The Globe Theatre...St. Paul's Cathedral was neat but it doesn't even come close to being as beautiful as Westminster Abbey. Both recently went through extensive cleaning that cost in the millions.
Kensington Palace is a really neat place to visit. They have a Princess Diana exhibit, Princess Margaret's old apartments, and you get to see Queen Victoria's rooms. They have the bed that Victoria was woken up in and told she was now queen. Some very cool history here!
The gardens were gorgeous.
I couldn't wait to see the Peter Pan statue, and here it is. There is just something so enchanting about it. It made you feel like a kid again, and isn't that what Peter Pan is all about? ; )
This is the inside of the Globe Theatre. This is the third one to be built, and is the only building in London with a thatched roof. They were banned after the great fire. Amanda on the Millennium Bridge. This bridge was built for the new millennium and it is meant to bridge the gap between old and new London.
Brian on the Millennium Bridge.
The dome of St. Paul's from the Millennium Bridge.
Happy Anniversary to us! June 18th was our second wedding anniversary. Here we are at the top of St. Paul's Cathedral. That evening we had third row seats to Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre in the West End. Cheers!

Paris, France

Paris was by far the most beautiful and exciting city out of the two. Brian and I would both love to go back there again someday. I put my French to good use and even some of the locals were impressed with my abilities. Yay!!! I hope you enjoy the pictures...because I certainly enjoyed taking them.

Here is Brian resting in the Garden des Tuileries. There were a lot of benches and chairs around the fountains, but don't step on the grass. The offense carries quite a hefty fine.At the top of the Arch de Triomphe.
Artsy shot of the Arch de Triomphe.
This is the sculpture of Napoleon on the Arch.
The happy couple before our Seine Dinner Cruise.I love my blue dress. My mother-in-law bought it for me for the trip.
This is Sacre-Couer (Sacred Heart) Basilica. It is on the highest point in Paris and has some spectacular views from it's steps.
One of the 3 remaining windmills in Montmartre (the artsy area of Paris). They are tied down so that they no longer work, but they used to be used to mill the grain used in that amazing french bread!
Moulin Rouge...a lot less impressive in person. We took a walking tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours which was started by an Aggie. The guy who gave this tour is a friend of Matt's, and he did a fantastic job. Thanks, Glen!
This is the Hotel des Invalides. It was started by Louis XIV to house injured soldiers. It later became the home of Napoleon Bonaparte's tomb. It is also home to quite a detailed military museum.This is Napoleon's tomb. He is encased in six tombs here. (Not separate tombs...they're all inside the red porphyry. ) His tomb is inside a cylindrical area with two viewing "platforms"...one high and one low. It was designed so that if you are on the top level you are looking down causing you to bow in reverence to him, and if you are on the lower level it forces you to look up in admiration of him.
Brian with a polar bear sculpture in Musee D'Orsay. We liked the polar bear's smile.
Musee D'Orsay is home to many impressionist paintings. My favorite artist is Van Gogh and there was a plethora of his paintings there. This is one of them:
Musee D'Orsay is housed in an old train station. I enjoyed it much more than the Louvre. The Louvre was too crowded and too big to truly enjoy. I also got some great street art out in front of the Museum...it was much cheaper here than in Montmartre.
Tasty French breads.
The desserts there are to die for. We had the chocolate and coffee ones with the little gold baby footprints.
Versailles isn't actually the palace only, but it is a whole little town outside of Paris. This is the Boulangerie/Patisserie that we bought our sandwiches and desserts from. We also bought wine and cheese elsewhere in the market.
The infamous Hall of Mirrors. The Treaty of Versailles was signed here which put an end to WWI. The sun was finally shining while we were inside so we got to see the magnificent reflection of the windows on the mirrors.One of many fabulous views. We did Versailles as a bike tour...which was unfortunate because it rained, but the guy giving the tour was, Taylor, one of Matt's friends from A&M which was cool. He gave us a great way to remember the three kings who made Versailles their main pad. Louis XIV built it, Louis XV enjoyed it, and Louis XVI paid for it (he lost his head to the guillotine).
Unfortunately for your second and third class Parisians the Louis' living styles weren't very peasant friendly. People were taxed about 80% of their income and around 25% of that went to working on Versailles.
The building above is the Grande Trianon. That is the kings vacation home at Versailles. Things at the palace were very formal. There was a ceremony for everything there from getting dressed to eatting. They also had an audience for everything...and I do mean everything. More on that later. Below is a raven who was hanging out in the rain while we had a picnic under the arches.
We were supposed to picnic out in the gardens, but the down pour put a damper on that. ha ha ha...get it? A "damper" on it? Okay...sorry about that. Here we are enjoying our nice bottle of wine in the freezing cold and that rain blowing in on us. Good times.
Brian sitting on the garden steps with the Palace of Versailles behind him.How would you like to have this for your backyard view?
The French like to have very symmetrical gardens. Even the forested portions of Versailles along the pathways are trimmed. The trees along all pathways are like giant rectangular prisms. On a side note, the new header to our blog (the big banner at the top) is also a picture of the Versailles Gardens.
This was the queen's bedroom. Talk about liking your floral prints! The queens gave birth to their children in public in this room. Yes, they had an audience for everything!!! It makes TLC's "A Baby Story" seem like little league child birth. They actually did it so that the royal family couldn't sneak a baby in who wasn't the true dauphin or dauphine (prince or princess). Marie Antoinette put an end to public child birth after her first child was born...good woman!
The chandeliers in Versailles are so opulent. I was fascinated by every single one. The crystal is beautifully cut, every one is topped with a tassel cord...this one was almost purple in coloration. It was in the room leading to the queen's rooms.
The western entrance to Notre-Dame. We went there in the morning, but it was closed until 3 for a concert on the steps, so we saw Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie while we waited to get in to see Notre-Dame.
This is the Eastern side of Notre-Dame where we hung out and ate ham and cheese sandwiches on fresh French bread in the park. The gardens are pretty and the flying buttresses are huge!!!

