Day 8: Munich

This morning I woke up in a fresh type of discomfort, caused by sleeping on the tiniest, hardest train bed and that special dizziness brought on by 11 or so hours of motion. I opted for the train shower in Mom and Dad's upgraded cabin, rather than trying to wash up in the sink-for-ants in Matt and I's.  Finally, 10 minutes before we got into the station in Munich, we had our third run-in with transportation food (the first and second being the airplane dinner and breakfast, if you'll recall the horror). The train breakfast was actually delicious, made up of coffee, juice, and dark brown bread with a strange schmear cheese that ended up being miiighty nice.

We walked the couple of blocks to the hotel and (miracle of miracles!) they let us check in early. We napped for a few hours, having slept so poorly on the night train, and woke up again around 11, ready to see Munich.

We took a bus tour of the city, which was slightly less thrilling and definitely more rainy than either of the other ones, but we got a feel for what we want to see while we're here and got some very drizzly pictures of the city.

The bus tour also took us out to Nymphenburg Palace, which we plan to return to on Wednesday. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it is massive and incredibly beautiful. I promise to do better documenting it later!!

 

 

After our bus tour ended, we walked to Marienplatz, a central square of old Munich. We saw this beautiful building, Munich's city hall which looks a lot older than it actually is, thanks to the gothic revival style.

 

We ended our stroll through the center at Hofbräuhaus, one of the oldest and most famous breweries of the area, dating back to the 1500's. As you can see, we were all excited about the 1 L beers, especially dad.

We walked back to the hotel (the metro system here is a mess) and are resting up in anticipation of our day trip to Salzburg tomorrow! Until then!

Day 7: Paris

We finished off our stay in Paris with a trip to the Louvre, which turned out to be more of an ordeal than any of us expected.  We took the metro, which unlike London, we never exactly figured out, strolled through the well-manicured and heavily populated Tuileries gardens, and found our way to the entrance at the weirdly anachronistic glass pyramid.

 

The wait time was almost zero, which was nice, until we got inside and realized that the entire global population of 7.093 billion people inside the museum had also experienced remarkable ease in getting in. We sort of stood around for a minute and then made the decision to choose the nearest gallery (Denon) and contain our museum-ing to that area. I realize that seems super lame, but keep in mind that the Louvre is horrifically large and that trying to see even a respectable percentage of its contents would require several days, or even weeks.

The Louvre required us to show our tickets again upon entering the gallery, and it was there that we ran into some trouble. Again, thanks to Mom's planning, we didn't need to wait in line for museum tickets because we had a museum pass, valid for four days from the date written on the front. However, we got some weird looks when we flashed our passed at the gallery entrance. The guy pulled the four of us aside and with a stern look said, "You can't do that." He then whipped out a stamp and, covering up the dates we had written two days ago at Notre Dame, stamped "23 JUNE 2013."

The hand-written date said 24 June 2013.

We all wrote that on our cards. Two days ago.

For several days, none of us had any idea of the correct date.

The guy at the ticket booth must have thought we were trying to get an extra day out of our four-day pass. Explaining the truth just would have been too weird, so we apologized and walked away feeling a weird mix of shame and intense confusion.

Having survived the what-day-is-it fiasco, we finally got into Denon. It just so happened that the gallery we chose at random was home to some of the Louvre's most famous contents, so we got to see the Mona Lisa, the Crown Jewels, Nike of Samothrace, and Venus  de Milo.

Aside from the art, the Louvre itself was stunning. It was just as grand, if not more so, as Versailles, and way, way more spacious. Each room was more beautiful than the last, it seemed, and in some cases, the architecture and design distracted from the art.

