June 1, 2003 I've always wanted to take a long vacation travelling through Europe. Most people do that in college, but I was too poor and too clueless to consider that at the time. Now that I'm approaching 30 and looking at having babies with Russ, all of sudden it seems like it is now or never. Russ is pretty thrilled about the idea; he's been to Europe multiple times in recent years. The last time I was there was in 1989 at Amsterdam but I was too young to appreciate all the unique qualities of that city. We decided to take three weeks off to travel through the Netherlands, Italy and France. I would've preferred a longer vacation, but work simply doesn't permit such luxury (again why it's better to do this in college).

We got a really good deal on the plane tickets, but we had to stop over in Paris before going on to Amsterdam. I had to apply for a Schengen visa through the Netherlands embassy and had a horrible time with it. The old lady there was nitpicking everything in my application package, and hinted that I wasn't likely going to get the visa. I left feeling terrible. Turned out she wasn't even a Visa officer, just some old crabby lady who's responsible for the simple task of mailing the package to the LA embassy to be processed. I received the visa in the mail just two days later. I spent the next 4 weeks planning the trip through the Internet, it was alot of work but very educational.

About two week before we're scheduled to leave for Europe, we discovered that I was pregnant. By then it was too late to make cancellations without huge penalties, the plane tickets alone were $1,000 and non-refundable. We decided to go as planned and see what happens. I was 7 weeks along when the trip began; the nausea and vomiting were occurring on a daily basis. I practically puked my way through Europe for the next 3 weeks. I had this huge craving for tomatoes and luckily didn't find any food repulsive. We managed to enjoy the trip for the most part despite my discomfort at times.

We arrived at the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport after an 11-hour flight. The airport was not a happy place. There was no air conditioning despite the suffocating heat and humidity. It didn't help that the gate area had tall glass windows which allowed sunlight to shine in and kept the place like an oven. Eventhough there were designated smoking and non-smoking areas, no physical barriers were in place so smoke was everywhere. Our flight to Amsterdam was delayed by half an hour. Once we arrived at Amsterdam we took the Connexxion bus to our hotel. Amsterdam was also surprisingly hot and humid (we found out later that all of Europe was going through a heatwave). Our first experience with Amsterdam drivers was jaw-dropping - the bus driver came very close to running over two pedestrians, yet he didn't even blink.

Our hotel room was small and simple, but clean and had all the necessities plus a TV. The price was also very reasonable considering the high costs of this city. We took a walk around the neighborhood looking for a place to eat. By this time it was around 7pm. Probably because it was a Sunday, the streets appeared deserted. All the shops were closed. We found a small restaurant and had a couple of quite large and yummy salads. People smoked inside and outside of restaurants so we had to endure the smell while we ate. After dinner we walked some more through the side streets. All the homes were stacked tightly together, each with its own unique design. It was quite fascinating to look at. The streets were very quiet and wonderful to take a walk through. We went by a Heinken Brewery building, then along a canal (they've got tons of those there). There were many cyclists on the streets, a couple of them were humming or singing out loud as they past us by. I found that rather endearing. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 10pm. The skies were still light, it didn't become completely dark till 11pm!

June 2, 2003 (Our wedding anniversary!) We're up bright and early next morning - 4:30am. We climbed to the roof of our hotel and had a look at Amsterdam at dawn. Breakfast was at 8am so we had alot of time to kill. We strolled in the direction of the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. I had a sense of Deja Vu when we reached the plaza with a large pond situated in the middle of all these museums. Later I discovered that the US consulate was actually right around there and that I had walked through the plaza 14 years ago. The place was deserted, due largely to the early hour. The Rijksmuseum was under heavy construction and parts of it were closed to the public. We walked away from the museums into a shopping center. Many of what appeared to be pedestrian walkways were actually bicycle lanes. I'm sure this causes alot of confusion for the tourists and frustrations for the locals. Both cyclists and motorists in Amsterdam are quite reckless, pedestrians seem to be at the bottom of the food chain.

