Snow in Paris

A few days back, it was really cold in Paris and I could have sworn that it was so cold it could have snowed. Well, be careful what you say because it did snow. It did snow a little bit, enough to stick but not completely cover the ground. The pictures were taken on my way to school near my metro stop.

Catacombs

Today, a few friends and I decided to venture to the infamous catacombs of Paris. There is a ton of history to the catacombs. Well, we knew it was going to be different because it was bones we were going to see. However, it was a bigger shock than we were expecting. There were bones everywhere! I couldn't even begin to estimate how many skulls we saw. In the pictures above, I tried my best to show the depth of how many bones and skulls were there. There was even a column (pictured above) which had the biggest impact on me because there was even an artistic style to it with the skulls, very strange.

I didn't want to make this post all about the catacombs because it is a little on the depressing side so I decided to shoot the backside of Notre Dame today. It was a beautiful day and the pictures really took themselves. The one above is the best picture of the day.

It was a great day especially after a shower following the catacombs.

Paris by Night

So here are a few pictures I took of Notre Dame and Effiel Tower. These I spent some time on taking and I hope you like. I will post more of Paris as I take them. Leave any comments you'd like. Always like hearing from everyone.

Hotel de Invalides

On March 14, a group of us went to Hotel de Invalides where Napoleon is buried as well as a museum of the world wars. Not much to talk about here, just take a look at the pictures from the museum and tomb. The first picture is the tomb of Napoleon. The black bomb picture was noted as being the atomic bomb. Unbelievable to see in person.

Click here for a little history on Hotel de Invalides. Any questions, leave them under the comment and I can write you back.

Normandy

A few weeks ago, a few class mates and myself decided to head up to the Normandy beaches to see the remnants of the war. We were very excited to see all the history we have read and watched so much about. Not much to say except it really took you back to see these beaches and memorials in person. A lot of American soldiers died on those beaches and should be remembered. You could feel the sense of sacrifice in the air. I know it's not a common term to hear, but if you've ever been there, you know exactly what I mean. So many crosses and so many bullet holes in the bunkers, you could play the footage in your head as to what had happened there many years ago.

Many of the pictures are self explanatory. The cement structure look to be a command post. You could stand fully erect but it was due to cutouts since they kept the ceiling very low so stray bullets could not get in.

Venice

So for the last weekend Sara was here we decided to head to Venice. We took the sleeper train from Paris to Venice directly. It was about a 12 hour train ride, but you had beds.....well sort of. Each compartment had 6 seats to sit in and then convert to bed for 6 people with 3 being on each side one on top of the other. It was really weird because we as Americans prefer large rooms with big beds, but our bed size was only about a small twin, maybe. Let's just say you should hopefully get along with all of your compartment mates.

When we got to Venice the next morning, we boarded a water bus and headed to check into the hotel. I must point out though that there are no automobiles on Venice, only boats on the water. Everything from police to firemen to ambulances and taxis are boats. Pretty cool to see. After we checked in to our hotel, we grabbed the camera and headed out to see Venice. Our hotel was right next to San Marco square, which is very famous. There are palaces and churches here as well as the square itself. We started to walk around and realized that it was the last week of Venice's famous carnival. Everyone was dressed up in mask and costumes. I don't think we could have picked a better weekend. You can see from the pictures below some of the more extravagant costumes. We headed through the square and went to see the church and palace there. The palace was quite extravagant and contained the largest legislative room in Italy. It was amazing to see so much history and architectural work.

On our way back to our hotel to rest before our long night of carnival, we bought masks to wear to blend in. After our rest, we headed out to grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant. Of course, we had pizza and pasta and of course, it was delicious. After dinner, we headed back to San Marco square where Venice had a lot of shows going on for carnival. Our section of Venice for sensation was mind so all of our activities were to stimulate the mind. Other sections throughout Venice were sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Our shows were different. One of the performances was a music artist that sang techno music, yes techno and yes he sang it. Very odd. Anyways, we stayed for the majority of the performances with our masks on but had to call it quits after awhile because we were getting too cold. We decided to call it a night and start fresh in the morning.

Our second and final day there we toured the majority of Venice. Venice truly isn't that big and we were able to walk from one end to the other and back easily. We did take the water bus around to see all of the cool waterfront buildings.

I must say Venice was our favorite place even more so than Paris. The people were so nice and most spoke decent English so you really didn't have to know any Italian. Even with the cold weather, we had an amazing time and we both are looking forward to going back to Venice and exploring even more of Italy.