 

 

After the Louvre, we got our luggage and a cab ride to the train station, where we boarded a night train to Munich. The night train was an enormous amount of fun, if not the most comfortable experience. The cabins were tiny and devoid of diversion, so we pulled out the impressive amount of beer we'd stashed away over the past week, some bread and cheese, and some fruit we'd grabbed from a market on the way out and had ourselves a party. That is, we had ourselves a party until someone filed a noise complaint and we were told to shut up. After that, we finished our drinks and headed to "bed" (wooden plank with sheets). A few hours later, we woke up in Munich...

Day 6: Paris

Today, we got up early to board a bus to Versailles. We met with our tour group and then boarded up the bus for the forty-five minute ride from Paris, all the while listening to historical facts and commentary from possibility the cutest tour guide of all time. She was really, really excited about all of the Louis of French history and kept trying to get us to guess who was in the Versailles portraits. No one knew. It didn’t matter, though, because she did. She was incredibly knowledgeable about Versailles and French history and provided us with a ton of information, everything from battles to marital drama between monarchs.

We spent the morning touring the palace, seeing both the common areas and the private chambers of the monarchs. Each room was elegant and ornate and totally over the top, each with its own overly-specific purpose. We toured a salon dedicated to the king’s favorite game, an ancestor of pool. I’m pretty sure they were just trying to fill up the rooms. Either way, the palace was certainly impressive and stunning, to be sure.

 

 

 

We found lunch (my favorite meal yet) from a bakery and market near the hotel, made up of camembert sandwiches, brioche and chèvre, fresh berries and cold beer. Then, we slept for a few hours and took an evening stroll after dinner. All in all, a pretty low-key day and restful afternoon. One more day in Paris!

 

Day 5: Paris

Sorry for another delay in posting. We are all feeling the burn of almost a full week of nonstop traveling and sightseeing!

On our first morning in Paris, we slept in a bit, then got up and dressed enough for breakfast, which was served downstairs in the hotel restaurant. Now, this is no tiny boxed cereal and make-your-own-waffles Marriot breakfast. They serve the standard hot breakfast fare (eggs, sausages, bacon) and a whole array of fruits and vegetables, sautéed mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, potato cakes, fresh squeezed juices, cheeses and of course, a massive table full of fresh pastries. And it is all just so good.

After breakfast, we took a boat tour of Paris, seeing the sights from the Seine. The river is beautiful and really, I think, the best way to see the city. We passed under what felt like a million bridges, each one of different design, and passed old boats and new, modern buildings and waved at Parisians as they waved at us. Really, though. I heard so much about the French being standoffish and rude to visitors, but we have had nothing but good experiences with everyone we’ve met. The Parisians have been, overall, exceedingly kind and accommodating, both one-on-one and from the banks of the Seine.

 

We got lunch at a little back-alley sandwich shop on our way to our next stop, Notre Dame, which proved to be an interesting experience. We went inside the cathedral first, which was, of course, incredibly beautiful, but it lacked the calm of St. Paul’s and Westminster. As we reflected on the experience later that day, we agreed that there was an urgency to the place, somewhere between the souvenir vendors and the masses of chattering, picture-taking tourists. I’m certainly glad we went inside, but instead of feeling inspired at the end of the tour, I was mostly just ready to leave.

Unfortunately, since it was so dark inside, I couldn’t get a lot of great pictures of the vaulted ceilings, but they were incredible. The stained glass windows, particularly in the side chapels, were also lovely and much easier to photograph.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, we were faced with a choice. We could move on with our day or we could wait in line and climb the 387 steps to the top of Notre Dame. Obviously, we decided to make the climb. The first set of steps took us to the gift shop, the next to the belfry, and the final set of very narrow spiral steps took us to the top of the tower, where we had a panoramic view of the entirety of Paris.

The trip down was dizzying, so we took a few minutes’ stroll down to the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, which is a famous English-language bookstore in L'île Saint-Louis. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside, which is a shame because it is beautiful. It’s stacked floor to ceiling with books, vintage, contemporary, new and used. Naturally, Matt was over the moon, so we spent some time thumbing through books, browsing the shelves, and reveling in the little English-language oasis in the middle of a sea of French.
 

