other famous sites. We returned there to get a look inside chapel Saint-Chapel, which was built by Louis IX specifically as a showcase for his latest purchase, the Crown of Thorns. The structure is almost completely made up of tall stain glass windows (pictured) decorated with scenes from the Bible. Though the sanctuary is quite magnificent, it only took a fraction of the time to build than Notre Dame because the king was in a hurry to put his famous relic on display. I thought it was gorgeous but much of the aura was lost due to construction being done on one whole side of the chapel. Instead of windows we were forced to look at a tower of cruddy scaffolding. These things happen.

Our next stop was the big momma of art museums, the Louvre. On the way, however, we meandered into the Conciergerie. The big draw for me here was that this is where one of my favorite historical figures, Marie Antoinette, was held captive before her execution. The place was pretty cheesy - with dummies representing Antoinette and other captives in fake prison cells - but moving moments weren't completely lacking. The walls of one room were adorned with names of the more than 1200 victims of the guillotine during the French Revolution. It was neat to scroll through to find Marie and Louis' quietly among them (pictured right). I also enjoyed standing in the actual spot of the famous queen's cell, which has sense been turned into a tasteful memorial with plaques and paintings and such.

Finally at the Louve, we took an obligatory photo in front of the pyramid and grabbed our Rick Steves guide book to seek out the essentials. My favorites were the vivacious Venus de Milo statue, the glorious Winged Victory of Samothrace and DaVinci's La Belle Ferronnière (pictured left). My grandmother had a copy of the latter hanging in her home when I was a kid, so it brought back nice memories. When we finally made it to the Mona Lisa I had to admit I was pretty disappointed. Not only was she surrounded by eighteen layers of onlookers but she was encased in a hazy plastic case that made getting a good snapshot impossible. I guess that's what happens when you're one of the most gawked at paintings on the planet. What a diva.

That evening we had a nice Thai dinner in the Marais before heading home for a little R&R. We have big plans to see Versailles tomorrow, so we wanted to be nice and rested. Stay tuned...

I"ll chat with you soon.

Love, Josh

Paris Travel Guide: Venturing the Left Bank

Bonjour Bloggy Friends,

Today was one of our favorite days.

This morning Alan scooted across the street to a boulangerie where he picked up two croissants and a pastry to supplement our breakfast. I’m not typically much of a bread person, but I couldn’t leave Paris without trying a croissant. They were both delicious - especially with a dab of locally made strawberry jam.

When we finished it was time to hit the streets. Once again we sauntered west along the Seine River to the Pont des Arts. This is a pedestrian-only bridge that is supposedly a meeting place for lovers. Before crossing Alan carved our names into the railing with hordes of others. We can’t wait to look for it when we come back.

On the other side of the bridge was the beginning of the Left Bank. We liked what we saw of it during our history tour, so we thought we’d return to explore a little further. Along the way we saw a Mr. Burns-looking statue of Voltaire, had a moment of silence outside the hotel where Oscar Wilde died and surfed through various art galleries before grabbing an organic scoop of gelato near the intersection of rue de Seine and rue de Buci. This area was popping with locals. It was great.

To wrap things up we visited the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and The Church of Saint-Sulspice, and people watched in the  manicured lawns of the Jardin du Luxembourg. People watching has been one of my favorite activities so far. It’s fascinating to see how the French interact with one another. They seem so laid back, in love with life and a little goofy all at the same time.

Later we had a wonderful meal at a restaurant near our apartment called el Marché. It began to rain while we were there, so we decided to wait it out with a few more glasses of wine.  When in Rome…. Or France…..

When it finally dried up we hopped the Metro to the base of Arc de Triomphe and strolled down the highly commercialized Champs-Élyseés. I was a bit turned off by all the name brands flashing in my face, but that was remedied with four tiny macaroons and a cup of tea at a perfectly charming tearoom called LaDurée.

French macaroons taste a lot like heaven in a cookie. I wish I could bring back a dozen for all of you.

Salut,

Josh

Paris Travel Guide: Exploring Le Marais

Bonjour Bloggy Friends,

Today we thought it would be nice to spend the afternoon in our neighborhood to get a better feel for what immediately surrounds us. What we found is that Le Marais, located in Paris' 3rd and 4th arrondissements, is a vibrant area full of crowded cafes, sweet smelling patisseries and a horde of funky boutiques. It possesses the arty grit of New York's East Village, while retaining a sense of trendiness that you'd find in Chelsea or SoHo. My favorite part about it, however, is that there are few tourists. Besides visiting some of the major sites, we've been doing our best to avoid tourist traps. While this makes overcoming the language barrier more difficult, it's the only way to sufficiently absorb the local culture.

Before coming to Paris we were warned that Parisians would be snooty, but we've found that to be a myth. The people we have come into contact with have been jovial, helpful and extremely patient with our spotty French. To exude friendliness, we approach every interaction with "Bonjour" in the afternoon or "Bon soir" in the evening. Then we ask if they speak English: "Parlez-vous Anglais?" The answer has typically been, "very little," but we've been managing our way through most situations very well. The French seem to be extremely proud of their culture, but they are also willing to extend a hand to awkward outsiders like us.

