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Judicial Writing in Review

As a law student I've had the opportunity to read my fair share of judgments over the last two years. For the most part they tend to be relatively juicy as they have been picked out by my professors as seminal cases in Canadian jurisprudence and therefore at the very least are worth reading for the precedent that they set. Other cases are read for critical reasons in order to hone our analytic skills. 

One thing that most of these cases have in common is that although they are generally written well from a legal point of view, they tend to be quite lengthy (thank heavens for headnotes) and generally dry. Although judges are hired not necessarily for their writing but for their decision making and reasoning skills, would it really hurt judges to spice up their (sometimes extremely) lengthy judgments with some wit or creativity?

I know I know, the law is meant to be predictable, and any word that a judge writes could possibly be argued as precedent for future cases and therefore judges must be careful and precise in their language. I'd just like to see a bit more of a happy medium. I'd like to propose that judges, at the very least, in reciting the facts of a case keep the reader's sanity in mind and write them with a little panache. In reciting the law, sure, go ahead with ensuring that the correct precedent is set with clear, precise, language, but perhaps if judges had a bit more fun writing their judgments, they could at least gain a bit more favour with their clerks and the public.

This post is inspired by Justice O'Donnell of the Ontario Court of Justice whose hilarious decision (R v Duncan, 2013 ONCJ 160.) [1] and even more humorous footnotes put a serious smile on my face - a first for reading a case about a routine traffic stop. 

The judgment begins:

"“You should get out of town”, the man said.

And so began the journey that resulted in my path intersecting with Matthew Duncan’s path.  And thence to these reasons, with a slight detour through territory that might have confused Lewis Carroll."

One notable quote from the judgment: 

It has been said that, given enough time, ten thousand monkeys with typewriters [2] would probably eventually replicate the collected works of William Shakespeare.  Sadly, when human beings are let loose with computers and internet access, their work product does not necessarily compare favourably to the aforementioned monkeys with typewriters.

  Although the law being decided in the case is routine and boring, it nonetheless makes for a riveting read because of Justice O'Donnell's flair, wit, and incredibly satisfying writing style.

Here's hoping this becomes a trend and judges make my chosen career path slightly more interesting.

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[1] The judgment can be accessed for free on CanLII at: http://canlii.ca/t/fwsm0

[2] The learned Justice added this footnote to the word "typewriters": 

For readers under the age of thirty or so, the “typewriter” was a mechanical device used for creating documents that pre-dated the computer and lacked some of the computer’s more annoying characteristics, in particular the computer’s facilitation of “cutting and pasting”, which is undoubtedly one of the four horsemen of the modern apocalypse and which has cost many trees their lives and many lawyers and judges their eyesight.

10

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California Dreamin'

So I had this super long totally awesome post all ready to go about my family's trip to California over Winter Break and it got deleted right as I was about to post it. So here goes attempt number two with all the same photos and probably slightly less witty commentary.

After a long semester of work it was really great that the family decided to endeavour (more on that later) down to California. It was my sister's first time on the West coast and my first time to this great state. We went to San Fransisco and Los Angeles with a stop off in Anaheim in between (not really between though).

San Fransisco is incredibly beautiful and really a city that is rich in culture. We did everything from riding the cable car from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf (though it isn't really a wharf because there is no river - as I discussed in a post a wrote this summer in London), to seeing the majestic redwoods of Muir Forest.

Spending the afternoon on Alcatraz island was particularly interesting. I didn't know much about its history aside from what I knew from watching the fantastic Sean Connery and Nick Cage movie, The Rock. The Island was originally a fortress protecting the bay and was later occupied by Native Americans (though even some of them for whatever reason call themselves Indians... that seems odd to me as we don't use the term in Canada to refer to people of Aboriginal descent...).

The Golden Gate bridge was especially beautiful and we were lucky that it wasn't so foggy that we could not see it - rather, we had just the right amount of fog to make pictures look pretty!

As I said above, the Muir Forest was fantastic. As we were hiking around, a Redwood tree fell only a few hundred meters ahead of us and when we got there the path was completely impassable as a result - those trees are huge. However, we were able to see into the tree and see that indeed the wood is red! It was quite the sight and the park rangers were very glad no one was injured - apparently this is quite a rare event to have a tree fall in a forest and people actually there to hear it.