 
After the bookshop, we spent the evening strolling around the island, grabbing a bite to eat and soaking up our little slice of the Friday night we shared with Paris.

Day 4: Paris

4:15 in the morning is the stupidest time of day, but the fact that we’re Paris-bound made it a little more bearable. We packed up our luggage and got a cab ride to King’s Cross to catch the 7:30 train to Paris. The train ride was uneventful and upon our arrival in Paris, we met our driver who took us to the hotel.

  

Driving through the streets of Paris, we were overwhelmed by how tall and beautiful and fast and French everything is. We were deposited on the front step of the gorgeous Hôtel Astor Saint-Honoré. We checked our bags and set off for a little café, as per the recommendation of the concierge. Unfortunately, we took a couple of wrong turns and ended up in front of a different café on the wrong street. We decided to cut our losses and just go to the one we'd found, rather than try to retrace our steps. That decision set us up for a bit of adventure.

First of all, this was not your touristy, used-to-American-customers kind of café. Still flustered from our arrival in a new city, getting yelled at in French for almost sitting at a reserved table, and finding ourselves surrounded by loud and enthusiastic locals, it was all we could do to keep composure. Matt set to work providing a rough translation of the special board, but he had barely made it through the first three items when a waitress appeared, asking for our drink order. We muddled through the standard customer-waiter script, thanks to Matt's language ability, and eventually communicated to the waitress that we would each try a different one of the specials. When our lunch arrived, however, it became apparent that there had been a misunderstanding. Today, as our first meal in Paris, the each of us sat down to a large plate of beef tongue.

Surprisingly, it was not bad, although I had a bit of trouble adjusting to the idea of eating tongue. All in all, the meal was well-prepared and quite tasty and had it not been for my limited exposure to tongue as a dish, I would have enjoyed it very much.

After lunch, we took a bus tour similar to the one in London, as it actually proved really useful in getting an idea of how the city is laid out. We saw some incredibly beautiful monuments and buildings under the first sunny skies we’ve seen since we got to Europe. There were a ton of sites on the tour route that we all agreed we wanted to see up close, so the plan (as of right now, anyway) is to follow the same route tomorrow, visiting all the major sites and some of the quieter but no less impressive spots we saw along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And last but not least:

And:

After our bus tour ended, we walked the half mile or so back to the hotel, where we checked in and were shown to our rooms. The place is stunning. We have two rooms between the four of us, and they’re decorated in classic Parisian style with windows that open onto a charming courtyard below. Although it’s still early, we’re all pretty drained, so we’ve split up for showers and rest (and blogging!) for now.

More of Paris and definitely lots of pictures tomorrow!!

Day 3: London

Quick note: Sorry I didn't post last night. We had to get up very early to catch a train, so I wrote this en route to Paris this morning!

Yesterday was our last day in London, and certainly our busiest. After a quick breakfast, we assessed our progress through the list of must-see attractions we'd built up months ago, and we realized we had a lot of ground to cover before moving on to Paris. On the docket this morning were St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Veeraswamy, The British Museum, Kensington Palace and a freehouse (a pub not tied to a particular brewery, thus allowing the pub to pick and choose what they serve). We hit 4/5, which I think is pretty solid.

In all  honestly, we'd spent a decent chunk of our time here in London seeing St. Paul's from a distance. It was designed to stand out on the London skyline, and given its size and grandeur, you can't help but notice it. Seeing it up  close, however, was an entirely different experience. Juxtaposed against the sleek office buildings that neighbor it, the intricately decorated exterior is stunning.

 

We were guided through the cathedral with an audio tour, which pointed out all the major parts of the cathedral (the baptismal font, the nave, the quire, etc.) and gave a little bit of history on each piece. We went through the basic tour and skipped the supplementary audio clips, given how many sites we wanted to visit later in the day, but the amount of information available to visitors was impressive.