We returned to our hotel just in time to have breakfast. Afterwards we headed out toward central Amsterdam. I have to say if it wasn't for all the trash, smog/pollution and us constantly dodging human bullets (on wheels) it would've been a really lovely walk. I was somewhat surprised at the amount of air pollution considering how many locals use bicycles as their primary transportation. We walked through the Red Light District (not much going on except for a few scandily-dressed women hanging out their windows), parts of what appeared to be Chinatown (*Boahahahaha* the take-over scheme is working!), all the way to the train station (the center of chaos) then down Damrak street. Damrak is probably *the* tourist strip with shops and activities and of course a gazillion tourists. The Sex Museum was closed. :-( We walked around the Royal Palace and the National Monument. There were music and art performers on the plaza in front of the Royal Palace, a rather nice place to linger if it wasn't so damn hot. We went a little bit south to find the Torture Museum, a place which further proves that when it comes to finding ways to torture fellow human beings, the sky is the limit. My stomach wasn't so happy afterwards. We then walked to Zuiderkerk, a former church that's now a government office involved in urban planning. It had a tower that overlooked the city and was open to the public on certain days of the week - unfortunately Monday was not one of them. We walked back toward the National Monument down Damstraat and were met with the smell of burning marijuana. I didn't even recognize it at first because, well, I've never actually smelled one before. There were tons of shops selling souvenirs and accessories for the enjoyment of a pipe. There were also designated "coffeeshops" where people relaxed on couches and fire up their joints. I care for marijuana like I care for cigarettes - puff all you want just keep it away from me, I happen to like breathing. We sat in the National Monument for a short break, watched people walking by, a couple of pigeons getting it on and a band of four musicians playing familiar folk songs. On the way back to the hotel we grabbed lunch from a shop around the corner. We both showered, cooled off, had a nap then went to Leidsestraat to grab dinner. Leidsestraat is an area with active nightlife. We didn't stay very long, both very tired from an active and hot day.

June 3, 2003 It's our third day in the Netherlands and we've decided to venture out of Amsterdam. We picked up our rental car at 9am and Russ expertly maneuvered the car out of Amsterdam heading North. We stopped at the Dyke and marvelled at its grandeur. Several design proposals were submitted prior to the construction of the dyke; each laid out which portion and how much of the land would become man-mind lakes. It was rather interesting. We discussed the reason why the word "dyke" evolved into a negative term for lesbians. My guess is that a dyke is essentially a dam, and the word "dam" is sometimes used to refer to a woman in a not so respectful manner.

We drove east and stopped at a little town called Sneek (pronounced 'snits') for lunch. The food was pretty good and a good bargain at 5 euros. HOWEVER (now the rant) - I can't emphasize enough how agitating it is that everywhere you go there's someone lighting up. There's no designated smoking/non-smoking sections in restaurants that I could see. It's always tricky trying to pick a table that's least likely to be overwhelmed by cigarette smoke. I've always hated second-hand smoking, but having it with food is just plan disgusting, not to mention the harm it can cause to my unborn child. This man sitting next to our table with his little girl was blowing smoke into her face! Isn't it bad enough that he's causing harm to his own body, but he's even allowed to subject his young children to this irresponsible behavior? I'm surprised that the Dutch, or for that matter Europeans in general (we observed similiar situation in France and Italy) do absolutely nothing about this. I understand wanting the freedom to do as you please to your own body (hence I'm all for legalizing marijuana), but NOT at the expense of other peoples' rights. I'm pretty sure the right to breath freely is a god damn basic human right. On this one I have to say the Europeans have alot to learn from the Americans' strict laws against smoking in public areas.

We drove south toward De Hoge Veluwe National Park; the largest park in the Netherlands. There were bicycles in the park that we could ride for free - after paying an entry fee. Since the landscape was flat, it was very relaxing riding a bike around. The bikes were simple street bikes with no multiple gears and braking was achieved by pedaling backward. Inside the park was some kind of a castle located next to a lake which made for a very pretty scenary.

