Perfect Paris

So yes we completed our travels in Paris, and what an adventure it was!

We flew from JFK in New York to Charles De Galle International airport in Paris on an overnight flight with a brief layover in Iceland. We arrived in Paris the next afternoon and set off on the subway in search of our hotel. We were both wiped from our travels, so once we arrived at our hotel we took a long nap went on a walk then straight back to bed.

Here is the view from our room

Our first day I woke up at 6:00 am and could not fall back asleep, so I went for an early morning jog and I was able to see some magical sights of Paris such as Notre Dame without one person around. It was an amazing first glimpse of the city.

The remainder of the day we visited the following places:

Jardin du Luxenbourg with some Parisian lovers, oo la la

In front of the Luxembourg Palace

Notre Dame

After returning to the hotel completely full from a late dinner, it was quite difficult falling asleep, which inevitably caused both Lexi and I to awake to a knock on the door because we had both slept until check out time. So in quite a rush we threw everything into our bags and walked out the front door of that hotel 15 minutes later. Having such a rushed and chaotic morning really set the tone really set the tone for the remainder of the day and unfortunately I was completely out of it.

The best illustration for this point was when Lexi and I got off the subway we went to look at the map to get an orientation of our next destination on the outskirts of Paris. We had all of our gear which consists of large backpacks, and while looking at the map I realized that I was blocking the view for some people, so I attempted to back away and ended up ramming this businessman fairly hard with my pack causing people to stare while I started laughing very loudly by the awkwardness of this situation.

However, the rest of the day went on reasonably smoothly, we headed to the Arc De Triomphe and hiked up that thing with packs and all. It was definitely an experience with all the weight but it was beautiful at the top.

Lexi and I at the bottom of Arc De Triomphe 

After we ditched our packs and got our sleeping arrangements settled we headed into the heart of Paris to meet up with a fellow Canadian backpacker that we met on the flight from Iceland to Paris. We got dinner at an amazing location as you can see (with the Eiffel tower in the background), then went and lounged on the lawn in front of the tower with champagne and wine. Being in France it is quite wonderful because the wine and champagne is so cheap, as in under 2 euros. After completing this iconic feat we went up in the Eiffel tower and remained up there until closing. Here are picture from that experience:

Eating dinner near the Eiffel tower 

Enjoying the moment in Paris

The next day we met our friend Andrew again and went to the Lourve. Thankfully with some attention to detail and asking the right people questions we were able to skip the lines and get in the second entrance that is below ground. I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of the crowds or super touristy attractions, let alone the art scene, but this place blew my mind! The shere magnitude, quality, variety and mass of this place is mind boggling. I was in awe the entire time we were there. After this experience, it has been a goal of mine to go back one day and explore more of this museum, which is nearly impossible to see in one day. 

So much art...and so many people!

One of my favorite parts of this museum were the decadent ceilings. This
one pictured here was particularly my favorite.

After the Louvre we headed to Sacre Coeur to spend the evening. We met up with Andrew again, and few other people from the Hostel and headed to the top. This was probably my favorite night in Paris because after Sacre Coeur we were just walking the beautiful cobblestone streets enjoying everyones company. In our group we had 2 Canadians, 1 American, 1 Chinese, 1 Australian and 1 French national such a wide plethora of people made for such a unique experience.

The gang. Nationalities from left to right: Canadian, American,
Australian, Canadian, Chinese

The store owner in the background was not too happy
about me taking this picture

Hanging out and even dancing at this random
hole in the wall bar. I do have to admit the owners
were amused and enjoyed the energy we brought to
the place.

Heading back to the subway station

The group at the top of Sacre Couer, you can see the church in
the background

This is New YORK

Here we are back at the JFK international airport waiting to board our flight to Iceland than connecting onto Paris. In lieu of such an occasion I decided to indulge in one last ultra American deed…the McDonald’s cheeseburger.

Yes I know there are Mcdonald’s virtually everywhere in the world, but I have the goal of refraining from American eateries while in Europe.

So how did we get here, you ask? Well let me tell you!

These past four days have been quite an interesting experience. First off I want to thank Google maps for making the New York Metro quite easily navigable, especially once we first arrived in New York.

While we were in New York we lodged in the historical site called House of the Redeemer in the Upper West Side. This place was awesome! Built in the early 1900’s for the lodging of a Vanderbilt family member, it was quite the experience. They still have the original elevator and we had to take three different flights of stairs which mazes around the house in order to reach our fourth floor residence. My favorite room in this place was probably the library, as you can see it is quite a beautiful room and even equipped with a secret passageway.

The first day (September 10) we visited a lot of the iconic New York sites such as:

Grand Central Station

Times Square

Staten Island

Ferry ride back to Manhattan

The Staten Island ferry ride was probably my favorite part of the day; it provided sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline including the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. On the way back from Staten Island we saw this set up:

It was preparation for the September 11 remembrance service the following day. Standing at this park looking at the park than raising my eyes towards the sky and seeing the nearly completed Freedom Tower and one of the remaining light beams shoot into the sky, really made this tragedy hit home for me. It is one thing watching the footage on television, but when I was walking in the footsteps others had walked when this occurred, it made an impact.

The Journey Begins

Well, after nearly four months of working up in Fairbanks, Alaska, the beginning of my backpacking trip is here.

Our journey begins tonight with a red eye flight to New York City, and a four day layover. In fact I am currently writing this from the Sea-Tac airport waiting to board.

My traveling partner is one of my best friends from university, Alexi Foster. My first year at Trinity Western we were randomly selected to be roommates. Although we share the same major and were both university athletes (I played basketball and Lexi played soccer) we have quite polar opposite personalities. Lexi is the grounded ever-steady soul, and I am outgoing and quite frankly can be all over the place sometimes. So given the circumstances, I do think it is a perfect balance for circumstances such as these.

Neither of us have traveled the time or distance that we are about to embark on in this particular journey, so it is sure be quite the adventure.

Our travel itinerary is intended for a 3 month duration all across Europe via train and a 3 month Global Eurail pass in hand.

The travelers accompanied toasting with the parentals at dinner before we depart on our journey.

Outback treated us to some free dessert in wake of the coming travels.