There simply aren't words to describe the sheer majesty of the St. Paul's. Framed by towering marble columns, the path to the altar is breathtaking. We walked past marble tombs, carved dark oak, and gilded gates, taking it all in under a ceiling of sparkling mosaic. It was sensory overload in the best possible way.

We left St. Paul's and made a beeline for Westminster Abbey which, although it was flooded with tourists, was filled with that quiet that only a truly awe-inspiring site can have. Sun filtered down through stained glass windows and set the whole place aglow, and as we passed down the line of tombs of medieval kings, I couldn't help but marvel at how surreal it was to be walking where they once walked, centuries ago. Unfortunately, we weren't able to stay as long as we wanted to, but if and when I return to London, I certainly plan on returning to Westminster.

After the Abbey, we went to lunch at Veeraswamy, the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK, established in 1926. The restaurant is something of a landmark and has been on Matt's "To Visit" list for quite some time, and it certainly lived up to the hype. We took the elevator from the ground floor to the daytime dining room, which overlooks bustling Regent Street below. Between the four of us, we tried an assortment of starters, ranging from "crispy chicken lollipops" to a goat cheese and beet root salad to a particularly delicious raj kachori. The main dishes were equally impressive: vegetarian sampler platter, tandoori chicken, and lamb biryani. Nearly ninety years of practice had, I would say, made perfect.

After lunch at Veeraswamy, we went to the British Museum, an enormous collection of items from all over the world spanning all of history. We saw everything from modern art to ancient cuneiform tablets from Mesopotamia and really only scraped the surface of all that the museum had to offer. I think we could have easily spent a few weeks wandering around in there.

 

Before leaving the museum, Matt wanted to check out the British Museum Book Shop, which sells the kind of rare and obscure books that he loves so much. He picked up a copy of Teach Yourself Complete Babylonian and hasn’t put it down since. We left the museum thoroughly exhausted and made the executive decision to skip Kensington Palace. Although it would have been a real treat to see it, we simply didn’t have it in us.

Instead, we did a quick Google search for directions to a freehouse my Uncle Lew had recommended. According to the GPS, it should have only been a 15 minute walk, but we devised a route via the Underground to save our already-aching feet. Following the directions, we walked the route to the station and found it absolutely packed with people. Not only that, all of the incoming trains were packed. Like, “no need to hold on to the bar, you aren’t going anywhere” kind of packed.  We waited, passing up the first train hoping the second would be easier to get on. It wasn’t. By the time the third train rolled around, we cut our losses and got reeeeal up close and personal with London.

We reached our destination, pulled up the GPS again and realized we still had a bit of walking to do. Following the weird, squiggly, back-alley directions, we finally found The Gunmaker and choosing from the varied selection of beers and ciders on tap, celebrated our last night in London. Thanks to Uncle Lew for a great recommendation!!!

We did some quick shopping for our trip and called it an early night, given our early train the next morning. Next stop, Paris!

Day 2: London

I think my favorite part of London is the mix of old and new: the medieval castles and the high end shopping, the old pubs and the McDonalds, the beefeaters and the punk rockers. We saw a little bit of everything today, and somehow, despite all odds, it all really just works.

After sleeping off our jet lag comas, Carl "The Hero" Childs (his words, not mine) brought coffee with pouring cream. After just two days in London, we're starting to pick up on the small, but meaningful differences in speech and custom on this side of the pond. "Half and half" is simply not a thing. Coffee drinkers here use either skim, semi-skim, or pouring cream, which is (surprise!) straight cream. While not the healthiest of choices, it certainly makes for a good cup and is a more comfortable and delicious transition from half & half.

After coffee, we grabbed a quick breakfast/lunch/reallyitwaslunch/itwasbasicallynoon from the Café Deco, down the street from the hotel. Perusing the window of the shop, we chose from a selection of sandwiches of that oh-so-British blend of English and Indian: chicken tikka baguette next to chicken salad next to lamb samosa next to (seriously) an egg-and-mayonnaise sandwich. Another interesting tidbit about food shops here in London: there are separate prices for eat-in and carry-out, a good 50 p difference.