June 4, 2003 Russ got some laundry done while I booked a shuttle to the airport to catch our flight to Naples, Italy. The flight was delayed for 30-min. Upon arrival at Naples airport we took a bus to the train station. The signs in the airport stated that we could pay the bus fare on the bus, turned out that was not true. We were supposed to buy the tickets before we got on the bus and then have them validated at a machine on the bus. The bus driver did not announce the stops so we got off where we thought the train station was likely to be (by observing that we're in the middle of a large square with tons of buses and people). Russ tried to pay the bus driver but he said no, so we ended up not paying for the ride at all *oops*.

We caught the train (Circumvesuviana) to Sorrento which took about 75 minutes. The train was not air-conditioned and very old and dirty. A few stops before our destination, a child of age 8-11 with an accordion got on the train. He was a gypsy, looked filty and smelled like he hadn't washed for weeks. He sat opposite from us across the walkway and played with coins by throwing them onto the seat next to him. An older Italian man said something to him before he left the train, and the kid just went berserk. He started throwing the coins so hard that they were bouncing off to the floor and making noises that were turning heads at the opposite end of the train section. After about 10 minutes of that, a train employee came over and asked the kid to stop. I tried my best not to pay too much attention to the scene, but it was just so strange. In the next few days we would see more gypsy children, boys and girls, who ask for money while playing accordions on the train. There was one girl who couldn't have been more than 10 and she was doing it by herself. That didn't seem to surprise or bother anyone. How sad.

We found our hotel conveniently located on the main street of Sorrento. Sorrento is a coastal town with beautiful ocean views and is popular with tourists. With that comes crowds and overpriced food that are not necessarily good. We ordered dinner at a restaurant which was nothing to brag about. Russ asked for water and surprisingly we got a large bottled water. Note to self: no free tap water in Italy. We took a stroll down to the marina and back. We met an Australian couple back at the hotel who were staying in Sorrento for a week. They're doing a 15-week tour of Europe and US.

June 5, 2003 Our plan today was to take a bus to the town of Amalfi, then another one to Ravello which we were told had a lovely "from the top" view. We got to the bus early and got good seats on the right side of the bus, where we'd have a nice view of the ocean. There was a schedule mix-up and the bus didn't leave at the time we expected. It was very crowded and hot and I was starting to have trouble breathing. The A/C was off since the bus was not running. Meanwhile the bus driver was enjoying a cigarette on the curb. People started to get restless and pissed and finally someone spoke to the driver and he grudgingly started the bus. The ride to Amalfi took about 1.5 hours, during which half was on a coastal road narrow enough to fit exactly two vehicles. Often the bus was no more than a foot away from the edge. The view was spectacular. Since the road was so narrow and winding, Russ quickly developed motion sickness. By the time we reached Amalfi he was green in the face. We took a break at Amalfi to recover from the twisty ride and had a look around.

We tried to catch a bus to Ravello, which was another half hour or so from Amalfi. There were few buses and the one that we did see was completely full. There were also contradictions when I asked locals where the buses were being loaded so we might have missed a couple. At the end we decided that we would have lunch at Amalfi then take a boat back to Sorrento. The meal was again nothing to talk about, but the boat ride was nice. It gave us a chance to look at the beauty of the coastline from a different point of view.

June 6, 2003 We were both up at 5am after a very early night the night before. I like to look at a new place when there are few people around, it takes away all the destractions of crowds, shops and traffic; what you're left with is the town naked without the window dressing. We walked toward the waterfront and through narrow alleys. The simplicity and elegance of the architecture was beautiful - something that seems to be lost in most of the modern architecture. We saw fishermen on the sea for the catch of the day and altars at corners of alleys with statues of Mother Mary.