This is an example of what Marie Antoinette's cell would have looked like. The rug is her actual rug. I have bought a couple of books about Marie-Antoinette, but have only gotten through one so far. It is called "The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette," and was a really good book. If you like historical fiction check it out.
This is a wide shot of the northern rose window. The only original rose window still there. These windows show the bible pictorally. There are three of them...north, south, and west.
The organ almost looks as tremendous as it sounds!!!
The ceiling was so high and the masonry extroardinary. All of the archways and little chapels along the side...it actually takes your breath away.
Same Chimera...different view.
This is a gargoyle. They jut out from the wall. There is a dip in the top to catch the rain water and it exits through the mouth. These aide in protecting the building from corrosion.
Two gargoyles. One is the same one as above.
There is a Pantheon in Paris. It's name comes from the one in Italy although it more closely resembles St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

This is a view of Pont Neuf. Although it was referred to as "New Bridge" it is actually the oldest bridge in Paris.
I can't get this one to the beginning of this post...but this is actually the top of Notre Dame Cathedral.

A military band was also playing in the garden gazebo. They were fantastique!!! Most of the songs were strong woodwind pieces which made me very happy. (I play the clarinet for those of you who don't know.)

This is Victor Hugo's tomb in the Pantheon.
Louis Braille is also buried in the Pantheon.
Evening look at the Eiffel Tower on our last night.Me "holding" the Eiffel Tower.
Our last day in Paris...at the tip-top of the Eiffel Tower.
Looking down at the Champs de Mars.
Zoomed in on the Arch de Triomphe. Hello people on top of the Arch de Triomphe! Brian and I were discussing how many vacation photos we are probably in of other peoples...so we started waving at the people.

Our trip was amazing! We were ready to get home...but I am definitely ready to go back!!!

Guitar Hero

Our friend Steve (guy in the blue shirt) introduced us to a game called Guitar Hero a while back. We have found it to be quite addicting...especially me, and it is a lot of fun to play when friends are over at the house hanging out.

Basically the plastic guitars are set up with 5 buttons on the "frets" for you to hold down in varying combinations for notes, and you have a strumming device as well that works as your pick.

The notes come up on the screen in the forms of the colors of the buttons and you just have to press and strum. There are varying levels for different players and on Guitar Hero II you can play together (cooperative) or against each other (face-off). I'm not a big "gamer," but this one has proven to be a lot of fun.

Ugly House

Alright...so this house on our street started out normal enough. Generic floor plan, cute front porch, etc. Even the forest green roof...although it stands out because no one else on our street has a green roof...was okay. White brick...no problem.

Then I was coming down the street one day and it was aqua. Yes, you read that correctly...aqua. I thought to myself...maybe it's some weird primer. Sadly, it was not. (This picture doesn't even begin to do it's hideousness justice.)

It turns out that the people who were having this house built feel that aqua is a soothing color. It is...in a POOL!!! Now the buyers are having trouble selling their previous home and may have to back out on the contract. This could be a really good thing because it would most likely result in the repainting of the house.

It reminds me of an ugly sculpture that was put up in The Woodlands. It was of absolutely no describable shape and was bright, construction safety sign, orange in color. Someone put a sticker on it which read, "Caution: Bad Art." Maybe this house should be "toilet-papered" in caution tape.