Paris, London... you know, just your average week for a EuroWebb

We've spent six weeks in search of the adventures, the stories, the crazy situations that can only be answered with T.I.E. (This is Europe), so why would our trip from Madrid to Paris be anything but ridiculous. The question is: Can you see yourself taking an overnight train across the European continent for thirteen hours? We did it, and loved it, or rather love the fact that we can add that to the list of insane choices we've made... actually aside from trying to brush our teeth in the dark while the train tried to shake us out of our cabin, it was a pretty swell experience. (below is not the cabin we slept in, this is Neil passed out on the way to Provins, "We'll stop when we're dead", luckly we didn't die and can now laugh at a statement like that...)

We pushed our Eurail pass to the max on our first day in France. After arriving in Paris at 9am, we dropped our bags off at the hostel and tore off to the medieval town of Provins. The small city was quiet and left for Neil and I to explore casually, without the crowds of camera-crazy tourists (beware of the Mom-with-children-and-her-point-and-shoot-still-cam, she wanders Paris and will run over a 6'3" hulking specimen of a young, polite gentleman, just to get her snot-nosed kids in her perfect postcard framing... but it's all in good fun right?). Provins was a small treasure brought to us by Kevin Polan. The suggestion to visit the cobble-stoned narrow streets of Provins with its towering medieval structures was tossed in as a bonus point amongst an extensive list of "secrets to Paris" that Kevin provided us. Travel Tip number 41: If visiting France consult with Kevin, if visiting Paris, bring Kevin along (I can only image what other hidden gems are lying among the beautiful streets of Par-ie that most tourist couldn't even imagine, but that Kevin knows all about). We wandered Provins and were amazed that you didn't need to try and image what it would have been like to walk the streets of the French town hundreds of years ago, we just kept turning corners and found ourselves falling further and further back in time.

How small were the French at the turn of the last millennium? Tour the Tour Cesar and try to fit through the hobbit-sized door ways and squeeze up the spiral stair case to the top of the tower while imaging that you are John Webb; well over six feet with shoulders that are significantly broader then any Baggins.

How hard is it to find Mech Engineers these days? Well, back at the hostel we met Boston Chris, who not only was a Mechy, he answered my next question: How hard is it for a Mech Engg to get a job? He gave me his card after pushing his lucrative company and telling me that his boss has been hunting for Canuck Gears like the first day of Deer season. Iron Rings man...

We spent two days in Paris without spending any time in Paris. How you ask. Day two was a trip to Verseille, which I warn the Amazing Racers is not a place that can be rushed. The palace itself is what all palaces should be modeled after, it is the David of living arrangements, and convinced me that Prince John really should be my career aspiration. With that said, the royal decor, astounding rooms and "king" sized beds weren't all that we paid to see; every square-inch of Verseille is full of all the tourists that are not going to see Provins. Each room has a guys recording every wall with his video camera, there is usually two or three groups of people that Scan each mural and talk about what they would have preferred if they were to have designed the room. Some people gasp at "the beauty", others want to touch everything, including the signs that say "do not touch". Out of all the sites we have seen, the crowds of Verseille are as spectacular an attraction as the Louis XIV's palace.

Someone told me "no, don't worry about the Gardens of Verseille..." Wow, this guy is an idiot. My advice is first not to listen to anything that comes out of the mouth of a crazy person who says not to visit the Gardens because they are a raving lunatic, and second, visit the Gardens of Verseille and take your time, because it is the definition of Royalty (and another reason why the dreams of Prince John must be fulfilled - why not King you might ask, well the Prince has all the perks of being King, without the stress and anxiety of the responsibility. Plus King John just sounds cocky).

We left Verseille after visiting Marie Antoinette's Estate, which itself is a cozy little situation; what a girl, to have set things up for herself in her own "Estate", which is hoity-toity for huge friggin Palace or two. Verseille is a must, don't skip this, or you will disappoint Neil and I, and you don't want to disappoint a future Prince, or Princess (Neil was really looking to camp out in the Estate)

The plan for Paris was a complicated execution, but a rather straight-forward concept: See everything. This made our next three and a half days in Paris somewhat busy...

Travel Tip number 43: buy a two day Museum Pass, then after two days, switch the date on the back of the pass and use it for an additional two days. Not only will you feel like a genius, a prove to be extremely sneaky, it's actually pretty bad-ass. In fact Neil and I would appreciate it if you just viewed this little tid-bit as a "oh those crazy boys and their overpowering desire to view art and their lack of funds" as oppose to "hey my friends cousin works at the Louvre, maybe I can get those two troublemakers bad from the museum circuit".

