Paris: Tim

Alright so I am here to do the anthropological analysis of the trip so far. It is actually amazing how similar the "Western" countries are to each other. I find myself on the public transit unable to guess whether someone speaks french, spainish, or english. The dress is almost identical and so are almost all mannerisms. The interesting thing to note so far is that almost every group of Americans we run into in Paris is girls. We have yet to see any American guys abroad without a girlfriend....besides ourselves. This must mean that the girls in America either like traveling more than the guys, or the girls find guys in other countries more enticing. Either way I find it hard to be in this city of romance and lights without my better more attractive half.

I know some of you may be reading this and think of all the excitement of such a great "vacation" but that word means nothing to us. This trip is almost everything but relaxing. From getting lost in Paris with our backpacks on while it is extremely hot outside, to walking close to 5 miles in Versailles today. It is safe to say that backpacking through Europe is just as tiring as a full time job....Except at the end of the day I think I will have lost weight and hopefully my butt won't be as big, and we come away with some amazing pictures!


This was down the the catacombs under Paris where there were millions and millions of bones. This was me playing Jenga with the bones because they were stacked so perfectly...though I couldn't actually get up the courage to touch the bones, none of us could. But apparently people regularly try to steal bones.


This was us at the Palace of Versailles which was enormous, but even more impressive were the gardens. They were very large and Marie Antoinette had here own little "hamlet" within her own garden! Le Petit Trianon I beleive was the name of it, but it was very...cute I guess is the only word to use there.

Now from a freudian symbological perspective, I wonder if the reason Seattle and Paris are romantic settings is because of the complete phallic symbology of the Space Needle and the Eiffel Tower...