We stayed in a hostel in Montemartre, right below Sacre Couer. On our first night in Paris we took the stairs up to see the view.

The Siene and Pont Neuf (the new bridge), the oldest bridge in Paris.

We took a free walking tour around the city, and when we were at the Louvre, Katie and I got shitted on by the same sea gull, simultaneously. We were standing in a group of over 20 people and were were the only ones so lucky. It made my day.

After suffering through the cold we were rewarded with a dynamic sky later in the afternoon. This is Musée d'Orsay from the jardin de Tuilerie.

This is the restaurant that my mother and grandmother and I frequented when we were in Paris nine years ago. I remembered which metro stop it was at, and I was thrilled when I found it. After checking the prices, we dined next door.

I ordered an epic salad.

Zurich

Zurich was beautiful. It was cold and felt very expensive. I have dubbed it the city of infinite bell towers, because everywhere we walked, there was another one. And they were all set to different times. We stayed in the heart of Old Town Square, complete with cobbled streets and narrow alleys.








On our final morning in Zurich we had a 1 pm train to catch, so we left the hostel at noon. As we were walking along the river, the bell towers started to chime, and they continued to do so for a solid 15 minutes, each one in turn.

Impressionism

In Vienna we went to an Impressionism exhibition at the Albertina museum. Represented artists include Courbet, Caillebotte, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Pissarro, Signac and van Gogh among others. These were some of my favorites.

Albert Besnard (French, 1849-1934). A Meadow in the Park in Calais, 1890. Oil on canvas.

Claude Emile Schuffenecker (French, 1851-1934). Notre Dame in the Snow, 1889. Oil on canvas.

Édouard Manet (French, 1832-1883). Bunch of Asparagus, 1880. Oil on canvas.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919). Woman with a Parasol in a Garden, 1875-76. Oil on canvas.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919). On the Banks of the Seine at Rueil, 1879. Oil on poplar wood.

Impressionism is my favorite art form. I love that its subjects are often bathed in sunlight or obscured by snow, just like my European vacation. Paris is next!

Vienna

I loved Vienna. It was regal and clean and impressive, the people were helpful and kind. It was cold (of course) but absolutely beautiful. And we got blue skies for the first time this year!

This is the Belvedere palace, which houses Austrian art dating from the middle ages to present day. At the heart of the exhibition is the larges Gustav Klimt collection, including "The Kiss."

The Belvedere does "command a grand view."

City Hall

City hall at night

On our last morning in Vienna we went to a mile-long open air market. We bought prosciutto and sunflower seed bread and dried apricots and falafel and fruit for our overnight train ride to Zurich. The last thing we saw in Vienna was the Schönbrunn Palace.

Side gardens

It is said to marvel Versailles. Almost.

Goodbye, Prague.

On our last day in Prague we took the stairs up to the castle and had this view of the city dusted in snow.

Goodbye, Prague. I will return in the summer to drink your beer with my honey.

New Years

This is the view of the bank from where Katie and I spent New Years 2010. On a bridge on the Vltava river. There were fireworks exploding all around us.

It was clear skies, but foggy from all of the sulfur.

In the distance was Prague Castle.

People set fire to hundreds of paper lanterns and let them fly up over the river. It was really beautiful.

The fireworks went on for ages.

2010, you have a lot to live up to.

Prague

Prague is beautiful! It is full of tourists on New Years. People have gathered from all over, and English is the common language.

This is one of Jewish cemeteries. We didn't pay to go on the tour but there was a garbage door open, and a handful of people were lined up taking turns standing on a rail and looking over the fence. It was all very diplomatic.

View of the West bank of the Vltava river.

View of the East bank of the Vltava river. This is Charles bridge. We made the mistake of crossing it to get back to Old Town, and there were so many people on foot crossing from both directions that when the two sides met it created a massive traffic jam. It took an hour to cross. Fortunately the clouds held.

Happy New Year!

A White Christmas

When I left Northumberland, Nick's parents insisted on walking me into the train station because I was anxious about my journey. I hadn't traveled alone since I arrived in England 3 months ago. I got teary eyed saying goodbye. I had to cross over a bridge to get to my platform, and when I looked back, they were still watching me go. They are probably the nicest family I have ever met.

I took the train from Newcastle to London King's Cross, where I had to take the tube to London Liverpool St. before transferring to a train to Essex to see Lois.

The view from the train was so spectacular, that I didn't even want to read the last 50 pages of Isabel Allende's Eva Luna (my favorite book of all time, re-read and reconfirmed 6 years after first reading) fearing I would miss something. I was in such a content and happy place on that train ride. I had a lunch packed, it was warm, my heart was full. The snowy hillsides were riveting. I realized then that I would experience moments in the near future that would not be as blissful as that train ride, but it all comes in turn.

View from the train

It was 11 o'clock in the afternoon, and Newcastle isn't that far north, which was why I couldn't understand why it looked like the sun was setting. There turned out to be a power plant in the distance.

Transferring at Liverpool St. was easy, and when I arrived in Braintree, I saw Lois on the platform. I love traveling by train.

Snowy park in Colchester where Lois and I went to the spa.

Chelmsford Cathedral

Beautiful bread market in Chelmsford where we did Christmas shopping and watched Avatar.

After Essex I moved into my new house, which was a little scary. It is enormous and old, and with that comes scary sounds intensified with night and imagination. But I made my beautiful new room a safe haven to spend the night. The next day I took another train to Lowestoft to spend Christmas with Will and his family and friends, which was full of adventures impossible to articulate. Hopefully I can rely on my memories. Currently my brain is writhing with them. In a good way.

Boys live here.