The schedule breaks down like this:

Day Two Post Verseille

-Invalides: Musee de l'Armee, with its cool armory (I want to be a Prince that fights on horse back now) and its extensive World Wars exhibits (who needs high school social studies or history class when a museum like this exists). AND Napoleon's Tomb, where we experienced the site with an audio guide (this was the first time we had tried the audio guide approach to things, since it was free with our awesome museum pass... I wouldn't go out of your way to walk around with these things glued to your ear).

-Arc de Triomphe: one must visit the top, if one is to try and understand how 12 streets can converge into one ten-lane traffic circle and not have one single accident witnessed by two canadians looking for a Nascar style smash up (we visited the top twice, that's a cumulative hour of circling the circle, no accidents, really?) We also may have crossed this ten-lane monstrosity AND survived, yess Webb brothers, awesome.

-Tour Eiffel: Although we didn't climb the tower, we definitely got caught up in the excitment of the surrounding area. There's something about seeing the tower all lit up at night... it can't be discribed, it must be seen by the eyes of every human if they wish to feel like they have lived.

Day Three:

-The Louvre: We visited the museum of museums twice on this day, and we easily could have gone back for more. The best idea is to use the museum pass to get in the "special" entrance to avoid the lines and then head straight for the Mona Lisa. We stood and stared at the masterpiece staring back at us for five minutes in silence, with only 2 other people in the room, before the crowds took over. It would take weeks to thoroughly exam each room and hall, Neil and I spent our first visit slowly moving through the first floor, then spent our second visit on a schedule (which means no doddling)

-Notre Dame: we found the cathedral to be quite busy, but you can get lost in the beauty of the stain glass and forget about all the people snapping shots over your shoulder. We also climbed to the top, and although Quasi was no where to be found, the bell was pretty cool, the views were nice, and the close ups of the Gargoyles were worth the spiral stair case adventure it took to get up and down the towers.

-Conciergerie: This is a cool idea, "a prison that held the revolutionary figures like Robespierre and Marie Antoinette", but alas it is nothing but an idea of what such a prison would be like.

-Musee D'Orsay: This is a must see. Neil and I are both big Impressionism fans, but even if Monet isn't your cup of tea, it's a museum built in an old train station. This museum itself is a work of art.

Day Four - Day Trip to Chartres: This was our second round of medieval France. Places like these are perfect for casually wandering, or meandering if you will, down the streets without a care in the world. The town was empty, and very peaceful, and Neil and I loved the idea that people actually live inside the small little houses that give the town its authentic atmosphere.

Day Four - Post Chartres:

-Pigalle: With its Mulin Rouge and Sex Shops. Don't miss the Chat Noire. I would suggest avoiding this area at dusk, day time is good.

-Sacre Coeur Cathedrale: "On top of Paris" is how you feel as you reach the top of the large set of stairs. Impressive views and an even more impressive atmosphere awaits you inside.

-Notre Dame encore: We had to return to spend time in the garden behind the cathedrale. We sat on a bench and watched Paris move around us.

-L'Ile St. Louis for the best ice cream in Paris. Do not miss this ice cream. If you are in Paris, contact me, I will give you very clear directions. I can't emphasize this enough, Best Ice Cream in Paris...

-Bastille Monument: Not much left of the famous prison. Revolutions man.

-Place des Vosages: It's a great place to rest tired feet after wandering through the Paris Arrondisments. In the corner of the oldest park in Paris is the #6 Renaissance town house, the home of Victor Hugo.

-Forum Des Halles: Ali was excited to hear about a huge underground mall, Neil thought it was "okay", but nothing to get excited about.

-Tour Eiffel: for 11 and a half euro the 3rd level of the tower was anything but a disappointment. Spend the cash, the top is where its at. We went at night and saw Paris lit up like Christmas. I don't know how long we were up there for, you get lost exploring the city from on top of the world. My experience of Memorable vistas and breath taking photos might be slightly different from Neil's. He decided that the top of the tower was the right time to get hit with food poisoning. But hey, it's all about the stories, who can say they threw up off the top of the Eiffel Tower... okay so he didn't lose his dinner over the edge, but he was sick all the same. This had nothing to do with the Tour though, so don't worry, visit at will.

