Bonjour! After spending all of yesterday researching, planning, booking hostels and making train reservations for the next two weeks of the trip, we got an early start this morning for a day of sightseeing in Paris. Once again the weather cooperated nicely. Starting with the Cathedrale de Notre Dame, we walked to the Musee du Louvre, one of France's (if not the world's) finest museums where the highlight, of course, was Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, our primary reason...

I eagerly awaited dawn after the long night in London and once I saw the first rays of light, I excitedly hopped out of bed. Opting to feel dirty for the day than to shower in the sketchy bathroom, Steph and I packed our bags in record time and practically sprinted down the stairs and out the door to spare ourselves one more minute in the dumpy hostel. And so began another long day of travel. We took a train to central London, switched trains and continued on to ...