One Hundred Sixty-First Entry

It's good to use a regular keyboard where the shift keys are the normal size and the 'at' symbol is above the 2.

I got up at six this morning. I don't know why. I'm just fully rested. I will take advantage of this and get ready to go home to Tulare.

The 10 day trip to Europe was absolutely what I needed. It was a much more chill vacation since both Lisa and I have been to London and Paris before, and we knew exactly what we wanted to see.

Paris

Paris is definitely a city for lovers. Everywhere you look there were people making out and enjoying Paris' romance.

The Eiffel Tower at night was fun to see. I had never been to the top of it and had never been there at night. It was also great to walk down the Champs Elysees at night and see all the lights and people.

There was a lot of walking in Paris. And a lot of confusing Metro. We learned to hate the Chatelet station.

We walked through the Cimetiere Pere-Lachaise and found Jim Morrison's grave and found several street markets with vendors selling their French wares.

We got along fine with the Frenchfolk and between the two of us, knew enough French to ask for things and directions.

The food in France was good. Quick was my favorite meal. Quick is the French McDonalds, but there are more McDonalds than Quick's.

Sleeping arrangements were also good in Paris. The floor of our room had "bugs" all over it. Lisa swore they were bugs, but I thought they were just little black skid-type things from shoes and the like.

London

Before the trip London was my favorite city in the world. After the trip it is even more my favorite city in the world. There is tons to see and do in London. I could see myself living there permanently or on a work visa.

I really like the anonymity of the city. It has 12 million people living in and around it. It is very easy to get lost in the crowd. Everybody is in a hurry all of the time, and has no time to care what anyone else is doing. I love that.

London at night is really cool. I didn't get to experience the streets at night the last time I was there. It is a very busy city at night.

A lot of walking was done in London. Almost too much. It was worth it though. Hyde Park, the South Bank, Oxford Street. These are all worth walking on.

The food was good, although by this time Lisa was sick and tired of chips. I didn't mind them so much.

Stonehenge was somewhat of a let down. I expected some monumental structure of rock so wide and tall you couldn't fit it all into one photo. I wasn't that impressed. I enjoyed the ride there in the double-decker bus more, at the top of course!

The Tube in London was less of a maze than the Metro in Paris. But much more busy. The Bank/Monument station is realllllllly long and it takes forever to get from one end to the other.

Jerry Springer Opera rocked! Graham Norton was hilarious!

Lunch at the New Scotland Yard with Tony, Lucy, Bernie, and Peter was fun for us. The food was great and the ambiance was very frou-frou. There were three different forks and spoons!

England has got to be the single largest alcohol consuming country in the world. Everyone goes "down the pub" to grab a quick pint or two after work. I love that. And I gladly joined them in their drinking.

All told, it was a very good trip, and I'm glad I was with someone I get along with and trust.

I'm sure I will write more entries as the stories come to me. But I think this is a good starting synopsis.

If you want the play-by-play, check out Lisa's blog as she will be transcribing her travel journal into cyberspace sometime soon.