Day Five:

-St. Chapelle: Now we're talking stained glass. This cathedrale is amazing to stand in, as the walls are covered in colourful glass making the entire room glow with vibrant hues. Of course the most impressive sight, the front, was under construction. Alas.

-Crypt of Notre Dame: This is the real deal. It felt like history had crossed paths at the site over and over again, generation after generation. Aside from the field trip of grade school kids, the site was pretty remarkable.

-Musee de Cinema Francais: Can you guess whose idea this was. Neil was pumped, not only was this a museum about movies, it was housed in a building designed by the architect that Brad Pitt studied under when he put aside his Tyler Durdan duds and took an interest in architecture. We decided when the Webb brothers have stormed through Hollywood and have filled up a couple solid filmographies, we will set up our own Film Museum (mainly with Webb films, but some other pictures as well)

-Boulevard de Montparnass: We strolled the vibrant street and took in all the great cafes and small shops. Neil was particularly excited because Montparnass happens to have a new movie theatre every half block. If I wasn't so bent on seeing every corner of every street in every place we've visited, we would have shaped our schedule around the local late matinee, or the first evening show. Poor Neil, I wouldn't even let him linger long enough to catch the smell of the popcorn.

-Pantheon: 2 Pantheons, a Parthenon, a half dozen Notre Dames, 3 or 4 Arc de Triomphes, enough canals to compete with Montparnass cinemas, 2 picasso museums, 4 to 5 Basillicas, a dozen plazas, piazzas, places, or squares, promenades for all 6 beach fronts, 2 Academias, a handful of Via Nationales and a couple Gran Vias, and a number of Santa Croces is just the start of some of Europes favorites. However, there never seems to be any repetition. Travel Tip number 50: visit everything, don't get fooled by a familiar name.

-Eating on the Champs Elysee: This treat was another Kevin Polan special. He treated us to one of our only meals that wasn't defined by the "best deal" or the "quantity over quality" mentality of choice. We took our time at Vesuvio. It was beyond comfort to be watching the Champs Elysee move by us in the cool drizzle while we sat under the awning with a soft heater keeping us warm. It's the only way to do patios, and the most relaxing "activity" we had taken part in all trip.

-Arc de Triomph: We returned to the Arc for another look over the Paris streets (still no collisions on the traffic circle of death), and decided it was unacceptable to have our last look at Tour be from a dozen blocks away.

-Tour Eiffel: We said good bye to Paris from the steps in front of the tower. It was tough to leave. Neil and I turned back a dozen times and said we would never forget the Eiffel tower, or Paris, or our great European adventure.

We left Paris early the next morning, and after the chaos of the Charles De Gaulle airport we started the end of our 7 weeks. London was rest, relaxation, the excitement of being so closed to home. London was the Cranley Gardens. I felt so comfortable having returned to the old Cranley that for the first time all trip I missed my alarms and slept in. I actually looked at my watch at 9:30am and when I told Neil we had missed the wake up, but that breakfast was on until 10, he grabbed his pants, a shirt and smashed on his shoes in 20 seconds. "I'll get a table and order for us..." London was a trip to the Stanhope Arms for Fish and Chips and English Pub atmosphere. London was Shakespeare's Globe, a return to tower bridge, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, and Picadilly Circus. London was a trip to Wimbleton to see the courts from a distance, London was me and the Chelsea stadium and the Megastore for The Blue apperal. London was the Tube. London was fog and rain, which was what we wanted, no more sun burns in the UK like our first round. London was the chance to recap the trip in a 2 and a half hour "How about..." style of story telling between Neil and I as we walked from James Park, through Hyde and into Kensington Gardens. London was the end. London was sad as we realized our "trip of a life time" was almost over, but London was happy as well, as we started to let ourselves get excited about seeing Home, the Fam, friends, cars on the right, water from a tap, CND currancy, comfortable beds minus the hostels, N. American TV, proper sirans, proper English, news papers, limitless internet access, Food, Food, and more Food... London was great, London was... a place I want to go back to.

It's been more fun than any of you could imagine. The whole expirence, right down to spinning the stories on this blog. This won't be the end of these tall tales. I've saved a few real gems for face to face reenactments. Until then, it's the EuroWebbs having Punched Europe Right in the Face... and having survived, sort of, well you should see the other guy... okay I need to have something to eat, and then its back to my comatos style of sleep. It's a tough world out there, and this time next week I'll be ready to head back out there for the next big adventure. Because it's all about the stories...