Paris, Professional Attire, and Peering West

 Paris was ugh…decent. Pretty neat stuff. Alright fine, it was incredible, spectacular, (insert your favorite superlative here)…all the way from each monument surpassing my expectation all the way to the creperie I delighted at (because “eating at” doesn’t do it justice), which can only be charted up with the best things I have ever tasted in my life. The city itself was beautifully spread outwards rather than upwards which made for metro rides that took the best part of an hour but more importantly, there were beautiful views from any little rise or bump in the otherwise flat geography. This geography deceived me and Chad many times as we thought big things such as the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe were much closer than the really were.

  One particular night at the Eiffel tower we looked in amazement across the city and saw that the Sacre Coeur Basilica (which we lived next to) was nothing more than a white speck on the hill in the distance. Nighttime at the Eiffel is magnificent as the towering structure flashes its lights at the top of every hour doing so for the last time at 1:00am. This particular occasion is equally awe striking because the rest of the towers lights switch off so you are left gazing at a darkened city with just the lights glistening against the blue backdrop of the night sky. The city like I said is very expansive and as we tiredly headed into the metro we realized how fortunate we were that we had chosen that particular night to watch the last Eiffel Tower show. Typically the metro is closed at midnight but that night it was open until 2:00am and the price tag on that potential cab ride still makes me cringe. Thank God for good fortune.

   We stayed with a very nice French fellow named Julien who was a massive fan of The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Records, CD’s, Posters, and memorabilia lined the walls of his place and being a musicman myself I appreciated the décor and of course I quickly became acquainted with the piano and guitar he had lying around. My favorite feature of his house was his bathroom, which he demanded us to leave a quote or a favorite verse in. All his guests before had done so and the walls, pipes, and toilet all had funny drawings, foreign language notes, thank you notes, and even inspirational quotes for those who look for such things in a bathroom.

  Paris as a whole seemed to be very aware of its image. I noticed this all the way from the laughable vastness and upkeep of the Palace of Versailles; all the way to the kids who threw rocks into the pond at the Luxemburg Palace dressed in their full suits. I sat there watching them in amusement as they ran around and chased birds looking better threaded than I did on my high school Homecoming outings, although in retrospect that really isn’t much of a feat considering my baggy hand-me-downs from my brother that I wore…but you get my point.

  At the airport I couldn't help but to smile as I showed the lady my boarding pass and walked up those steel steps to board my plane knowing that the next time I do so it will be onto a plane that is heading to the states. I feel like it is a moment that is supposed to be bittersweet but in secret actuality it was just 100% sweet. I am so grateful for each of my trips that I have had the privilege of taking. Anything more would be a blessing and anything less would still be one as well. Always counting my wealth of blessings. I am amazed to be living this semester in Europe as I continue to do so there are so many things I have learned about life here, things I have observed about life back home, and very importantly of course, are the many things I have learned about myself…

Czeching out Prague

      Following the steps sent to me by me soon to be “Air BnB host”, Chad and I hopped on the first bus and hoped for the best after touching down in Prague. Not knowing when to get off made us glance sideways at each other each stop wondering if we had passed it 20 minutes ago. Through much confusion, hoping, and stealing of wi-fi access from outside restaurants we found our apartment. Prague offered a much friendlier exchange rate and we took advantage making heaping servings of pasta on our first night with our friends who arrived shortly after us. Bags were upside down, dirty dishes were in the sink, and the place was looking messier as the night went on. We had arrived.

     Free transport definitely was the name of the game and allowed for my decreasing bank account to finally take a deep breath. Muchas gracias Czech Republic. First day out we met up with friends and headed to the top of the very reveled astronomical clock tower in the main city square. It reminded me of the tower next to the Duomo in Florence. The main difference was the obvious difference of height and the fact that for this one, instead of taking the countless stairs like we did in Italy, we hopped in a cool glass elevator reminiscent of the one in Willy Wonka. The 360 view of Prague was quite amazing from the top and also made me realize how far off in the boondocks our apartment was, again, cue the giving thanks for the public transport. Right beneath us was the main square in old town Prague where local vendors sold their goods and the food cooked right in front of you…which was eventually irresistible, and it got the better of me.

      Next up we visited the castle in Prague, which was superb and lived up to of all praise I had heard about it. Walking into the massive courtyard was pretty unreal and as the cathedral towered over the pathway and it opened up into a delicately bricked plaza, I felt like I had walked onto the set of The Wizard of Oz. We made our way through the fancy gardens and wandered around many other decorative buildings. We sat for quite a while outside of a Starbucks and enjoyed the view and as I took it all in I kept thinking how amazing it was that the very same view is more or less what King Charles used to look out at all those years ago.

      Another notable find in Prague as the Lennon Wall. Once we decided to find the Lennon wall it took us roughly an hour to find it and afterwards we found our way to our starting spot in roughly 10 minutes. Poor directional guessing on our part. But our wanderings made us explore some random places and I have found throughout my time in Europe that getting lost makes for good finds and great memories…and the occasional riding of a baby statue. Like so.

    Going on the infamous Charles bridge (which the old King so humbly named after himself) was special as we saw local craftsman selling their goods on the bridge, people playing their instruments as kids danced around, beggars with their heads to the ground, and this clash of all worlds was happening as people foot pedaled around in their boats underneath us. All along the bridge there are statues with placards at the bottom with words or some with engravings. These engravings were all dark but consistently there was one object on the placard that had been buffered into a shiny gold color from all the hands that had rubbed it for good luck over the years, I gave the golden dog a little rub just in case.