As we left San Fransisco we headed to heaven aka Cupertino for a quick stop by Apple HQ.

We then drove down to the Montarea Aquarium which was super neat and a really great photography challenge.

Following the aquarium, we drove down 17 Mile Drive through Route 1 all the way to LA (quite the drive). Since it was raining outside and gross, I didn't take too many photos unfortunately.

We then visited the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! Here's the inside of Splash Mountain because the parents weren't willing to go on it leaving my sister and I to do all the 'thrill' rides.

We also went on holiday themed it's a small world multiple times which was slightly less annoying because jingle bells and deck the halls were also mixed into the normal song. I also got a disney cast member to admit that indeed the song does get annoying after hearing it a million times while working on the ride. Victory! Finally, we saw the wonderfully cheery disney parade - here's my sister's favourite character:

After Disney we went to LA in ernest - we visited all the normal Hollywood sites like the Chinese theater, walk of fame, and the sign. We also went to Warner Brothers studio to visit Leonard Sheldon and Pennys' apartments. Unfortunately, they weren't there because the apartment was missing a wall - how strange. It was replaced by film cameras. 

Honestly though, it was very interesting learning how shows are filmed and that dramas are filmed totally differently from sitcoms. We visited all the famous towns in America that are featured on tons of TV shows and films, all without even leaving the lot!

Finally we went to the California Science Center to visit the newly arrived Space shuttle Endeavour! It was really great seeing such a cool artifact of humanity alongside Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo craft.

Guess what this part is:

Yep, a tiny part of the massive engine!

The last highlight of our couple weeks in California was a bit of beach time. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold to go in the water - only dad was brave enough to lose feeling in his feet. I just decided to stay out and take pictures of pretty things.

Well that's all for my second time around blogging this trip. Here's hoping that the post posts. Back to school tomorrow for another semester!

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A Semester of Awesome Speakers

This semester I have been treated to an amazing array of fantastic speakers from all sorts of different fields - moreso than ever before.

After attending my sixth talk this semester it became clear how lucky I was to be in the presence of such fantastic minds.

In chronological order, the following people have inspired me in some way shape or form this semester:

Alan Young

Chief Justice McLachlin

Christopher Browning

Dr. Kang (developer of Western's Phase II Trial HIV/AIDS vaccine)

Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

Senator Romeo Dallaire (Ret. General)

Unfortunately I've been a bit too busy to write up my experiences hearing Dr. Browning, Dr. Kang, Bill Nye or Senator Dallaire, however I must say that each of them really inspired me to continue my studies, curiosity and learning about a wide variety of topics.

Dr. Browning wrote one of the most important books about the perpetrators of the Holocaust called "Ordinary Men". The title implies what his thesis is and what he wrote is widely regarded amongst Holocaust historians as correct. His speech about collective memories of Holocaust Survivors was very interesting. I was lucky that I was able to get Dr. Browning to sign my copy of Ordinary Men in person. I will certainly treasure the book now even more.

Dr. Kang is a Western science professor who is developing a vaccine for HIV and Hep. C. His take home message is that hard work is the key to success and his story of how he came on a boat from Korea really made us all realize how lucky we are. I also realized how stupid I was as much of his talk about the technical intricacies of this vaccine were a bit over my head.

Bill Nye spoke about his obsession with sundials (one of his is on a mars rover) and how we need to fight climate change. Bill spoke about many ideas that I already had read about it Jeremy Rifkin's "The Third Industrial Revolution" so it was nice to see Bill Nye onboard with exactly the same vision. I was able to ask Bill during the Q & A period about his favourite memories from "The Science Guy" show. He asked what my favourite memory was and we discussed the enormity of space for a few seconds.

Romeo Dallaire spoke about child soldiers and about how we can move towards saving the world - specifically failed states in turmoil not by throwing money at them but by getting involved in NGO's and working on the ground. These are wars of attrition but Senator Dallaire believes that within a couple hundred years we will be able to bring peace and prosperity to the entire world and ensure that everyone will have equal rights as humans. It was an honour to shake his hand after his speech and welcome him to the law school.