We've reserved most of today for Pompeii - probably the most anticipated part of the journey for me. We took the Circumvesuviana bus back toward Naples and got off at Pompeii Scavi. We spent the rest of the hot afternoon in Pompeii looking at the remnants of what was once a lively city. And boy was it a large city! We weren't able to see everything because it just got so hot and crowded and we were both exhausted. My favorites were the exquisite paintings and floor tilings. I think of everything that I saw, they spoke most about the lives of the people who once lived there. There were several guided tours and we overheard stories told about the inhabitants of certain homes. One of which was about an eatery that was owned by a former prostitute; how they got that information from looking at an ancient eatery is beyond me.

June 7, 2003 We took the Circumvesuviana train yet again to get back to Naples train station and catch a train to Rome. While we're looking for the platform, a man dressed like an employee asked to see our tickets and escorted us into a booth inside our train. Turned out he wasn't an employee afterall and asked to be tipped. I was very annoyed but we gave him a Euro. He then asked for more ("one Euro per person") and I said "No!" to him sternly. He left without making a scene. I wasn't surprised at that since I've heard much worse scams happening in Italy; I was more embarassed that I let my guard down and didn't think to get suspicious when he asked to see our tickets. I'm pretty sure that if he hadn't dressed like an employee (light blue short-sleeve shirt with dark pants) I would've gotten suspicious...there was one woman already in the booth when we sat down. She was obviously an Italian and seemed amused by the exchange. Later she lighted up despite signs everywhere that said "No Smoking". There's no point arguing with her so we switched to a different booth.

We were staying at the Beehive hostel right next to the train station. The hostel was brand new and very nice and clean. The owners were Americans. After taking a short break, we headed out to see Rome. There were so many things to see and a large area to cover on foot so we started with the closest - the Coloseum. We weren't planning to go inside but the line was short so we opted to go have a look. It was pretty lame, and I think cost 9 Euros per person. There were almost nothing left of the original architecture. Only a few original seatings were left, and a large platform had been constructed in the center of the Coloseum. It's probably the biggest tourist trap and rip-off that I saw on our trip. The only redeeming value was that it did give us a bird's eyeview of its surroundings including the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum. We didn't stay very long. They were selling drinks in the area for 5 Euros a bottle. Suckers! We went on to see the Roman Forum which consisted of much more interesting architecture. I was surprised at how pieces of history were scattered around and people were sitting on broken columns etc. I guess old buildings are so common in Rome they're not treated nearly as sacred as I thought they would. The Palatine Hill, next to the Forum, required an entry fee. After that huge rip-off at Coloseum we both decided to skip it.

While we're resting in the Forum, we started chatting up with a guy from the Los Angeles area. He had apparently won his plane ticket from some contest (probably radio) and had been traveling through Europe for the past 3 weeks. He had an impressive set of camera equipments and claimed to have taken 25 rolls of films! Hearing that we're moving on to France later in the week, he warned us about the strikes that were happening there. Apparently when he got to Nice, the public transportation workers went on strike. All the hotels and rental cars in Nice were booked and no one could get out! He ended up taking a cab with several other stranded tourists to the Italy border before hopping on an Italian-operated train. I was SO glad that we had reserved a car for our time in France. We did however became concerned about our ride on Thalys from Paris to Amsterdam.

June 9, 2003 Before we left for Venice we went two blocks down from the hostel to an outdoor farmer's market. The prices were very reasonable and the fruits looked fresh and healthy. I got a big bag of apricots and nectarines. We had breakfast at a place next to the train station, pastry with coffee and juice for 5 Euros/each. Not too bad. The train ride to Venice was alot nicer than the ride from Naples to Rome. It took around five hours. The first impression I had of Venice was how HOT and HUMID it was! We had to cross a long bridge to enter Venice and the city looked hazy and distant. We took a water bus to our hotel which was located in the middle of tourist activities. Since we only had a day in Venice, I didn't want us to have to travel far to see things. There were alot of activities on the water, not the quaint place that I expected. I've been told that because Venice has no motorway or cars, it's void of car noises and exhaust pollution and therefore exceptionally quiet. Well, boats create the same exhaust and noises as vehicles do and there were ALOT of them around.

