Traffic Nightmare

After this clip, consider yourself completely caught up with my entire trip to Europe. :)

This is the traffic in Paris:





Absolute and utter chaos. Is it any wonder that I didn't even attempt to drive there?

Random Pics

Here are some random leftover pics from my trip to Europe:

Before Sunset

One of my favorite movies ever is the movie "Before Sunset" starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The movie takes place in Paris and it's basically just the two of them walking around Paris talking about anythng and everything. The thing that I love about it, is that you feel like you're eavesdropping on a real conversation. It doesn't feel like the typical unrealistic dialogue of a Hollywood movie.

During the movie, the two main characters go to this cafe.


When I went to Paris a couple months ago, one of the things I wanted to do was to go and find that cafe that they went to. So I did....with the help of google.











Here it is. Bry and I found it and I was stoked!
I was grinning ear to ear. It's so awesome to see something in a movie and then go to the actual location. It was the coolest thing!









The table that Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy sat at is the one in the bottom left hand corner of the picture.












Bry and I sat at the bar for a long time, just hanging out and talking. This place has great ambience.
We ended up staying there for dinner. The food was great...from what I could taste since I had a cold and everything.








Before we knew it, it was 10:30pm. Bry and I had hung out there for 6 hours! It was one of those nights where time disappears and you get to just enjoy the moment. It was the perfect last night of my time in Europe!

Clips

Here are a couple clips I thought I'd share.

After seeing the Eiffel Tower and how incredible it was, I was on a natural high. Needing to express my joy, I did so and it was captured on film.





As were were about to leave the Eiffel Tower, it all of a sudden erupted into a mass of glitter and sparkling lights. Quite something to behold.

Night at the Eiffel

After the sunset, we began our lengthy descent. Here are a couple great night shots I got:


























































There was still a line to go up to the top even on a cold night.














This is one of my favorite shots.

















I do have to say, I think that I like the Eiffel Tower better at night then I do during the day. It just seemed even more grand when it was lit up like this.

Up Up and Awaaay

Continuing from my previous post about my time at the Eiffel Tower...we begin where I left off...at the half way point of the tower.

As I was at the halfway mark, I decided to take this shot looking up to the top of the tower. I literally got dizzy.








The only way to get to the very top of the tower is to take the elevator. I decided to try and capture a short video of my ascent to the top:

Here's a view of Paris from the top. Pretty spectacular!

There was a coffe bar area. I got a piece of pizza and some tea since it was freezing cold up there. Birds were flying in and out.

Several of you told me I had to get a kissing picture on top of the Eiffel Tower. So here it is as requested. I don't think I've been so happy to oblige. :)
This pic looks like something out of a movie.

We were there for the spectacular sunset. It was so beautiful!

Paris - 2nd time around

I was finally able to get the rest of the pictures from my 2nd visit to Paris....just before I flew back to Portland. I can hardly believe that it's been 2 months since I've been back. I've loved looking at these pictures again. It was hard to pick which ones to use, but here they are:

On the way there....


















The weather cleared by the time we reached Paris. It was a gorgeous day but it was really cold out.















After a bit of a walk, the Eiffel Tower finally came into view. This time, my camera batteries were working. It was a bit surreal to see this.
















This is my "I was here" picture.

The architecture is pretty amazing and c'est magnifique. Over the years, I've heard people say how ugly the Eiffel Tower has become, but I didn't feel the same way.












A lot of people from all over the world have left their mark on the railings. I could've spent a long time just reading the graffiti.

We took the stairs halfway up the tower. This is at the halfway point. Naturally, I had to wear my very cliche beret. I was in Paris at the Eiffel Tower for crying out loud! I'm really glad I had a hat to cover my head. The higher you went up, the colder it got.

















This is somewhat of a panoramic view from the halfway point. You just have to imagine these three pics pieced together

I really love this pic.













I'll post more in a bit....