paris

overnight trains are the best. i was amazed at how well i slept, given that there were 6 people crammed into the very small room, lined with bunks. but i was out for pretty much all 6 hours from zurich to paris, and the same on the return. in the interim, we managed to tour many of the places one should go as a first-time tourist in paris.

saturday was filled with notre dame, with its crucifixes and stained glass; followed by the louvre, where i found this great renaissance statue of john butler (from the john butler trio); and then finally by a trek up to montmartre and the sacre-couer cathedral.

after battling with the other tourists in the latin quarter on saturday night, sunday was just as full-on. we powered through the champs elysee (past $10 cappuccinos), to the arc de triumph, and down to the tour eiffel. climbing up was fun, and the views were interesting. and pretty cool in other directions as well.

nice weekend. busy, but full of all those great tourist oppurtunities. now i can feel free to find the more interesting spots on my next visit.