March 20 - 28, 2003
Aaron's pictures:
"Sprachlos?" This was the very first thing we saw when we stepped out of the plane and into Frankfurt Airport.
This was the view we had across the street from our hotel, right outside the Paris city limits. It was kind of... I mean, it wasn't very... well, it sucked, really.
This is me chillin like a villain on the Champs de Elysée in Paris. Also seen: two tourists signified by their jeans and bright shirts, and some Parisians indicated by their dark clothing. It seemed like everyone in Paris wore black.
The Pomme de Pain. Enough said.
Shot further down the Champs de Elysée. Notice anything about the roads? They are gigantic and usually bear no lane markings whatsoever. People just kind of drive in whatever direction they want to go. And everyone is okay with this. It was so bizarre to watch.
Matt in front of Versailles Palace. This was only a fraction of the building, which was, in a word, large.
A view of the gardens behind the palace, which pretty much extended forever.
Notre Dame, see while crossing the River Seine. (The Lips of God also made an appearance thanks to glare on the bus window. Kiss kiss!)
The Missus and I in front of some landmark whose name I can't remember.
Standing in front of an exhibit in the Louvre Museum. I took a ton of pictures in there, but none of them came out except for this. Seeing a lot of the paintings (as well as the building itself) that I've studied for numerous semesters in art history classes was even more exciting than I expected.
The River Seine. A tourship was sailing past while a Parisian man scraped the paint off the roof of his houseboat.
The Sacre Coeur church, which sat atop a very tall hill...
...that offered this view of the city. It extended to the horizon in every direction. I wish I'd had a camcorder.
On the ferry heading to England. Viva la France! (Fortunately there weren't any horses on the boat.)
The white cliffs of Dover.
Matt, Jack and Sandy, a couple we made friends with on the trip, enjoy some freedom fries. After three or four days of tiny meals on the tour plan, we finally broke down and sought solace in a Burger King in London, where we gorged ourselves on processed beef. And damn was it good.
Canterbury Village, one of my favorite stops on the tour.
The towers of the cathedral.
Matt in front of Windsor Castle. I didn't know that the Queen still lives in it once in a while, although she wasn't there when we came.
The gorgeous stepped gardens.
By the catheral on the castle grounds.
The English countryside, heading towards Oxford. No billboards, no strip malls. Just miles and miles of farms and rolling hills. Those power lines were rare also.
Standing around in Oxford. I reeeeeeally need to look into their study abroad program.
This is Anne Hathaway's cottage in Stratford upon Avon (she was Shakespeare's wife). It was one of my favorite spots of the whole tour. The house was built in the early 1500's, and as we toured the rooms, little old English ladies told us about life at that time. We also went to Shakespeare's birthplace, which wasn't nearly as interesting.
A moment of repose in the yard. The very, very large yard (something like 82 acres).
When you go to England you have to take pictures of the phone booths, right? We threw in an English mailbox for good measure.
A shot in Picadilly Circus in London, also a lot of fun to walk around. Here's a good example of the mixture of old and new which was prevalent through the entire city.
Jack, Sandy, Matt and I at our last dinner together. It was all almost over!
Waiting at 3:45am for the bus to the airport. We'd been up for almost 24 hours; Matt was sick; I hadn't bathed. Everyone else in the group looked like the walking dead too.
Back in Athens, about to drive home. Notice the sallow skin and huge purple bags under my eyes from the long journey home and lack of sleep. It wasn't an easy trip, but it's one that I'd do again in a heartbeat.