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Myself and Chief Justice McLachlin from Friday's speech. 

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Chief Justice Mclachlin at Western Law

A few weeks ago I was asked, as a member of the Distinguished Speakers Committee, to introduce Chief Justice Mclachlin of the Supreme Court of Canada. Since then, I have been struggling as to how to sum up her career and service to Canada - beyond just her biography. Luckily I was only given 2 minutes or so to introduce her before Chief Justice took the podium to a packed room of over 200 students and professors from numerous faculties. The fire code might have been ignored in the name of education... oops? 

Chief Justice Mclachlin spoke about the Supreme Court of Canada, how it operates, and how the judges work collegially. After reading "The Presidents Club" this summer, I felt as though the Chief Justice was giving us an inside view into the Supreme Court in a similar fashion. Just as former US Presidents work with the current president behind closed doors, so too do all the Justices work together to find common ground and help each other out with their difficult decisions.

The highlight of the talk for me was the opportunity to ask Chief Justice Mclachlin questions. She was asked some questions she couldn't really answer as a sitting justice, and a few non-law students asked questions that were a bit out of left field, however Chief Justice Mclachlin took it all on good stride and stood as an excellent example of what a Supreme Court Justice should stand for - calm, strong, confident, and most of all, funny! She answered all the questions that she could with candour and a few personal annecdotes thrown in for good measure. I personally asked her if she had any advice for a law student. She had earlier remaked that when she was asked to sit on the court, she asked Justice McIntire when he retired for a piece of advice. That isn't to say that I'm joining the Supreme Court any time soon but I just wanted to hear what she would advise a young law student as the Chief Justice - two polar opposites of the Canadian legal landscape. The Chief Justice replied, saying that finding and maintaining a passion for the work that you do is the most important way to be successful in law.

It is such an honour being in the presence of, arguably, the most important person in the profession that I intend to enter while I am still so young. I read things that she (or her clerks on her behalf) has written week-in-week-out and it was thrilling to be able to interact with her on a personal level.

Special thanks to Western Law, the Student Legal Society, and the Distinguished Speakers Committee for making this event a great success! 

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Professor Alan Young at Western Law

As a member of the Distinguished Speaker Series Committee, I have the privilege of welcoming many important speakers to Western Law. Our first speaker of the year was Professor Alan Young, a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Professor Young is a criminal and constitutional lawyer who as a self professed “constitutional demolition man” has challenged consentual criminal laws (such as marijuana, prostitution, etc) on Charter of Rights and Freedoms grounds.

Professor Young is most famous for his role as defence counsel in the Bedford Case (Bedford v Canada, 2012 ONCA 186). I attended an intimate fireside chat with him as well as his talk to a packed Moot Court Room at Western Law. In this case, parts of Canada’s prostitution laws were challenged on the grounds that they infringe on the section 7 rights of individuals: namely, their rights to security of their person. In case my readers don’t want to read the entire 374 paragraph court of appeal decision, I will quickly summarize some of what Professor Young said:

Prostitution isn’t illegal in Canada, however many activities that are directly related to it are. The three provisions of the criminal code that were challenged were that it is illegal to communicate (solicit), that you are unable to make money off others prostituting themselves (aimed at pimps but also affects prostitutes who want to hire security guards), and probably most importantly, the law makes it illegal to operate ‘bawdy houses’. Professor Young successfully argued at the Ontario Court of Appeal that sex workers are more secure and safe when they operate out of their own controlled environment - like home field advantage in sports and disallowing them to do so makes a legal activity that they are doing (sex work) more hazardous therefore infringing their right to security of their person. The body guard argument went the same way and although that section of the criminal code wasn’t struck down, new words were read into the provision allowing for body guards but still disallowing pimps to the code. At the Court of Appeal, Professor Young did not win the solicitation argument, however he seemed confident that he could win it as the Crown has appealed the case to the Supreme Court.