We spent the afternoon exploring Venice. The twisty narrow alleys made it tricky to find your way around. We basically picked a direction and kept going, making turns whenever it seemed to be leading somewhere interesting. It did get pretty quiet when you get into one of those narrow alleys with buildings all around you. Our footsteps echoed loudly against the stone-paved roads, the sounds bounced off the buildings and traveled upward. We experience this first hand later in the evening when we endured loud footsteps coming from the alley next to our third-floor window. Because the buildings were so packed together, there didn't seem to be much privacy for the residents. Our window faced the balcony of another building where residents hung their laundry. Due to the heat we had to sleep with the window open, which meant our neighbors got a good look at our favorite sleeping positions. The balcony was close enough for someone to jumped from there into our room. Sure glad I wasn't alone.

June 10, 2003 We've reserved a rental car for our trip North to the Dolomiti (Italian Alps). It took about 2.5 hours to go from Venice to Cortina. Once we got outside of the Venice metro area the drive was very smooth. THe Dolomiti consists of a spectacular mountain range that's a favorite of skiiers and mountaineers. At the time of our visit it was low season and all of the cable cars were closed. a small one started to run on our second day there. We had wanted to walk one of the Via Ferrata, but none was accessible. Instead we did a little bit of hiking on our own and enjoyed the beauty of nature from up above. It was an incredibly refreshing feeling after a week of city crowds, noises and pollution.

After we've settled and rested in our hotel room (which by the way was really nice), we headed West to explore the area. At what looked like a rest area we found alot of visitors who spoke what sounded like German. Later on we decided that since we're right at the Austria border, they must've been Austrians. We started to climb a trail up a mountain that would've led us to a cave, only to be turned back when it started pouring down pretty hard. We took a break in the car, had some food and waited it out. We kept driving West until it seemed not to be leading anywhere interesting in the immediate future. While on the road we notice a large rock on the side of the road. We pulled over to have a look and discovered something unexpected. The rock was actually a military watch post looking out, through a one man hole, at the road coming up to the mountain. The lookout was only one of many in the area built during WWI when Italy and Austria were on opposing sides. We would later find out that Cortina was actually once occupied by the Austrians. That might explain why the Austrians feel the urge to return to visit after all these year?

We returned to Cortina to have dinner and didn't find many options (that's the downside of visiting a tourist area during low season). We ended up at a restaurant right across from our hotel. The food we've had so far in Italy had not been very good and this restaurant was no exception - I was starting to believe that the best Italian restaurants are all in America! It's almost impossible to get pizza with more than one topping - if I recall correctly, of the dozen or so pizzas on the menu, only one or two had more than one topping. The Italians may have invented pizza, but I think it's the Americans who have perfected it!

While we're waiting for our dishes to arrive, five elderly Austrians came to the restaurant and requested an outdoor table. There was none available so the waiter asked them to wait a few minutes. After about five minutes, a couple next to us asked for their bill and paid it. While they were finishing their drinks and chatting with each other, to our horror, the five Austrians walked up to the couple and asked them to leave. The couple seemed stunned and got up just as the Austrians pulled up chairs to sit at their table. The woman in the couple didn't even have a chance to grab her purse, the waiter had to get it for her. The waiter appeared agitated toward the rudeness of the Austrians but he took their order and the couple left.

We took a walk around the center of Cortina. All the shops appeared closed and there weren't may people around. It's certainly a town heavily dependent on tourism for its prosperity.

June 11, 2003 After breakfast we drove East to explore the region. Since all the cable cars were closed, there wasn't alot to do. We went back to Cortina and got some sandwiches from a local grocery store for lunch. An outdoor farmer's market was going on at a parking lot right next to our hotel. I got a bag of nectarines *yum* (did I mention I was also craving nectarines?). After lunch We drove back West to find that one cable car which started operating on this day. We took the cable car up to the top of a small mountain, then hiked back down. On top of the mountain were several caves used as military lookouts. There was also an area that had a couple of benches and a large wooden crucifix. Perhaps this was where the servicemen went to seek spiritual comfort.

