Versatile Blogger Award

Mike Lince, AKA “Global Explorer,” acknowledged me with this nomination months ago (January 27th), but the combination of “spitting out” blog threads at a furious pace while on my round the world trip, my inefficient tablet, and more often than not, a poor WIFI connection kept me from completing the nomination form. Oh, I am also lazy. 

Some (Post) Round The World Trip Thoughts

Tags

Denver, France, Iceland, Louvre museum, Paris

Louvre Pyramid.

I still have jet lag and I’ve been back in Denver, Colorado for 2 days now. Essentially, the symptom of not being able to sleep soundly the last couple of nights tells me a couple of things: 1. Besides jet lag, I have a lot on my mind, especially completing my 2012 taxes (more on this in a bit); and, 2. A persistent headache likely due to not being acclimatized to Denver’s altitude is going to stick around for a few more days.

A Paris Cemetery And High Performance Cars

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Ferrari, France, Paris, Père Lachaise Cemetary, Porsche

Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Yes, yes, I did go to the Louvre Museum and that post will be along shortly. I also did the Seine river boat tour, which was surprisingly good, especially the wonderful shots I got of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. However, grave yards and high performance cars seem to be a subject that might spike my blog ratings. Ha. I’ll go with that this morning, before doing my laundry and hitting the streets of Paris for one last day of sight seeing.  Tomorrow, I fly home to Casa de Melikean in Denver, Colorado, ending my epic journey around the world.

Musèe dÓrsay, Luxembourg Palace And Ping Pong

Tags

France, Musèe dÓrsay, Paris, table tennis

When you enter the museum, this replica of the Statue of Liberty is one of the first things you see. This is the 2nd one I have seen in Paris. Another one is located on the Seine River.

A couple of days ago, I visited the musèe dÓrsay or dÓrsay museum, as it shall be known here (hey, it’s difficult keying that weird “e” on my keyboard that only works half the time on my tablet for some reason). I was fascinated with the beautiful building that later, I found out was a former train station constructed in 1900. The construction style is called Beaux-Arts and in my opinion, the building itself is worth half the admission. Angie met me there and although the museum is quite large, we covered quite a bit of ground, i.e., seeing most of the major collection pieces by Monet, Gaugin, Mamet, Van Gogh, Sisley, Renoir, Cezanne, and Degas.

Nortre Dame Cathedral

Tags

France, Notre Dame, Paris

Notre Dame Cathedral. This cathedral is so massive and there are quite a few obstructions where it’s very difficult to get a photograph of the entire cathedral. This is about the best I could do with my tablet.

My visit to Notre Dame Cathedral occurred yesterday. I was amazed at how fast I got into the cathedral. The church is quite imposing and although, I am more partial to the Italian cathedrals I saw in Rome and Florence – which are a bit more stylish and grand – Notre Dame is an impressive Cathedral nonetheless. Moreover, it is massively large.

Alive And Well In Paris, France

Tags

France, Paris

The overnight train ride from Florence, Italy, to Paris, France was quite interesting to say the least. I may tell you about that experience in a future post. However, this post is just to catch up on what’s been going down since I left Florence, Italy. I’ve been remiss in not posting and I’ll explain that too.

Last Post From Florence, Italy, Before I Board The Train To Paris, France

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Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, Florence, France, Italy, Paris, San Marco Museum

I LOVE THIS PHOTO! Almost as if God paid a visit. Wow! The tourists that were inside, were snapping away, literally taking hundreds of photos, afraid the light would change.

I was quite surprised by how many places I visited while in Italy. For a “quick and dirty” trip of less than two weeks, I saw much more than I expected to. My final post from Florence will be relatively short, as I didn’t take too many photographs at the 2 places I visited: Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, a Roman Catholic church; and, San Marco Museum (formerly a convent).

Museo di Palazzo Vecchio And Museo Nazionale Del Bargello, Florence, Italy

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Bargello National Museum, Florence, Italy, Palazzo Vecchio Museum

A Donatello.

In a couple of days, I take the train to Paris, France. I was delayed a day because I screwed up not booking a seat earlier. I should have done that while at the train station during my trip to Lucca. Live and learn. Dumb sh*t. So last night, I concentrated on booking a hotel in the “City of Lights.” It took awhile, but I finally found a place that wasn’t flea bitten, nor made me a pauper. Frankly, hotels are quite expensive in Paris, but if you do some research, you can find a good deal. That being said, I wont know for sure until I get there, right? Righto Stevo! What else? Laundry is what else. I had to do two loads first thing this morning. This is essentially my entire wardrobe. LOL. Anywho, the laundromat is located only a couple of hundred meters away, so thank God for little miracles like that.

The Uffizi Museum And Happy Birthday Thaddy!

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Florence, Italy, Uffizi Museum

Thaddy turned 5 today! I hope mom (Leah) has something fun planned for your special day. Regardless, enjoy every minute – the years seem to zoom by as you get older. At least that’s my take.

So today was Thaddy’s 5 year birthday and I wanted to wish him a wonderful, happy birthday! I hope your mom, Leah, has something fun planned for your special day kiddo. I’m sure she does. Meanwhile, in Florence, Italy, I went to Italy’s reknowned Uffizi Museum, which is one of the oldest museums in the world. Too bad photos are not allowed. Sorry, I didn’t get the memo and here are some of the photos I took  .  .  .  Grin 

Train Trip To Lucca, Italy

Tags

Florence, Italy, Lucca

Fortress walls of Lucca are now a promenade for pedestrians. The entire wall is intact and surrounds the old city center. Quite lovely.

On the advice of a few people, I decided to visit the smaller town of Lucca instead of Pisa or Siena. My take on the advice was that Lucca provided more of a taste of Tuscany than Siena or Pisa. Additionally, a day visit would allow me to see more of Lucca than I might have been able to have accomplished in either of the other two places. I understand the other two cities are wonderful in their own right, but I’m glad I visited Lucca yesterday. The bottom line is this – If you want a slightly more medieval feel, than visit Siena. Pisa has the leaning tower, but expect a wait of at least two hours to see it. However, if you don’t want to feel like you’re visiting a place over run with tourists, go to Lucca.