Anyways, I thought it was extremely interesting meeting Professor Young, hearing about how important timing is for charter challenges. As the common law evolves and more cases come on charter challenges, more room is created for these challenges in certain areas. I am eager to hear what the Supreme Court has to say when they hear the case in the coming year. It looks as though the defence has a very strong case here - especially on the bawdy house provision which is, according to Professor Young, the most important issue. The government could always just turn around and criminalize all sex work thereby invalidating the entire case, but as long as prostitution is legal in Canada, it seems as though a section 7 challenge is appropriate here and would not be saved under the Oakes Test for Section 1.

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There and Back Again - Eurotrip Recap

There and Back Again

As promised, here is the final post of my summer travels. It has been one crazy adventure spending nearly 2.5 months abroad. I thought I'd just post some highlights and keep it short instead of going on a long sappy jog down memory lane. I had a great time everywhere I visited and met so many amazing people along the way who made the trip all the more special. All that being said, it is nice to be back in Toronto for a little bit before school begins.

Eurotrip City Awards:

Best Party:

Barcelona & Tel Aviv

Most Naturally Beautiful:

Interlaken

Most Unique:

Venice

Best History: 

Bayeaux, Normandy

Most Ancient:

Rome & Athens (Duh)

Most Ornate:

Vatican City

Most Old-Style Beautiful:

Prague

Best Food:

All of Italy!

Best Adventure:

Interlaken

Latest Nights:

Barcelona

Earliest Mornings:

Interlaken

Least to do:

Frankfurt

Best Beer:

Munich (Honourable Mention to Vienna)

Cheapest:

Prague

Most Expensive:

Paris

Best Atmosphere:

London 2012 Olympics

Most Quaint:

York

Best Music:

Liverpool

Best Church

Impossible to say but probably Barcelona or the Vatican.

As you can see, I have no favourites. Every city is unique and special in its own way. I loved each and every place I went to.

I started this post with a Tolkein Quote and will end with Dorothy:

There is no place like home.

Trip Counter:

Days: 65

Cities: 37

Countries: 14

Planes: 7

Trains: 27+

Automobiles (cabs & busses): Drove my first Standard car on the wrong side!

Bikes: 1

Castles / Palaces: 10

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

Plays: 4

Beaches: 4

Shwarmas: 6

Gelatos: 10

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling, Decision Points - George W. Bush (44%)

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The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly in the Plain

I don't know if I'd ever be able to live here in Barcelona. It is as if it's a completely different time zone from the rest of Europe… everything is SO late here. My first night in Barcelona had me getting up from dinner at 1:00 am and a night ending at 5:00 am is not unusual. How crazy is that? 

On Thursday, I went to the Batllo house, one of Gaudi's residential buildings. It was absolutely stunning and it is true, there are no straight lines in the entire building.

I've been taking Barcelona slowly as I have ample time here to sightsee. I'm now staying at Hostel One Paralelo which is a bit more of a party place than BCG, but still pretty chill as well.

Over the past few days I have taken in the Montjuic Park (which includes the 1992 Olympic park and stadium and the Montjuic Castle), Gaudi's Batilo house, the Sagrada Famillia, the Boqueria Market, and the Gothic area of the city.

Friday I took a free walking tour of the Gothic area, saw the cathedral and the weird animal gargoyles there - including a grasshopper, "elephant" and unicorn gargoyle - none of which looked very demonic. 

We also saw the palace where Christopher Columbus reported back on his adventure to "India" to the king of Spain.

After dropping by the Columbus statute (who is pointing at Libya instead of the New World), I headed to Chabad for shabbat dinner. The services were interesting (different tradition than mine and less singing than i'm used to) and dinner was yummy!

On Saturday I spent the day walking around Montjuic marking my second Olympic Park and stadium of the summer. It's amazing how much has changed in 20 years of the olympics. The Barcelona 1992 site is tiny! The stadium is small, and the amount of room for the crowds is claustrophobic in comparison to what London2012 had. I was actually quite surprised at how much has changed - I guess the Olympics are much more public and more people are coming to them than in 1992? 

On Sunday I did what every good Jewish boy should do… I went to church. However, this was not just any church. This summer I have been in countless churches, cathedrals, basilicas, etc. Most of them have been incredibly ornate, busy, and overwhelming inasmuch as they are jam packed full of 'stuff'. 