We returned to Cortina for dinner around 5:30pm, only to find that none of the restaurants start serving dinner till 6:30pm at the earliest. I think I remember reading that Italians eat their meals later than what we're used to. We were both starving so we each had an ice-cream cone while we sat on a bench and watched the rain drizzling down. It had been cloudy and at time rainy all day. While we were hiking we saw clouds gathering nearby and were afraid that we'd get soaked again like the day before. Luckily the rain seemed to have barely just missed us. We found this restaurant that served not great but descent food. After dinner we walked around the town a little. The town was pretty dead, sad to say. We watched a little TV back at the hotel. Growing up in Libya, we used to get some Italian TV channels during the Summer. I remember watching Japanese cartoons and American movies/shows in Italian. I was surprised that there didn't seem to be any English channel, in particular BBC and CNN. We found them in Netherlands and later in France. Even in Taiwan we have CNN and BBC. The Italian informercials were more annoying than even the ones in the States. Italians tend to gesture with their hands while they talk (so do people of many other Mediterrean countries), and they speak like firecrackers, fast and loud. I wonder if Chinese sounds like that to people who don't understand the language?

June 12, 2003 This was the least fun day of the trip that we had. We drove all the way from Cortina to San Remo, a city near the border of France and the French city Nice where we're staying for the night. It was over 400 miles of misery on the road. we encountered a case of road rage about an hour South of Cortina. This driver of a mid-size truck was ahead of us and swerving between the two lanes to prevent us from passing him. At one point he even resorted to driving straight down the middle of two lanes. All this because just a few minutes ago while we were going through a tunnel, the right lane was closed due to construction. Naturally we were on the left lane (the only lane left) and driving cautiously since it was a construction zone inside a tunnel on a road we've never been on. The driver came up behind us and immediately started tailgating. When the right lane reopened we moved out of his way back onto the right lane, I guess we weren't fast enough for him! Anyway, once we're out of the tunnel and the construction zone we naturally resumed our normal speed which happened to be faster than his (he's driving a mid-size truck afterall). I guess that somehow ticked him off. I've heard that Italian drivers are simply mad, but this guy went beyond that, for his own good he badly needs to take a chill pill.

Italy motorways are pretty horrible. First of all there were 18-wheelers EVERYWHERE. Second of all the roads were extremely congested and people drove like, well, Italians. Poor Russ was stressed out, and he's used to driving long hours. I've seen him drive 12 hours from Las Vegas to the San Francisco Bay Area with a trailer hooked up to the car, even then he didn't get as stressed out and tired as he did driving a couple of hours on the Italy motorways. It got alot better once we got out of the general area between Venice and Milan. It must've been *the* hot spot of Northern Italy. When we finally got to San Remo, we return the car to the rental agency and proceeded to the train station to go on to Nice. Well, we got a RUDE awakening then! Due to strikes in France, ALL trains going into France had been CANCELLED! I tried to get some information from the lady at the booth using my broken Italian, she was very impatient and rambled something about "Ventimiglia" and waved me away (by the way, most Italians in public service I've encountered had been far from being friendly, it's fortunate that I fully expected it before I went on the trip so no feelings were hurt). I remembered that Ventimiglia was a small town right smack on the border of France (all thanks to my exhaustive pre-trip Internet research!). Thinking back to what the Los Angeles guy in Rome told us, we decided that we'll take the train to Ventimiglia, then take a cab to Nice. Since the two towns weren't far apart, we figured that it'll probably cost us around 50 Euros. When we got to Ventimiglia, we found out that there was ONE train that day going to Nice and it was leaving in less than an hour! You bet we thanked our lucky stars that night. By the time we finally got to our hotel in Nice, we were both exhausted out of our minds. It was still very hot and humid and there was no fan in the room. There was however a huge industrial-class fan out in the hall way not in use, so we borrowed it. :-) We took showers and collapsed into deep sleep. All night long the fan shook and hummed...

