No news lately, but I finally did load the rest of my Europe pics on the computer, so here they are! You can click them to make them bigger.
On the east side of the Eiffel tower
The Pantheon
Sunset view of the Trocadero from the lower level of the Eiffel tower
View from the Eiffel tower. The bright lights are from a tourist boat on the Seine.
Champ de Mars from the lower level of the Eiffel tower
Trocadero and Paris skyscrapers from the top of the Eiffel tower
Moulin Rouge windmill in Montmartre
Beneath the Eiffel tower
Typical view of the Eiffel tower
Pond in front of the Luxembourg palace
Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris
French flag and Eiffel tower from in front of the Pantheon
Really nice flowers in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris
Fountains in the Latin Quarter
Place du Terte in the shadow of the Sacre Coeur cathedral
Main square of Brussels, Belgium
Maastricht, Holland (or The Netherlands if you want to be official)
Cathedral (yep, that bell tower's pink) in Maastricht, Holland
A cheesy sign welcoming you to Germany
Ruins of a Castle in Esch-sur-Sure, Luxembourg
Luxembourg Countryside
Picnic table with Bourscheid Castle in the distance (Luxembourg)
View from Bourscheid Castle (Luxembourg)
Bourscheid castle with spooky mist
More ruins at Bourscheid Castle
Bourscheid Castle ruins...the trash can kinda kills the "ancient" feeling, but oh well
Old bridge at Luxembourg City
Beautiful Vianden Castle (Luxembourg)
The medieval town of Vianden, with the castle on the hill
"Go ahead, touch the crown. Touch it. I dare you."
The Louvre, Paris
So now that I'm back in Dallas, life is back to its usual sucky state. I haven't been able to run for over a month because of constant (worsening) knee pain. I have no 5k plans. I've been trying to ride my bike more, but I still feel like I'm not accomplishing much in terms of getting more fit.
Also, our contract (and very probably our jobs) are over at the end of this month, which has left pretty much everyone at the office in a major funk. I have a bunch of mind-numbingly-boring school work to finish this year (am hoping for a Master's at the end of the fall semester). And the Mavs are probably out of the playoffs due to a 1-point loss that the NBA admitted was an officiating mistake.
So basically, I'm a cranky-pants.
But looking at the pictures I took in Paris cheers me up, so I decided that instead of whining any more, I'd post a few of my favorites for you guys to enjoy :)
Gargoyles and Views from Notre Dame Bell Towers
This fellow has an awesome view of the Eiffel tower
View of the Seine from Notre Dame bell tower
This guy looks sad :(
A creepy eagle-monster-thing in a cloak
Breathtaking view from the top of Notre Dame
A gargoyle with an excellent view of Sacre Coeur
Parc de Buttes Chaumont, Paris
(stop snickering at the word "buttes")
This is a beautiful, hilly park that's kind of off the tourist path. The park had gorgeous flowers everywhere, some fake waterfalls, and a big cliff that you can get to by a bridge. Once you're at the top of the cliff, you come to a Roman temple structure that has amazing views of Paris.
Flowers in the Park
People enjoying the flowers on one of the park's hills
Grotto with fake waterfall
Another fake waterfall
Lake with cliff and Roman temple thing
View of Sacre Coeur from the Roman temple thing
Along the Seine
View of Notre Dame bell towers from the Seine
Eiffel tower at sunset
The three towers of the chateau along the Seine
Pretty flowering trees were everywhere!
Versailles
Yeah, if I were a poor peasant who had to till some field my whole life while Marie Antoinette and Louis Whatever and their entourage idled their time away in this gynormous palace and their beautiful gardens, I'd probably want to behead some folks too.
View of Versailles from the Gardens
The formal gardens were like a maze
Versailles and formal gardens
Hall of Mirrors
Hall of Mirrors again (but with a girl messing up my photo)
Beautiful trees in the gardens
More of the formal gardens