After picking up breakfast, we meandered down towards the underground station, eating our carry-out-priced sandwiches. I would also like to note that we have made progress on the understanding-the-public-transportation front; we have a vague sense of where we are and can sort of navigate the underground station without suffering or inflicting serious injury. Baby steps.
We decided to spend the early afternoon strolling through London's arcades, which I soon found out were not glorified pinballing establishments, but rather shopping arcades. We got to walk through what are essentially covered alleyways with dozens of shop windows full of all sorts of beautiful things. We saw some vintage Rolexes, some choice pajamas, and a shop selling macaroons. We saw the 2 major arcades in London, the Piccadilly Arcade and the Burlington Arcade, both of which were well worth seeing.

 

We hopped on the metro to the Tower of London and took an hour-and-a-half tour of the fortress. To be completely honest, I wasn't thrilled about spending another day listening to tour guides, given the on-a-tour-bus to not-on-a-tour-bus ratio of yesterday, but it was actually so, so interesting. We learned all about the grisly history of the Tower (plenty of prisoners, torture, and beheadings) and even heard the Tower's most famous (and perhaps only) love story. We wandered the White Tower, chatted with the beefeaters, (official title: The Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary) and stood over the flagstone of Anne Boleyn and the bodies of 1,500 other unknown traitors who were buried at The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula. The sheer amount of history within those fortress walls was truly impressive.

After we finished up at the Tower, we lost our way into what appeared to be the financial district, found a slightly more authentic pub than yesterday's, and drank among the locals. The pub, called "Hung, Drawn, and Quartered," was serving another English classic: pies. We shared the chicken and the lamb pies, both of which were quite good, and ordered a couple of rounds of drinks.

Feeling as though we'd had enough hanging, beheading, and other execution-related festivities, we moseyed on down to Harrod's, a city block-sized, 7-story store filled with all of the high end shopping  you could ever, ever want. It was like a labyrinth of expensive purses, cigars, jewelry, wine, food, and cosmetics, and keep in mind, we only made it to the first two floors. Also, I got lost about 6 times and actually had to ask directions. I literally asked directions in a store, to another part of the same store. It was the most embarrassing thing I've ever done. Aside from my directional mishap, Harrod's was awesome. Highly recommended if you want to spend a whole lot of money in a very small geographic space.

After Harrod's, we headed back to Gloucester, where  we're staying, and got some food at an Italian restaurant on our street. (I know I've mentioned 3 placed on our street where we've gotten food. There are still two Indian restaurants, one Thai place, a French place, a Georgian place, and another Italian place that have gone unsampled, as of right now.) We ordered a nice sauvignon blanc and had some genuinely tasty pasta. The highlight of my evening, however, came after the meal.

Now, you have to understand that throughout the entirety of this trip, my family has been joking about a Pimm's cup. I think the fascination with the drink came from the movie "Ghost Town," in which one of the main characters orders (I think a couple of times) a Pimm's cup. The drink itself isn't super integral to the plot, but it's mentioned a few times and for some reason, it stuck with us. Upon our arrival to London, we saw a sign somewhere advertising a Pimm's cup, and thus the obsession was rekindled.

After dinner, we decided to grab a drink at the pub and not wanting to get a full pint, I saw that the special was a Pimm's cup. After all this talk about it, I couldn't not try it, right? I liked it well enough; it mostly tasted like lemonade. Mom, however, was really excited about it, so she proceeded to drink about four-fifths of it. It was a beautiful moment in time.

That pretty much covers today, I think, and it's pretty late (about 12:20) so I'd better get some rest. Big day tomorrow!!!

Also, because this lion statue we saw at the Tower was so ugly: