Londontown

April 3, 2009
Well, I have been in London since Tuesday evening and I love it here. However at this point in my trip I just want to get home to Canada. I’m really sick of living out of a suitcase and not knowing anyone anywhere I go. It was lovely to spend some time with Emily in Scotland and Kim in Ireland but I want to see all of you back in Canada too!!
I arrived in London on Tuesday and made the trek into the city from Gatwick Airport. The train cost ₤11 and the underground cost a whopping ₤4!!! That is about triple what I have paid in any other European city. Booooo. Anyways I arrived at my hostel. It was cheap so I couldn’t expect too much but the only place to hang out was the downstairs bar because I was on the top of three-bed bunks and the light in the bedroom had a five minute timer so I would have to climb up and down every five minutes. The bar was loud though which was irritating for reading etc. Anywho, I caught up on my emails and everything. A cute guy came up to me and asked me if I had a plug adapter. Luckily I did so I lent it to him for the night so he could charge his camera battery. He returned it to me at breakfast in the morning and we got to talking. He is very adorable. He is German and has spent the last six months in South east Asia. He was in Sumatra on an island with only four other people for 3 months!! He was doing some volunteer research on sea turtles and teaching the other four people English. When I asked him how he communicated with them if they didn’t know English he simply said “a smile goes a very long way.” I like the philosophy. Sometimes do-gooders are really kind of self-righteous you know? They look down on other people who don’t eat fair trade organic chocolate and spend their days helping others? Maurice wasn’t like that. He seemed to just have a wonderful yet not naïve view on life. He was truly a pleasure to be around and rather easy on the eyes too haha. So he tagged along on the day I had planned for myself! We went on the free walking tour around London which wasn’t as good as in Edinburgh and Dublin but still interesting. We did see President Obama!! He is of course, in town to meet with the Queen and the Browns and for the G20 Summit. Well we were just beginning our tour at Wellington arch and his entourage of armoured cars and limos all flying the stars and stripes drives right through the arch about 15 feet away!!! So there is my brush with fame in London.
So Maurice and I headed to Starbucks after that (he is a coffee fanatic like me) to charge us for the afternoon. We walked along the Thames chatting in the uncommon sunshine and making our way to Shakespeare’s rebuilt Globe Theatre. Of course the play start in mid-April… right after I leave. So we decided not to go in for the tour; I might go later this weekend (I’m not a fan of entrance fees).
So we snapped a few photos before heading back and crossing the river to Embankment underground station where we caught the tube to Camdentown! We were starving having not eaten since breakfast at the hostel so we stopped for some delicious fish and chips (yes mom, I know you told me not to eat the British food but this was a must). They served heaping portions for 5 pounds; it was great even if it was not served in the traditional newspaper. So London is divided into all these boroughs you know. So this one is the “alternative neighbourhood”. It is full of punk people with rainbow Mohawks, ripped clothes and lots of metal on their faces. It’s a cool neighbourhood though. It is famous for its markets and I can see why. There are heaps of stalls selling everything from Thai Buddhas to lip rings and bongs. Haha rather an interesting place; there is one area called Horse Tunnel market and I can only assume that stables used to be there. There are life-size iron horses everywhere!! Cool!! We also stumbled upon Camden Locks. You know in the river? I don’t know if it is spelled differently but it was a beautiful area with a picturesque bridge over the sparkling water. The whole neighbourhood was full of this industrial age architecture. Maurice is a wonderful photographer and took some great artsy shots he promised to send me. After a long day of walking we were wiped by sunset and stopped at the Starbucks overlooking the locks in the sunshine. We sat down and who is sitting next to us but two other Germans who coincidentally are staying in our little hostel!!! So they chatted in German while I wrote in my journal a bit. I decided I wanted to head back to relax a little at the hostel. The boys decided to go out to the bar for a couple beers.
They met me back at the bar around 11pm and we decided to walk over to Big Ben (they were a little intoxicated and saw this as a mission). The walk was complete with free-styling German and English rap that was rather entertaining. These guys made me laugh harder than I have in months and I grateful. The three of them hilariously tried to convince me that one of them was a German prince and the other two were actually his bodyguards. We took heaps of photos and headed back to the hostel around 2 to bed.
We woke up early and had breakfast at the hostel yesterday. I decided to check out as I was not very happy with one of the staff members who I found to be very rude and inappropriate. So I booked another one in a different area of town. The wonderfully kind Germans escorted me to my hostel and while I was checking in they decided to go to the nearby market. When I was done I went to find them but the market was much bigger than we thought and I couldn’t find them!!! It was very unfortunate because Maurice left last night. Luckily I had gotten his email beforehand. So I hopped on the underground and headed to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. I walked across the bridge and ended up at Southwark Cathedral and then the Globe again! On my walk from Tower Bridge to the Globe (about 20 minutes) I passed 5 Starbucks!!! And yet, there isn’t one in 2 miles of my hostel (I googled it.) I have now collected four Starbucks city mugs: Paris (thanks Dee), Scotland (with a bagpiper), Ireland (James Joyce) and England (Shakespeare- perfect!!). So I wandered around the Thames etc and got back on the tube because I was starving. I decided to hit up the Tesco (grocery store chain) near the hostel. I bought some groceries so that I wont have to eat out. I spent the evening reading and watching a movie. Uneventful but enjoyable.
I decided to take it easy today so I can avoid spending money. The tube day passes cost 5 pounds which is relatively cheap compared to a one way ticket but still equal to $10. So I went out this morning to do laundry and I have just been reading my book since then!!
So that’s the lengthy update of my time in London!! I love you all very much and trust me I can’t wait to get home and see you!! Only five more days!! XOXO
Love,
Kate
EMBLEM OF THE PAST FEW DAYS
Definitely it is meeting Maurice and spending time with him in this wonderful city.

Ireland

March 31, 2009
Hello all,
I know Im the worst blogger ever. I never update. Basically I was in Ireland and now Im not. Satisfied? No just kidding.
Ok so I love Ireland. I was in Dublin and it was fabulous. I definitely love the Irish pride and passion. Also, they have an amazing sense of humour that I haven’t encountered anywhere else. They are uber sarcastic and dry. Love it. Perhaps its only that I haven’t been in English-speaking countries but I miss humour… I actually find myself being really slow when people make sarcastic jokes when normally I am the mayor of Sarcasmtown. One night I was trying to get on the internet on my computer and it wasn’t working and the guy working at the hostel said “I’ll show you where the router is because perhaps your computer will work better there!” So he takes my bag for me and holds out his arm. I put my arm in his and he says “Well at least I can say that I had a date for Friday night!”
So while I was there the Irish had their football match against the Bulgarians for the World Cup Qualifier. It might as well have been St Patricks for all the green I saw!!! Scarves, hats, facepaint etc all could be seen on O’Connell (the main drag if you will) on the north side of the river which is the natural divider of the city. It was great.
I also went on the free walking tour just like I did in Edinburgh and it was so great. I had another really funny guide which is sweet. I learned a lot about the city of course. For example there is a plaque on the O’Connell bridge commemorating a priest who died in the river. Funny point: this priest never existed. Interesting….
I met some Americans in my hostel the first day there. They were going to the Guinness Brewery and said it was cool if I tagged along. Excellent!!! I loved it, I thought it was very interesting. Beer is such a complicated process that I don’t remember it all but I found it very interesting nonetheless. I think Arthur Guinness is as important as St. Patrick to the Irish. My tour guide said the two of them are considered the saints or Ireland. Love that too. So we took heaps of photos and the girls apparently don’t drink so I might have had three pints by noon…
So basically I spent my time in Dublin wandering. But I also met up with my friend Kim who is studying in Lyon and was visiting another friend in Dublin. We spent the day in Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was certainly an interesting city. It was really run-down and dirty. The guidebook that Kim’s friend had said Belfast was part of the three B’s to avoid for travelers: Baghdad, Bosnia and Belfast. Of course it was because of the political unrest. Now for those of you that watch international news you know that there were shootings there a few weeks ago and some British soldiers died. The whole city reminds you of all the killings and everything that went on… very powerful. We saw the peace line that separated the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods which is obviously ironically named. The political murals were pretty intense even though the craziest of them have been painted over.
Overall, I had a really great stay in Dublin. I didn’t meet many Irish people but it was still fun. I understand the culture well and I love it even more than I did before I went if that’s possible. Again sorry this isn’t longer.
EMBLEM OF THE WEEK
Wandering around Dublin listening to the accents and the walking tour.

Scotland

Friday March 27, 2009
Well, I suppose I have to catch you up huh? So I think I last left off before I went on the walking tour in Edinburgh. Well, I certainly got to see all of the old town. The free walking tour is amazing and they have them in all the major cities in Europe. I highly recommend them. I had a wonderful American tour guide who has been going to U of Edinburgh for nearly three years now; he was really funny and made the tour very enjoyable. We saw the Mercat Cross where they used to nail thieves ears up to the building for 24 hours. This is located on the Royal Mile which was the main street in old time Edinburgh. It is mentioned many times in my book series by Diana Gabaldon. We checked out the Canongate area of the Royal Mile before heading to the writer’s museum. We didn’t go in but we learned a little about Robert Burns. Oh but we saw where the Canongate tollbooth used to be. It is now a heart on the ground where locals spit. Mmmmm but its because they hated taxes so much and of course everyone still does! We walked up towards the castle which was cool. Apparently Scotland’s crown jewels are inside and they are the second oldest in Europe! Then we headed down into the Grassmarket area where the hangings used to happen. Here’s a story for you about the grass market area:
Possibly two of Scotland's most gruesome imports were the serial killers William Burke and William Hare. Burke and Hare came from Ireland and moved to Scotland to work as labourers on the Union Canal. Ever aware of a market to meet, Burke and Hare set themselves up as procurers of human bodies to satisfy the demand of Edinburgh's medical schools. These two were quite the typical Irish young men: drinking and reveling in the wonderful whiskey that the British Isles had to offer. On the other hand, they weren’t fans of working to make the money to pay for their escapades. So one day Burke’s girlfriend (the owner of a hotel in the Grassmarket area) told the boys that one of her tenants had died without paying her the months rent. Wondering what to do the boys remembered that the University medical school paid for fresh bodies. So they took him over there and they paid 7 pounds for the man. Months rent was only 4 pounds so there they had money left over! There began their profession of body snatching. The would either kill people or dig up freshly buried bodies to sell to the university for drinking money!
So that’s always fun!! Haha so we had some lunch (burger and a pint) before heading up to Greyfriars Church and the kirkyard. This is where Bobby is buried next to his masters. Bobby is the most photographed statue in Scotland. The story is that his master was the head priest at the church and the little dog followed him everywhere. When the man died Bobby sat on his grave for 15 years waiting for his master to come back. That’s dedication people. After that we saw the café where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. Apparently it was cheaper for her to have a coffee there and write all day than for her to pay to heat her apartment.
We walked down to the park that divides old and new town and used to be a lake! It was where all the sewage that was dumped into the streets would run in the rain. Mmmm that’s gotta smell good! Well, it didn’t so eventually the nobility had it drained and now it’s a beautiful park!! The Scottish sure know how to garden. There are beautiful parks and gardens everywhere. So then I headed to the train station to catch a train to Stirling to meet Emily.
I had a fairly low-key few days there. Its not hard to see all the tiny city in one day so I paced myself seeing a little everyday and just wandering around. It sure is beautiful. The university and town are separated by a little river and the university dorms are built at the base of the crags and cliffs that can be seen from anywhere in town. Emily picked me up and we went grocery shopping for the week. Mmmm salad is a wonderful thing. We had some drinks and headed to the campus bar then Dusk, a club downtown. We were getting a little tired and bored and decided to head home but there were no buses so rather than pay a lot for a cab we opted to walk home. Freezing cold wind but no rain- its all good. So an hour and a half later we arrived at Emilys dorm and got into the warm bed. On Tuesday we went to Glasgow to get Emily a dress for her brothers upcoming wedding- no success. Emily got lots of clothes though. I bought a Scotland Starbucks mug. It was pouring rain otherwise I would’ve done the walking tour here as well. So we headed back for dinner starving as we were. The next day I explored downtown while Emily sat in (apparently bad) classes all day. We had a chill night of watching movies. The next day I headed for the castle but entrance was 8 pounds and I deemed it unworthy so I wandered through the graveyard- no visit to a Scottish city is complete without a graveyard or two. Then I wandered around some more appreciating the sunny day and gardens. I sat down with a coffee at a place called Costa. Believe it or not- as good as Starbucks!! I met up with Emily and headed back to residence. We had naps before heading to Celine’s (Emily’s friends) place to have some drinks before going downtown. I met more American’s than ever before on this trip. They are a friendly bunch with funny accents (Lauren remember when you first came to Canada and had an accent?). I met a guy from Illinois and talked about American politics for an hour. We went to the local Aussie bar (Outback- original) before heading to Dusk again. We had a fun night of dancing and drinking and this time cabbed back to the university.
In the morning I hopped on a bus then a train then a bus then a plane before arriving this evening in Dublin, Ireland.

Paris to Scotland

Monday March 23, 2009
So far I am a big fan of Scotland. I haven’t seen anything other than the airport and what I saw from the bus ride in but I like what I see!
I had a wonderful week in Paris with my mom. We saw everything we wanted to (except the Orangerie- but only mom wanted to see that anyways haha) and we did it without tiring ourselves out! It was a well balanced week with food, relaxing and seeing the sights. I loved the Louvre. I never know what I’m going to find when I go into these museums and I am always thoroughly delighted when I see statues that I know. I saw the Nike of Samothrace which of course I knew I would see but she is so beautiful all the same- a perfect example of High Hellenistic sculpture. As for the Mona Lisa, soooo not exciting. I prefer the giant painting across from her of the wedding at which Christ turns water into wine. Also, the spaces in the Louvre are amazing… The visit was wonderful and tiring so we flopped into the comfy chairs at the Starbucks located inside (yes!). I was only disappointed about one thing: the pre-classical Greece wing was closed!!! Very upsetting, they have so many of the things I studied from the bronze and archaic ages. Bummer. After the Louvre we hopped on a river cruise! It was gorgeous and we learned some things!
After that we went to a nearby restaurant that was recommended by Rick Steves. It was amazing. We met three Americans from Texas who were on spring break vacation who had also read about it in Rick Steves! The cook was awesome! It’s a one-man-show, he cooks and serves. He has a new menu everyday. I had a salad with kind of a Caesar dressing and on top was toast with melted and browned goat cheese. AMAZING! Then I had the lobster bisque soup, I don’t know what it is supposed to taste like but I thought it was mightily delicious! Mom had scallops St Jacques with rice and salad, also very tasty. We had some rose wine with it too.
The next day we went to the Pere Lachaise cemetery and our loyal Rick Steves led us on a tour through the most famous graves: Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Moliere etc. Mom was feeling weird about the whole thing though so we didn’t finish the tour. The tombs and graves were amazing really works of art. Lots of them had beautifully crafted stained glass windows too.
So yesterday mom had to leave the hotel at the ungodly hour of 4 am. So we took all the stuff down to wait for the shuttle bus that was coming to pick her up to take her to the airport. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn’t for some reason so I played card games on my iPhone until 6am. Then I managed to fall asleep until 8am. I read my book and had cereal for breakfast before checking out at 11. I walked down to Starbucks and read my book there for a while before trying to figure out the train situation to the airport. Very confusing. I figured it out and got to the airport at 2. My flight didn’t leave until 5:30 so I had a lot of waiting time. Now I did have the right converter for French plugs and yet, NO OUTLETS!! How does this always happen? Luckily I have a great book. So I read my book while I waited.
The flight was good, I had a cup of tea that was lovely- I thought it was appropriate coming to the UK and all. Oh and all the flight attendants had accents! It was great! Looking out the windows, Scotland is just how I pictured: very green with rolling hills. It is very different from France and Italy and to tell you the truth I need a change. We disembarked onto the tarmac and the Scottish wind was blowin’! I loved it, couldn’t help but smile. And it was my favorite time of day: twilight. You know how it blankets the world in that blue light? Well it was very beautiful driving on the bus past little farmhouse type homes. For a second I thought our driver was drunk- driving on the wrong side of the road!! Then I realized that’s how it works here, very strange. I got off the bus at Haymarket Station and one of my first views was of a Starbucks- how wonderful. The Scottish appear to like their Starbucks as much as me. I passed two on the five minute walk to my hostel. In Paris you had to really hunt for them! My hostel is really cool! Its an old converted church with stained glass windows and everything. Basically they have put up 12 ft walls in the nave to form rooms so all the sounds carries but I’m a heavy sleeper when I need to be so its all good. They have a sweet common room with kitchen and pool tables and stuff. I had some bread and cheese that I brought from France before retiring to my bed to organize my photos (I will post some as soon as I can get my hands on the Internet) and see what my plans were for today! I will start at Starbucks and there is a free walking tour that leaves from there which I’m excited about! I love free things! So the walking tour leaves at 11 and is three hours. After that I might go to Edinburgh castle but I don’t like to pay for things so perhaps not. I am taking the 4:07 train to Stirling to meet my friend Emily who goes to school there. I am of course, inevitably up too early. I went to sleep at 10 so maybe that’s why I woke up at 6:20.
Oh and people are very helpful here for the most part. I like that. It helps that they speak English, it is so nice to be able to talk easily to people and understand conversations on the street etc. I sometimes enjoy eavesdropping. So this is my only day in Edinburgh so I must make the best of it!
EMBLEM OF THE DAY (for yesterday)
Flying into Scotland- stunningly beautiful and they speak my language except with excellent accents.

Centre de Pompidou

Wed March 18, 2009
We had a lowkey morning today. We walked to the grocery store to get some bread, cheese and yogurt. Then on the way back we stopped for a café au lait with pain au chocolat and sat in the sunshine at Café Saint Jean.
Today we went to the Pompidou Centre! Mom was really excited about all the modern art: Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Delauney, Duchamp and Matisse. Cool stuff. I’m not a huge modern art fan though; I could put a toilet on display and call it art too! Just give it a title that doesn’t make any sense and people will think its brilliant. Of course not all modern art is like that but still. It was cool though. I liked the Picasso and Delauney.
Then we went outside and sat down in the square to eat some lunch. There was a girl playing a didgeridoo and was very skilled. So we ate some camembert and baguette while we listened to her. We headed up Rue de Rivoli towards the Bastille which of course is no longer there. We stopped for a iced coffee in the hot sun before figuring out where the English bookstore was (I need the second book in my series). They didn’t have it so we moved onto the Bastille. There is really nothing to see except a big column (I’ve seen plenty of columns and this was nothing special) and the Opera de Bastille. So we headed to the Carnivalet Museum which is basically an old mansions that was built as a Parisian residence for the royalty at the time of the revolution but it was never used. It was decorated very much the same way as Versailles. Tons of oil paintings. There were nice inner courtyards too with gardens. But we were pretty tired from the museum so we headed back to the hotel. We had a rest before heading out for a delicious and warm traditional French Onion soup. It was awesome. Then we came back and watched Australia. It’s a great movie you should see it. So that’s that!

EMBLEM OF THE DAY:
Sitting in the very warm sunshine on the patio of a nice café on Rue de Rivoli and drinking my café glace.

Versailles on St Patricks Day

Tuesday March 17, 2009
Well today we went to the Chateau at Versailles. Wowza, can you say over the top? So this is where it all went down. Basically Louis XIII used it as a hunting lodge and his court was held in Paris but then his son Louis XIV decided that he needed an escape from Paris so he established his court there in lavish splendor of course. Its pretty crazy how big it is. There is no way they used all those rooms. They were all wonderfully decorated though! They all had gorgeous fabrics on the walls which often matched the furniture. The furniture is definitely the style that you find in antique shops on Main St. except the upholstery was much richer. The beds are pretty epic with huge canopies and stuff- sweet. Their was also this huge globe (like 2 meter diameter) and it was so cool cause there was an astrological cover over the globe of the earth. Apparently it is still accurate!
We headed out onto the grounds after a couple hours in the palace. The grounds are amazing; they go on for miles, really as far as the eye can see. The maps are also very confusing so we definitely got lost a couple times. So we headed to the Petit Trianon which is where the queen, Marie Antoinette built herself a house so she could escape from all the trials of the royal court. Then we walked down the path to the Grand Trianon where the king built a house for himself to escape the stresses of royal court life. He built this one because the Petit Trianon was just too small for him. Nearby here Marie Antoinette also built a ‘Summer House’ which she used to hang out with close friends in the evenings where they would chat and play parlor games. Now why she couldn’t do that in the palace or her Petit Trianon I don’t know but hey, she’s a crazy queen who understands her? Then we walked all the way back to the Queen’s Hamlet at the end of the park. We didn’t know where the entrance was so we ended up not going in but we still saw it. Mom says she remembers this from when she came to France by herself when she was 15. This is where the queen basically built her own little country village for play. She wanted to experience country life but didn’t want to put herself out there with the real poor and starving that were all around her of course. So there was a chicken coop, dairy, etc. which all produced food that was served at the Queen’s table. She would apparently wear a plain cotton dress and straw hat and while she didn’t do any work of course she did supervise. So while she spent time in her play village the revolution was rising outside.
We were exhausted by this point (these are not close walks) so we sat down by the grand canal and appreciated the beautiful day and the sparkle on the water. You can also rent boats here and row all down the canal. I got some ice cream and we walked back to the chateau then the train station to head home. We got home and relaxed before heading out for St Patty’s Day!!!!
This was the most disgraceful St. Patricks Day ever. We went to an Irish bar that we had previously scouted out and there was not a single person inside other than the bartender. Ummmm what? So we decided it was better to be at a happening place that isn’t Irsh than a dead place that is. So we sat down at a bar with a nice view of Sacre Coeur. They did not have any Irish whiskey (crazy!) only Scotch which I deemed inappropriate. So we both had apple cider, yes I know its not very spirited but they didn’t have green beer either. When I get back to Canada I have decided I will make up for things by having a “Birthday/ St Patrick’s/ Coming Home “ party. The server was funny though and there was a huge group of real Irish people sitting next to us. We chatted with them- I love the spirit. Turns out the 10 or so of them are from all over Ireland (Killarney, Cork, Dublin) and met up in Paris for their friends 50th birthday. Yep it was on St Patricks Day and yep his name was Patrick! I told them I was heading to Ireland in a couple weeks and they seemed very pleased about that! So we paid the bar tab (9€) which was definitely not appropriate for St Patricks day but we didn’t want to have hangovers so we definitely did not go all out. Don’t worry guys I will make up for it about a million times in Ireland. So we walked back home and went to bed!
PS I saw a guy at Versailles wearing a Pemberton Fest T-shirt it was awesome!!

EMBLEM OF THE DAY:
Chatting with real Irish on St Patricks Day. Also, seeing Marie Antoinette’s play village because it is just so ridiculous.

Notre Dame and the Historic Paris Walk

Mon March 16, 2009
Well we started our day at the wonderful cathedral of Notre Dame, wow quite the dominating presence! The photos don’t do it justice I’ll tell you that. In the left doorway there is a statue of St Denis holding his own severed head… sick. Over the central doorway is a scene of an angel and a demon weighing souls. The demon pushes on the scale to make it heavier sending the soul to hell, nice guy eh? While it didn’t seem too busy outside it was pretty tight packed inside. We walked all throughout loving the stained glass windows especially the rose windows. We admired the workmanship and realism in the windows before wandering back out into the square and around the left hand side of the building. We craned our necks to see the most photographic gargoyle in Paris. Very Hunchback of Notre Dame. Then we headed around back to gain a full appreciation of the flying buttresses which make the physics of the whole building possible. There was also a nice little park so we sat and mapped out the next stop. I love Rick Steves. For those of you who don’t watch his TV show and haven’t seen his books, he is the travel guru for Europe. He tells you where to go, what to do, how to prioritize, the inexpensive way to travel as well as providing walks such as the “Historic Paris Walk” which we are on today!
Stop number two was the famous ‘Shakespeare and Co.’ bookstore. The original store was founded in the 1920’s and this one looks the part. Tiny aisles are lined floor to ceiling with second-hand book. I love that smell. There were some great old versions of Shakespeare plays and the classics. They also give free accommodations to struggling writers above the store. The founder was Sylvia Beach who published James Joyce’s Ulysses cool huh?
We turned the corner to find St. Severin Church and didn’t go in but passed by it leading us into the Latin Quarter. Delicious smells and food all around- my kind of place but we didn’t stop. We arrived at the busy intersection of Boulevard St Michel and Blvd St Germain. St Michel is the centre of the bohemian, liberal core of Paris. This is where Parisians have fought against the royalists, Nazis and de Gaulle government. I think its kinda comparable to the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
We walked up the boulevard to the Luxembourg Gardens where we basked in the sun with the real Parisians. We enjoyed the break after our long walk but decided to head onto the Pantheon. Rome’s is better. At least I think so. I think Paris’ is too fancy and Rome’s is older which usually trumps everything. It is still a beautiful building though. We didn’t go inside but walked all the way around before heading back down the boulevard. I spotted a Starbucks and we went in to have some drinks while writing about our day in our journals.
We hopped on the metro and headed back to the hotel where we had a nap and relaxed while trying to figure out where to eat- thanks again Rick Steves. We settled on a place within walking distance in Montmartre. It had a beautiful view into the park around Sacre Coeur. We sat on the windowed terrace in this brightly decorated restaurant. We both order the same thing: quiche with bacon, ham, two cheeses that I cant remember and a side salad. I was pretty stoked for the salad (I haven’t had one since I left Canada!). It was a delicious meal and after words we climbed the steps of Sacre Coeur to see the view over Paris at night: gorgeous of course. We headed back to our hotel and watched The Boondock Saints in light of St Patricks Day before falling asleep.

EMBLEM OF THE DAY
Notre Dame's stunning architecture which is unlike any I have ever seen.