Sunday I went to the Sangrada Famillia, Gaudi's masterpiece. I had been told by many people that it may not be worth it to go in, the outside is the best part. I respectfully disagree. I think the outside is too busy - in a different way from all the other cathedrals I've seen. 

The inside, however, is breathtaking though. It is not full of 'stuff' - graves, altars, etc. It is a large, open space with beautiful simple pillars that stretch up and split like trees before reaching the ceiling. Gaudi's natural inspiration for his work really shows in his design. Everything feels 'right' if that makes sense and instead of a sense of being overwhelmed by the amount of gold that the Church jammed into a church, in this case I felt in awe of nature and of simple beauty.

On my final day in Barcelona I went up to Park Guell (Gaudi's Park) which has the famed Gaudi Bench, an overview of the entire city, and the Gingerbread Houses.

I'm off to visit my sister in Tel Aviv for the day tomorrow. Hopefully I'll make it back to the Shuk ha'Carmel and spend some time on the beach. My next post will probably wrap up the whole summer and be posted from back home in Toronto. It's been fun!

Trip Counter:

Days: 63

Cities: 37

Countries: 14

Planes: 5

Trains: 26

Automobiles (cabs & busses): Drove my first Standard car on the wrong side!

Bikes: 1

Castles / Palaces: 10

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

Plays: 4

Beaches: 4

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling, Decision Points - George W. Bush (44%)

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Beginning of the End - Barcelona

I can't believe that I've finally made it to my last country of the trip. Today I took the day, did not sight see and just took in Catalonian (EDIT) culture. That being said, it was an extremely busy day anyways.

I am staying at the Barcelona Central Garden Hostel - highly recommended! The location is great and staff are fantastic. Today I first wend up to the Gracia neighbourhood. They are having a week-long neighbourhood party unlike anything I've ever seen. Back at home in Toronto my neighbourhood has a carnival every spring for one evening and it's a lot of fun, but this festival is 1000 times better. They really went all out - decorating 11 streets with various themes.

They have a Rubic's Cube street (for my sister):

And my personal favourite, the Star Wars Street!

After spending the morning in the Gracia area, we walked all the way across town down to the waterfront where we went to the Boqueria Market for lunch. The market felt really like home for me - Although we have no such thing in Toronto, I still felt comfortable there after spending a lot of time in Shuks in Israel. I even spotted a Kosher vegetarian place there for lunch which was cool, though I had already eaten elsewhere anyways.

After a long walk back to the hostel past the Cathedral (didn't go in… too many cathedrals blending together), I took a traditional Spanish afternoon Siesta.

I then had a quick dinner at Tapa Tapa, a tapas restaurant near the hostel and went back up to the Gracia neighbourhood festival for the highlight of the night.

I have always seen pictures of spanish people forming human towers. Tonight, I witnessed the Castellos in person! 

This is a 7 layered tower of people! How cool and scary that they let really young (looks like a 5 year old) children climb to the very top. Apparently some died a few years ago so now the young children wear helmets… took them long enough to decide that. Anyways, it was super scary to watch but also such a cool sport. The tower appeared to be about 3 stories high.

Anyways, I also wanted to shout out to the staff of Ramah Canada - congrats on another fun and safe summer. I'm sad that I wasn't able to make it up to camp at least for a visit for the first time since 1995… 1996-2011I spent at least a few hours in camp each sumer.

Trip Counter:

Days: 59

Cities: 37

Countries: 14

Planes: 5

Trains: 26

Automobiles (cabs & busses): Drove my first Standard car on the wrong side!

Bikes: 1

Castles / Palaces: 9

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

Plays: 4

Beaches: 4

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Read almost the whole thing today), Decision Points - George W. Bush (35%)

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Nice Time in Nice (and Monte Carlo)

I've spent 3 days in Nice and I guess I should get down to blogging about my experiences here.

Nice is a beautiful city on the French Riviera. The beach is extremely rocky so I didn't actually swim in Nice itself… but it was a great place to walk near and look at - spent a couple nights down on the beach relaxing with people I've met.

