For those of you that don't know, Brett and I decided to come home about 3 weeks early from our trip. This morning, we hopped on a flight in Brussels and flew home. We've been home for about 3 hours, and the dog peed herself before we even touched her.
It's very very surreal to be home, in a place that is familiar, yet totally alien. I didn't start to realize how long even 2 months is to be away from home, and how profoundly happy I would be to be back on US soil. It's great to be back at home with the dog in our house, but there are so many things different about the house - every picture save two in the upstairs hall have been taken down, for example - that it is really difficult to feel at home, even here, in our home. Things are still in flux with Kelly moving out, us coming back early unexpectedly, and the backyard being re-done, but I'm sure I will slowly settle back in here.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
8/11/07 - Paris
After breakfast we headed straight to the musee d'orsay, where we spent the next 2-3 hours. It's my favorite museum I've ever been in. I especially loved the Renoirs, Van Goghs (like l'eglise d'anvers, which I'd never seen and now love), Monets of course, Dhurmer's pastels, and all the marble sculptures they have. Wow.
Then we went to the catacombs, filled to the brim with stacked humans. They even have a heart-shape in skulls! The number of people down there is staggering!
Then we went to the catacombs, filled to the brim with stacked humans. They even have a heart-shape in skulls! The number of people down there is staggering!
8/10/07 - Paris
We got up for breakfast, then walked up to Sacre Coeur, which is just up the hill from where we're staying in Montmartre. The basilique is very beautiful, much more so than Notre Dame, which only has the rose window and flying buttresses going for it. Sacre Coeur is more moorish, plus it has pretty grounds and a fantastic view of the city.
Then we got our tickets for the Musee D'Orsay for tomorrow so that we don't have to stand in line, then went to the Arc de Triomphe and went up top for another spectacular view of Paris.
Then we met up with Aurelien and Sylvain, friends who live in Paris. They took us to Chez Papa for lunch, where we gorged ourselves on 'salades.' By this I mean lettuce, huge chunks of strong cheese, potatoes, tomatoes, two fried eggs, some pancetta, and god knows what else. It was sooo good. After lunch we went to a patisserie for 'religieuse' which are snowman-shaped pastries filled with chocolate eclair filling and iced with cream cheese frosting. It was really great to see the two of them, and especially for Brett to meet them.
After all that food, we took a walk to settle things, then a nap. Got up and went to the Eiffel Tower where we hung out, gaped, and people watched. I love Paris.
Then we got our tickets for the Musee D'Orsay for tomorrow so that we don't have to stand in line, then went to the Arc de Triomphe and went up top for another spectacular view of Paris.
Then we met up with Aurelien and Sylvain, friends who live in Paris. They took us to Chez Papa for lunch, where we gorged ourselves on 'salades.' By this I mean lettuce, huge chunks of strong cheese, potatoes, tomatoes, two fried eggs, some pancetta, and god knows what else. It was sooo good. After lunch we went to a patisserie for 'religieuse' which are snowman-shaped pastries filled with chocolate eclair filling and iced with cream cheese frosting. It was really great to see the two of them, and especially for Brett to meet them.
After all that food, we took a walk to settle things, then a nap. Got up and went to the Eiffel Tower where we hung out, gaped, and people watched. I love Paris.
8/9/07 - travel day!
We started off the longest bus trip in the circuit with 'spider pig' from thhe Simpsons movie playing, courtesy of our guide Grant from Croatia, who's back doing bus guiding for a while. Watched LA Confidential and the Da Vinci Code (horrible!) as well as some highlights of X-factor and Kath & Kim. I hadn't even heard of X-Factor before and I've now seen more of it than I've seen of American Idol. Kath & Kim is this Aussie show about a mother and daughter. They're like Aussie trailer trash, but REALLY trailer trash. It's entertaining the way a car wreck is entertaining, but it helps the time pass. I actually have a sort of shameful affinity for this show.
Anyway, got to Paris - yay! So glad to be back here!
Anyway, got to Paris - yay! So glad to be back here!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
new pic warning!!
Forgot to mention also that there are pics from Cinque Terre and Lauterbrunnen up at wwww.flickr.com/photos/brettgphoto which mean as of right now we're all caught up.
8/8/07 - Munich
Happy birthday daddy!!!
Today Brett got up feeling about 10000000 times better, so we grabbed ourselves a Wombat's all you can eat breakfast and made the most of things. We're still taking it easy. I feel pretty much full strength, but Brett is still in the recovery stage, and it's raining anyway. I guess we'll go to Dachau on Munich round 3 in a few weeks.
Tomorrow we leave for Paris, where it is supposed to rain as well. We're just going to buy umbrellas and get our Musee D'Orsay tickets the day before (which we discovered you can do. It's a completely different booth, so you never have to stand in line) and do things our own way. At least we're staying at a decent place this time.