June 13, 2003 We didn't spend anytime sightseeing the city of Nice, unless you count driving past the oceanside to get out of town sightseeing. We picked up our rental car next to the train station and headed out West to Carcassonne. The drive was pretty smooth, nothing like the day before. Much of the motorways in France are tolled, so there were alot of stop and go at various tollbooths. At one tollbooth all the gates were open and a sign on the booth mentioned something about a strike. It appeared that the booth workers for that stop had gone on strike so none of the cars had to pay toll. I think the toll was about 15 Euros! We drove by Cannes where the famous annual Cannes Film Festival takes place. This year it actually took place in late May, just a few weeks before. Matrix Reloaded was the big shot at the festival - too bad I hated the movie. The Matrix is one of my few all time favorites, but Matrix Reloaded is just crap compared to it.

We arrived at Carcassonne around noon. It was ridiculously HOT! I couldn't believe my eyes - the thermometer in the car said 44C! The hotel was right next to the Old City, a walled castle that supposedly goes back many centuries. It looked nice and had a pool, but the room was dark and hot and had NO FAN! We requested a fan from the hostess but she said that there wasn't any, and that we could cool off by using the pool. Yeah right, along with 10 other people, and am I expected to sleep in the pool as well? So we went searching for a fan. First we drove around the "New City", which is basically the actual downtown of Carcassonne, looking for a electronic store. No luck. We went back to the hotel and asked the girl at the front desk where we could find a fan. First she tried the phone book, then she mentioned a store named Geant that had "everything". Following her direction we found the store. It's basically the equivalent of a Walmart. We found a small fan for 15 Euros and Russ got himself a swimming trunk. We also had some fries and ice cream at a McDonald. We almost never eat at McDonalds when we're in the States, but so far we've already had fries and ice cream at several McDonalds in Europe. Comfort American food...ahhh....

By the time we're done running around looking for a fan, it was evening. We walked over to the Old City to have a look. The Old City was not what I expected. I guess I just thought that it would be preserved in its original form as a historical site, like most ancient architecture. What a laugh. Apparently most of what's there was built in the last decade or so. The inside had been transformed completely into a commercial touristy place. People actually LIVE inside the Old City - probably the same people who own the tens of stores selling souvenirs inside the Old City. There were traffic lights and vehicles! What a letdown. Well, we still managed to have some fun looking at the castle, and I found a really soft and cute teddy bear for our little bean - his own very first present.

June 16, 2003 We initially had wanted to stay in Dordogne for three nights, but in the end thought two nights was enough. We decided to drive North toward Paris a day early, stay at a city close to Paris so that the day after we could get into Paris and return the rental car before the office closes. We ended up staying at a Holiday Inn in Blois, which is about 2 hours outside of Paris and famous for its chateaux. I had thought maybe we'd go see one of those chateaux, but by the time we got there we're pretty beat. Besides, dare I say, we're both getting a little sick of looking at architecture.

June 17, 2003 After two weeks of getting up early and constantly being on-to-go, we took it easy by staying in bed and watching some TV. We didn't leave until check-out time (noon!). It definitely re-energized both of us and I felt like I was once again looking forward to what remains of the trip. I had been feeling homesick and unenthusiastic for many days, this break got me back on my feet again.

Before entering the greater Paris area, we stopped off at a rest area and had something to eat. An American girl asked Russ, as he was going into the store, where he was heading to. It seemed that she and two other people were looking for rides that'll take them East. It made me wonder if the strikes were still paralizing the transportation in Paris and most of France. We drove into Paris and found ourselves in the center of the most chaotic traffic jam we've ever seen. The plan was to drive to our hotel, drop off our backpacks, drive to Gare du Nord Rail Station to drop off the car, then take the subway back to the hotel. The rail station was only about 3 miles from the hotel, but it took us 1.5 hours to get there! It seemed as though most of the center city was gridlocked, and where it wasn't gridlocked the French drivers were taking every opportunity to cause chaos and confusion. There were alot of large multi-lane roundabouts/rotaries in Paris, and they were the perfect places to create deadlock. We were so happy to get rid of the car. There's no way in hell I'd ever want to drive in Paris.

