PAR-EEEE!

Hi everyone!! (Be forewarned, there are about 800 pictures).

Sorry it's been a while, we got back from Paris last Friday but I've been feeling a bit under the weather and Kyle has had a lot to do in terms of school.  As for me, I'm done with my tutorials!  Oxford weather is just starting to be in the 80's (right as we're about to leave!) and we'll have some pics up of our last few days here.

As for Paris!  We got to Paris via Eurostar, only a 2:15 trip from London St. Pancras station.  We arrived in Paris at about 9am, and the first thing we did was buy sandwiches and head to Jardin du Luxembourg, which is arguably one of the more beautiful parks in France.  After lunch we went to the Pantheon, which is absolutely amazing.  We were able to climb up to the top and have a 360 view of Paris.  Since being in Europe Kyle and I have climbed a ridiculous amount of stairs in cathedrals and walked ridiculous distants around castles.  Anyway, after all that we took a little nap in our hotel and headed back out, this time to Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, and Conciergerie.  Just for a little history, Saint Chappelle and Conciergerie are the two oldest remnants of the first French palace, so arguably two of the oldest buildings in France.  Conciergerie was used as a prison, actually housing Marie Antoinette before her beheading.  After the visits we sat down for a nice dinner, outside of a cafe, and people watched like true French people, and walked along the Seine before returning to our hotel.

The next day we immediately set off for the Louvre.  The place is even more amazing than I remembered, and luckily we were there early enough to avoid the masses of crowds.  We saw all the important/well known pieces of art, and definitely explored the majority of the Louvre.  We then had lunch in the courtyard right in front of I.M.Pei's pyramid.  After the Louvre we headed on to Les Invalides, Napoleon Bonaparte's burial place.  He has a full domed building devoted to his casket, which sits in the center of the building, and is 5 caskets put into 1 (this thing was HUGE)), and surrounded by a dozen 8 foot high angels in a circle.  Apparently he was a very important man. ;)  We went for the purpose of seeing his horse, Vizir, which is stuffed, but the section the horse was in was in renovation.  After Les Invalides we headed to the Concorde, where Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were beheaded.  After that we went to the Arc de Triomphe, the symbol of Napoleon's greatness, and we climbed up the 250 steps to go up, and from there you can see the ten main avenues of Paris all ending at the Arc.  It was definitely an amazing sight.  By this time it was around 9:30.  It gets totally dark around 10:30 and so we headed to the Eiffel Tower, just in time to see it change from dusk to night.  The lights came on, flashed for 10 minutes, then the whole tower was ALL BLUE.  A true sight to behold.  

Jardin du Luxembourg, it was pretty cool.  

Trying to get fancy with the camera angles.  The park was nice.

This building is the Senate or something.  I'd probably care more if it wasn't the "French" Senate.  

If it had been snowing this would have reminded me of a Robert Frost poem..."the woods are lovely, dark and deep..."  However, it was just a beautiful, hot day.  

Walking into the Pantheon.  Don't know how this place wasn't on the top 25 things to see in Paris!

Kyle, being the actual model for this sculpture (how he makes a couple extra bucks in Buffalo at the school - Sculpting 101).  

On the top of the Pantheon.  Only 200 steps (that's nothing now).  You can see the Eiffel Tower behind us!

La Conciergerie - This was the only cool part. Wedding reception? jk. Again, it's in France.

"The Kristen of Notre Dame" - Took a million pictures of the inside, but too many to post.  Did not get the chance to climb the stairs.  

Walking along the Seine River  - tried my best to get this shot with my bulky camera before getting trampled by tourists.  

DAY 2 - Louvre

Kyle finding inspiration in front of the Winged Goddess of Victory. He said it felt like a quite natural pose.  Something about Pozza-Garza genes and always crossing the 1-yard line.  

Psyche and Cupid...

Kyle v. Goliath - "what a tonto"

Napoleon's Coronation - Look at the size of this painting!

The ridiculously hyped up and super-protected MONA LISA.  I don't understand this phenomena.  Really.  This one tiny painting has bullet-proof glass, railings, and 24/7 security. THE ONLY painting to have this.  

Venus de Milo.  A perspective on how crowded it got as the day progressed.

However, we still muscled our way to the front of the famed Venus de Milo.  

This is the exact scene on the puzzle we sent to Mom Pozza, except it had Snoopy on it!  A painting of the inside of a museum inside of a museum?! Brilliant!

Kyle battling Pegasus - The Goddess of Victory and David and Goliath got him fired up.  

I am a part of the statues :)

The famous pyramid in "The Da Vinci Code."  Sorry, there was no Holy Grail though.  

Our view at lunch at the Louvre.  Our waiter, actually a nice French guy, took this picture when Kyle wasn't ready, but I think it actually turned out better.

Cheers to that!  Have to love that French wine and great view.

"OFF WITH KRISTEN'S HEAD"  Concorde- location of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI's behading.

Les Invalides, Napoleon's actual coat and hat.  Probably even too small for Kyle.  

