Ibis Cergy Pontoise Le Port Île-de-France

... tired army faced a well-rested, well-armed, supremely confident army up to 10 times as numerous, and bent on revenge for their defeats at Crécy and Poitiers. But the English who had tried to avoid battle, now had no choice but to fight.

Whether by design or chance the battlefield was very narrow, about 7-800 yards wide between two forests around the villages of Azincourt on one side and Tramécourt on the other. It had rained hard during the night, so the field ...

So we enjoyed our first full day in Paris today and did all the classic Parisian things. We visited the Eiffel tour and the Louvre, as well as the Arc De Triumph and the Champs Elysse. We decided that Paris is a very interesting place but the people are *******s ...

... the Effiel Tower. Back on the next bus, where we were taken along the South bank of the Siene over Pont de la Concorde, and around Place de la concorde, and then up the Avenue des Champ-Elysees. When they talk about it being a shopping mecca, they are not wrong. Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Mercedes to name a few. It's such a long avenue, it would take a whole day just to browse up and down each side. I'm not that type of man (or woman). Fortuanately and most likely ...

... later station, for some reason decided to sprawl out over everything leaving no leg room and very little space to position oneself for even a poor nights sleep! The guy who sat directly across from me put his feet up on the chair of my neighbor to my right and I, as well as make himself comfortable later on in the night and lay on the floor beneath us. I wasn't a happy traveler but surprisingly it went by fairly quick. Now, here I sit like I said waiting ...

... up and down that a bit too. The Arc de Triomphe was way bigger than I expected it to be. Then we headed back to our hotel for a short night of sleep. This morning we left our hotel at about 5:20 AM. We decided to take the metro to Gare du Nord for the Eurostar cuz it would be cheapest at only 1.50 €. So there we were with all our luggage going up and down the metro stairs! There was a surprisingly ...

... geography of Europe. So much has happened in Europe, and it's easy to get your centuries crossed when you see Roman Artifacts in Germany and Greek Artifacts in Rome. French paintings in Italy, and Italian paintings everywhere. I have stored endless amounts of information in my brain temporarily, like this: "Impressionism is a typically Dutch style of painting and was popular art for the average persons home during the Dutch Golden Age of the 16th and 17th centuries." I don ...

... begin using your French to realize that people really do understand you and are very helpful in the train station. - Arrive on a misty, drizzly morning to your Parisian hotel room walking distance to the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe and from which you can glimpse the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, as it is completely covered in fog! - Depart to the Musée du ...

... to the apartment while Emma and I did some shopping damage in the store. Before we left, we went down to Floor -1 (yes, that's "negative 1") to get the proper forms to get a detaxe refund at the end of our trip. Emma and I eventually found our way on the Metro over to Le Grand Colbert to meet Matthew for dinner. We were all very excited to eat here, as it's the restaurant ...

I am so sorry to be leaving you hanging like this. France is more expensive than Switzerland for its internet cafes. And besides, Im having too much fun to sit at a computer. When I get to England, and a free computer (hopefully!) I will go back and fill in the blanks. But for right now, I must go see the Notre Dame Cathedral! Stay tuned.............

... laying ceremony at France's tomb of the unknown soldier. On Monday (7/3), we started our day off at the Louvre Museum. We quickly hit the highlights of Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory (can't remember the correct name) and a few others. As we had both read the Da Vinci Code before coming to Paris, we also found a few other locations mentioned in the book. Next, we headed off to the Pantheon and walked around inside. The Pantheon is the location where ...