Continuing through the Marais we spent time strolling through the Jewish Quarter and popping into a few colorful boutiques. Some of our favorite spots have been the ones selling home goods. We picked up a few things to take home before heading a little further west to gander at the modern art collection in the magnificent Centre Pompidou (pictured to the left and at the bottom).

You can't visit Paris without carousing some of the art museums. While I have admiration for classic pieces like the Mona Lisa, it's the minimal, geometric modern art that gives my heart that extra thumpity thump. Within Centre Pompidou, which is a piece of art in itself, we drooled over Pablo Picasso's masterful cubism, imaginative paintings by Joan Mirὸ and slick sculptures by Constantin Brâncuşi. We also became new fans of artists we weren't as familiar with, such as Fernand Lѐger, Vilmos Huszár and Richard Mortenson (pictured right). Besides paintings and sculptures there were also installations of film, photography, fashion and furniture. We must have spent four hours browsing around. We loved it.

The rest of our evening was relaxing. We had a late lunch and lounged under a statue of Louis XIII in Place des Vosges before retiring to our apartment for the night.

Have a great night. I hope all is very well.

Au Revoir, Josh

Paris Travel Guide: Parisian History

Bon soir Bloggy Friends,

Before I could even do my morning stretches, Sugar had already scurried to the supermarche across the street to pick up breakfast: museli, yogurt and fresh strawberries. We've decided to start our day eating in to save money and to utilize the private time to sketch out our daily itinerary. With the windows open, Edith Piaf blaring from my computer and two cafe cremes from our in-house espresso maker, we have created our own little Parisian cafe experience. C'est bon!

On our first full day in the city we decided to school ourselves on some history. From our hotel we walked west along La Seine to one of Paris' most visited sites, Notre Dame. Inside, we snuck around the outer sector of the sanctuary at the same time mass was being held. It limited our view of the center, but it was impressive to hear the choir singing as beams of light shone through the famous stained glass windows onto the kneeling congregation. It was truly awe-inspiring. The enormity and architectural detail of these old churches is fascinating. It boggles my mind to comprehend that this cathedral took two decades to be constructed before finally being completed in 1345. Talk about dedication.

From there we strolled to the nearby Memorial de la Deportation, an underground honorarium that pays homage to the 200,000 French Jews held captive in Nazi concentration camps. Though minimally designed, the short stroll inside the cold concrete structure touched us beyond words. I'm glad we decided to see it.

After a leisurely lunch at a nearby cafe, we had to pick up our pace to see things before they closed. We took a quick jaunt through the artsy Left Bank where we skimmed some pages in the Shakespeare & Company Bookstore and kept our holy going in the St. Severin church. We then crossed back over onto the Right Bank to see the statue of horny Henry IV and fell in love all over again on the romantic Pont Neuf as the Eifel Tower shimmered brilliantly behind us.

I hope you have a great night. I'll chat with you soon.

Je t'aime,

Josh

Paris Travel Guide: Getting Situated

Hi Bloggy Friends. I'm starting to update my trip posts with videos. Come by and check them out if you're interested. 

Bonjour Bloggy Friends,

We made it to Europe safe and sound. We slept most of the way here, thanks to some meds prescribed by our doctor. When we arrived in Brussels (30 min. early) we immediately set out looking for the Eurail that would take us to Paris. Unfortunately, when we finally found the station we were told that the direct train was booked for the afternoon, so we had to get creative and do some transferring along the way. This got us there about two hours later, but the ride was nice. The transportation here is so speedy and efficient - unlike the clunky, turtle-like system we have in America.

When we arrived in Paris we hopped the Metro to the Marais district, which is where our apartment is located. We're renting a quaint little flat on 98 rue St. Antoine that we found on a website called AirBnB. So far we love it. It has everything we need, plus it's in a fabulous location.


After getting settled we set out on foot to follow the Seine River all the way to the Eifel Tower. On the way we stopped for dinner in a funky Left Bank bistro called Cocotte Jolie. When we finally made it to the Eifel tower, we decided to skip the trip to the top because the line was monstrous. Instead, we strolled  across the Pont d'Iena to enjoy the view from the steps of the Palais de Chaillot. We made it there just in time for the light show that illuminates the tower with twinkling white lights every hour. It was the ultimate tourist experience, but at the same time really beautiful and romantic. 

When we arrived back at the apartment we crashed. Even though we rested well on the plane, we were both exhausted from a day full of traveling and traipsing. 


I've been putting together short videos as the trip progresses, but our shoddy Internet service isn't allowing me to upload them onto YouTube. I'll get them up as soon as I can. Be on the lookout for those and my next post, but until then enjoy some of the snapshots I took of our travels and on our first night in  the City of Love.


Au Revoir!
Josh