After that it's 6 nights in Bruges, ending with Brett's birthday on the 17th. Then 3 days in Amsterdam, 3 days in Berlin, 7 nights in Prague, 3 nights in Vienna, and then the last 3 nights of the trip back here in Munich. Tomorrow is exactly 4 weeks till our return!
Because we've been very ill and such, Brett and I were feeling really homesick for the last few days, but we're starting to feel much better. We're both very excited to come home to all of our comforts and familiar things, but we are also very excited about the rest of the trip.
Today Brett got up feeling about 10000000 times better, so we grabbed ourselves a Wombat's all you can eat breakfast and made the most of things. We're still taking it easy. I feel pretty much full strength, but Brett is still in the recovery stage, and it's raining anyway. I guess we'll go to Dachau on Munich round 3 in a few weeks.
Tomorrow we leave for Paris, where it is supposed to rain as well. We're just going to buy umbrellas and get our Musee D'Orsay tickets the day before (which we discovered you can do. It's a completely different booth, so you never have to stand in line) and do things our own way. At least we're staying at a decent place this time.
After that it's 6 nights in Bruges, ending with Brett's birthday on the 17th. Then 3 days in Amsterdam, 3 days in Berlin, 7 nights in Prague, 3 nights in Vienna, and then the last 3 nights of the trip back here in Munich. Tomorrow is exactly 4 weeks till our return!
Because we've been very ill and such, Brett and I were feeling really homesick for the last few days, but we're starting to feel much better. We're both very excited to come home to all of our comforts and familiar things, but we are also very excited about the rest of the trip.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
8/7/07 - Munich
Brett is really a trooper, because despite barely sleeping and feeling like two day-old shit, he still wanted to go to the Deutches Museum. So we walked there and paid our 8,50 euro, only to discover that all these complex things were only explained in German! I had been afraid of this, but had foolishly assumed that the guidebook or any of the half-dozen people who recommended the museum would have mentioned the lack of english. After 15 minutes we were frustrated and Brett felt terrible, so we just left and headed back.
After a while, I decided to go get Brett some food from the grocery store. After having gotten directions, I headed out into the Munich afternoon. As I left the hostel, I thought, "Maybe it's not a good idea to go out here by myself" and like magic, this group of 6 guys appeared, hogging all the sidewalk. As we walked toward each other, I veered to the edge to try and squeeze by, and as I turned sideways to get between two of them, the one at my front side deliberately swerved into me so that he could feel me up. Gross. Then I got a catcall from one of the ubiquitious shady international call places. I was in a shitty mood when I got to the grocery store, which only got worse when I discovered that this city HAS NO SALTINE CRACKERS!!! OR PEANUT BUTTER!! blasphemy. I grouchily went to check out, but my mood lifted a bit when the cute checkout clerk winked and smiled at me as he handed me my change. Then, four steps out the door, a bulldog trotted by, happy as can be. It was as if the bulldog universe was telling me, and through me, Brett, that things weren't so bad as they seemed, and to just turn that frown upside down. Even the rain that started on my way back and the repeated Arabic catcall couldn't bring me down.
Anyway, we ate some crackers and very crunchy peaches and then read in bed for a while. I've started in on 1984, which I horribly haven't read and someone should revoke my degree over, and Brett is now reading the David Sedaris and howling with laughter. There's quite the thunderstorm, with flashes of lightning and loud thunderclaps and lots of rain, but it's nice to sit inside and listen to rain drum on the atrium roof while reading.
After a while, I decided to go get Brett some food from the grocery store. After having gotten directions, I headed out into the Munich afternoon. As I left the hostel, I thought, "Maybe it's not a good idea to go out here by myself" and like magic, this group of 6 guys appeared, hogging all the sidewalk. As we walked toward each other, I veered to the edge to try and squeeze by, and as I turned sideways to get between two of them, the one at my front side deliberately swerved into me so that he could feel me up. Gross. Then I got a catcall from one of the ubiquitious shady international call places. I was in a shitty mood when I got to the grocery store, which only got worse when I discovered that this city HAS NO SALTINE CRACKERS!!! OR PEANUT BUTTER!! blasphemy. I grouchily went to check out, but my mood lifted a bit when the cute checkout clerk winked and smiled at me as he handed me my change. Then, four steps out the door, a bulldog trotted by, happy as can be. It was as if the bulldog universe was telling me, and through me, Brett, that things weren't so bad as they seemed, and to just turn that frown upside down. Even the rain that started on my way back and the repeated Arabic catcall couldn't bring me down.
Anyway, we ate some crackers and very crunchy peaches and then read in bed for a while. I've started in on 1984, which I horribly haven't read and someone should revoke my degree over, and Brett is now reading the David Sedaris and howling with laughter. There's quite the thunderstorm, with flashes of lightning and loud thunderclaps and lots of rain, but it's nice to sit inside and listen to rain drum on the atrium roof while reading.
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