After we've been well rested, we headed out toward the Eiffel Tower. Our hotel was next to the Esplanade de Invalides which meant it's in the center of all the places of interest to tourists. We decided not to go up the Eiffel Tower, which I now somewhat regret. We crossed the river and walked along it until we came to the Pont Alexandre III bridge and crossed back onto Esplanade de Invalides. There's a large grassy area where people played soccer and laid-out in the sun. For dinner we had take-out from a small Chinese restaurant next to our hotel. [Russ writes: I think this cheap take-out meal was the best food I had on this entire trip.]

I had read online, from people who have travelled through Europe, that women are treated differently in Italy than in, say, the States. It's not uncommon there to have men gawking and making suggestive signs to a woman. However, I didn't get any of that when I was in Italy. But in the short period that I spent in Paris, I had twice experienced men saying suggestive things to me - once while I was walking hand-in-hand with my husband down Esplanade de Invalides! Russ of course, being himself, was oblivious and missed the opportunity to defend my honor....

June 18, 2003 Russ wanted to see the Louvre Museum so it was the first place we headed for. We crossed Pont Alexandre III and found ourselves at the Place de la Concorde, a large square next to a large park that leads to the Louvre Museum. In the center of Place de la Concorde was the 3200 years old obelisk from the temple of Ramses II at Thebes. It was given to the King of France by Egypt in the 19th century.

We walked through the long, rectangular park which I believe was called Jardin des Tuileries, and came to the glass paramid at the entrance to Louvres Museum. The paramid has a special meaning to us. Before I met Russ in person I had seen photos of him, and the first one that I saw was him sitting at the edge of the pool in front of the paramid. My first impression was that he looked very intelligent, educated and like a gentleman. Also not half bad looking. :-) To mark the significance of the place, Russ took a picture of me sitting at the pool.

We spent a few hours inside the museum. Louvre is definitely not a place that you can see in a day - if you plan to see EVERYTHING. It is huge and even with a map we had trouble navigating. We spent some time looking at the work of Leonardo da Vinci, which was the running exhibition, then Egyptian and various other cultural antiquities. The most amazing place we walked through was the long hallway containing Italian paintings from 13th to 17th century. They were breathtakingly detailed and beautiful, not to mention in perfect conditions. I've noticed that 99% of the paintings had a Bilblical theme - Mother Mary, Jesus, Saints and depictions of various stories told in the Bible. The suffering of Saints seemed to be a favorite topic. I saw numerous paintings and sketches of Saint John's head on a platter. The long hallway led us to what's probably the most famous art piece of all - Mona Lisa. There were so many people around the painting that we couldn't even get close, so we left it after only a few seconds. Another famous piece of art that we saw was the sculpture of Aphrodite, known as Venus de Milo. I've seen images of this chick many times but I just can't remember when or where. It's used often in commercials and for other purposes.

June 19, 2003 Since our train to Amsterdam wasn't leaving till late in the afternoon, we put our backpacks in a locker at the rail station and headed West to La Defense, the business center of Paris. We went up to the Grande Arche to get a view of the city, it wasn't very good at all, too many skyscrappers in the way. After La Defense we went to see The Arch of Triumph, which was commissioned by Napoleon. The Arch contained engravings of the names of generals who served under Napoleon, as well as reliefs of past battles.

The Thalys train was, fortunately, not affected by the strikes. It took us about four hours to reach Amsterdam.

June 20, 2003 We didn't have anything really planned for the last day of our trip. We did go to the Sex Museum in Amsterdam which was closed when we were last there. VERY INTERESTING and NOT sleazy at all. I would recommend that to anyone who's visiting Amsterdam for pleasure.

June 21, 2003 We took a cab at 8am to the airport for a flight to Paris at little before 11am. The flight back to the States was uneventful. We got home around 3pm and I was dog tired. As if to mark the end of the long trip, I promptly vomited into a trash bin just a few minutes after I collapsed into bed. Boy, it's good to be home.