City of Lights

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Originally uploaded by klheckert

(Tonight's post is written by guest blogger, bon vivant, and man-about-town Matt)

Bon soir from Gay Paree. So here's what went down so far:

The Arc de Triomphe
Champs-Elysees
Eiffel Tower
Notre Dame
Latin Quarter (that's Classical Latin, not Taco Latin)
Lots of Rain
Exceptional Food and Wine

Katie and I are truly enjoying the Parisian "cafe culture," and its associated laid-back lifestyle. So much so that we spent an extra night here.

As the trip winds down, we find ourselves looking back to take stock: Did we see all we wanted to see and did we have enough fun? I believe we did. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't long ago that I had never left Missouri, and now here I am blogging from Paris. We have scaled the Alps and bathed in Hungarian hotsprings. We have drank French Wine and Czech beer, and everything in between. Katie tasted Irish whiskey and Matt ate a kidney on his lamb chop. We have tried new things,made new friends, and strengthened our marriage. More than anything, we have had FUN, and isnt that the point?

Some random thoughts for your brains to chew:

- We are flat-out tired of touring. Luckily, we did a whirlwind tour of London when we first got here, so this last week in London will be pretty chill.

- Four Roses Bourbon. I have never heard of it before, but in places that have more than one American Whiskey (ie, something other than Jack), this is the most common option, and it seems to be priced like a top-shelf product. Tastes pretty ok, as far as I'm concerned.

- We had always heard that DC was designed to "feel" like Paris with its avenues and shorter buildings, but we didnt really get a sense of that until we saw Paris from above on the Eiffel Tower. From that vantage point, you can really see the similarities between the two cities, such as the traffic circles and resulting funny shaped blocks and buildings.

- In Europe, we have seen many beggars who have (and emphasize) severe physical deformaties, such as backward knees and club feet. In the US, it seems the worst you see is an amputation here and there. Maybe because malformed babies get better care in America? Or is it hidden due to pride?

- Concept cars. There are a few dealerships along the Champs-Elysees that showcase futuristic concept cars that will likely never be for sale. Why spend the money making these cars, for that matter, the money to rent the prime real estate to house them?

- The Eiffel Tower is MUCH taller than the Washington Monument. Just in case you were wondering. (katie's note: Matt wasn't sure when first arriving....he has some trouble with "perspective.")

- What happened to Crepes in the US to make them all terrible? I blame the schools.

- Europeans eat peanut butter-flavored things, eg. crisps (chips), but we can't find a jar of the stuff at all.

- We run into other backpackers that claim to roll into cities with no idea where they are spending the night. In our experience, even waiting til two nights before means you will either pay through your teeth or have to stay WELL away from everything. Maybe there is a special "I'm a dumb person" pass?

We'll always have Paris....but now on to London...