FREEDOM!!!!  (probably not so appropriate to shout in France!) Les Invalides

The ARC du TRIOMPHE!!

Stairs up, or rather, down, the Arc du Triomphe

On top of the Arc de Triomphe, with the Eiffel Tower in the background. (Kristen's turn)

Eiffel Tower in the background, Arc de Triomphe (Kyle's turn)

Arc de Triomphe - Getting camera happy (or maybe just deliriously tired at this point).

Great sunset pic on top of the Arc.  The guy on the left is Kyle.

Eiffel Tower from the Arc.

Eiffel Tower RIGHT before it got dark.

Eiffel Tower at night blinking lights for 10 minutes!

Amazing lights

Just Blue Eiffel Tower - No more flashing strobe lights.

We found out where the blue light was coming from.

We LOVE paris  :)

AS SOON AS WE GOT BACK: The one Formal Dinner with our program!  

This is Kristen's Tutorial Group

This is Kyle's Tutorial Group.

This is the whole group!

And this is a random picture we love.  

And lastly, just because I (Kyle) think this is a great picture, and no matter where we go we are thinking of everyone, including Gracie.

Next up: Bath and some last pictures of Oxford!

Dublin & Stratford-upon-Avon

Hello everyone,

So this past week we had a bit of a hectic schedule.  We went to Dublin, Ireland with 2 of our English friends, Louise and Sam.  It was a good time.  We flew out from Gatwick Airport, took a taxi to our hotel, got dinner, and went to bed early.  The next day we first went to the Guinness Factory, which Kyle was very fond of :).  It was neat because it took you through the process of how beer is made, and at the very top is a gravity bar, which is one of the highest points of Dublin, and you get your free Guinness!  Apparently there is a correct way of pouring a Guinness....it is poured about 3/4, and then allowed to sit for 2 minutes, and then the rest of it is poured.  It is an art, apparently.  After the factory we ventured on to Dublin Castle, which was more like a huge mansion.  It was fun....but then it started raining.  Anyway we had the best Irish dinner every that night.  It's called a Boxty and it's essentially a pancake filled with either chicken or steak, and covered in this amazing sauce.  The next morning we headed to Trinity College and Christ Church Cathedral (which is one of the oldest buildings in Dublin- built by the Normans.)  A quick shopping trip concluded our Dublin adventure!

Friday night we went to Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare's hometown.  It was an old quaint village, and after having dinner, we went to see Taming of the Shrew in the Courtyard Theater.  The theater was interesting in that no seat in the house was a bad seat.  The seating arrangement is situated in a "U" formation around the stage, with the stage being in the very middle of the U, and there are 3 tiers, with about 4 rows in each tier.  It was a small theater, and "The Taming of the Shrew" was excellently executed.  Next morning we explored Stratford- saw Shakespeare's birthplace and....his school...and that was about it.  Next up is Paris!

(Again, any of these pictures can be enlarged by clicking on it!)

DUBLIN!!!!

It was an educational experience: the ingredients of beer (i.e. water, straight from the Mountains; etc).  This is also Sam and Louise, a couple of our beloved British friends.

The picture says it all.  And by "Brew" they meant "fun."  jk.

Danger, Danger: 

Our "Free" pint of Guinness at the top of the Factory!  And yes, it was, somehow, the best Guinness I have ever had.  The art of pouring the GUinness results in a beautiful glass like this.

This is at the "Gravity Bar" which is at the topmost level of the Guinness Factory.  It is a circular room, bar in the center, with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that overlooks Dublin.  Unfortunately, Dublin looks like an industrial city, but it's the thought that counts.  

Dublin Castle: kind of small, but it was fun.

At Night:

Famous Irish Pub with real Irish Music.  

Real Irish Music!!!  Picture Lord of the Rings, the first one, at the very beginning when they are all celebrating Bilbo Baggins' Birthday.  Just like that, but the people were a little uglier and taller!  

Second Day: Christ Churh Cathedral.  It was 6 euro to get in and I'm cheap, so we didn't go in.  We peaked our heads in and didn't look like we were missing much.  The outside is the coolest part anyway.

Trinity College in Dublin.  Graduated great minds like Jonathan Swift.  I still think Trinity College, San Antonio is better.  Graduated great minds like Kristen Ng and Kyle Pozza.

Did loads of shopping the second day.  Apparently, after the Guiness Factory, that is all there is left to do in Dublin.  The ol' bait and switch.  This is us wandering the several streets lined with stores (the background is a huge "spike" near our hotel, the tallest thing in the city).

We had some time to kill on our second day so I decided to open up a Coffee Shop in Dublin.  Better than Starbucks.  I'll give you guys a discount when I bring it to the States. 

STRATFORD-UPON-AVON!

Of course, because "Othello" is the only play Kristen likes of Shakespeare (although she got a few laughs from "Taming of the Shrew"), this is one of the few pictures she consented to:

The birthplace of Shakespeare: I was inspired to jot down a sonnet or two, but instead started working on my material for this blog.  Hope it was worth it.

Until next time!

Love, K&K