On my first full day in Nice I decided to head off to Monaco - my 13th country of the summer.

In Monaco (which i found out, is pronounced with an emphasis on the second syllable, not the first) I saw the Prince's palace, the changing of the guard at the palace (which begins at 11:55 am every day), and walked around the Monaco grand prix track to the Monte Carlo Casino.

The palace was pretty nice, though not as ornate as Buckingham or other places that I've been. It was slightly more practical in some ways. Just as is buckingham, it too is in constant use.

The highlight of my time in Monaco certainly was the casino and the surrounding area. I am no car expert, though I did take a seminar course in undergrad entitled history of the automobile. The cars that were parked in front of the Monte Carlo Casino were absolutely insane. I was speaking to one of the valet parking attendants there and it became clear that Bentlys are so common that no one even pays attention to them. I probably saw about 10 Rolls-Royces, there were two Lamborghini parked next to each other, one of which was called the Aventador and is worth almost $400,000.

After spending an hour or so car spotting (countless Bentlys, 2 Aston Martins, 10 Rolls-Royces, 4 Ferraris, 3 Lamborghinis, 2 cars that looked insanely cool whose brand I haven't even heard of, and innumerable other luxury automobiles of every make and brand.

I also had the opportunity to go into the casino and look around - it really was beautiful inside. Much better than the cramped casinos of north america which take advantage of every square inch of floor space - the Monte Carlo is sparse and provides ample room between tables and machines.

Yesterday I spent the day on the beach. Not the beach in Nice itself but the one in VilleFrance which is a 5 minute, 2 stop, train ride away. The beach's "rocks" were much more like sand and way better to walk on in bare feet. I finally got some colour back as I had lost a lot of my tan as a result of my time in rainy England.

As I post this I have arrived in Barcelona (country #14) - the last real stop of my trip. I am here until August 20 when I fly to Tel Aviv overnight to visit my sister for a day… then back home to Toronto on the 22nd.

Trip Counter:

Days: 58

Cities: 37

Countries: 14

Planes: 5

Trains: 26

Automobiles (cabs & busses): Drove my first Standard car on the wrong side!

Bikes: 1

Castles / Palaces: 9

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

Plays: 4

Beaches: 4

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Read almost the whole thing today), Decision Points - George W. Bush (35%)

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Living History - Paris and D-Day in Bayeaux

WARNING: Monster blog post ahead - you have now been warned.

I spent 36 hours in Paris between my time in England and my adventure off to Normandy mainly because I am a huge WWII history nerd.

In my little time that I had here in Paris I made it to the Opera house - inspired by my time in London seeing the Phantom I obviously had to go find Box 5 - the Phantom's domain. Luckily it was even conveniently labeled, though it wasn't getting much attention from the crowd.

The real star of the show at the Paris Opera is the Marc Chagall ceiling that is breathtakingly beautiful. As soon as you see it you know immediately that it could only be him that painted it - it is perfectly in line with his style. That's one nice thing about Chagall, all the work I've seen by him sticks to his style very closely.

After the opera, I spent some time in the old Jewish area of Paris. I got some much needed decent falafel for lunch and visited the Holocaust memorial and museum there. It was all in french so I only got the gist of the words and of course the pictures helped a lot. I decided to skip the Jewish museum… feeling a bit museum-ed out lately.

On Saturday I took an early morning train to Bayeaux in Normandy. 

I must say that I have been looking forward to going to Bayeaux just as much if not more than any other place that I've been to this summer. Anyone who has pretty much ever gotten to know me, knows that I am amateur WWII history nerd. So much so that not only I have seen Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and the Longest day many times, but I wrote a paper comparing the three in my second year of undergrad (note, this won't be the last undergrad history paper that I mention regarding my time in Bayeaux).

Alright, on to the highlights of Bayeaux… there were a lot of them as I took almost 650 pictures in 1 day - a new record!

I splurged a bit because I decided that if I'm only going to spend one night here, I might as well see as much as possible so I booked myself an afternoon tour of Omaha Beach, Point Du Hoc, and the American Cemetery. I had a bit of time before I went on the tour so I went off first to go see the world famous UNESCO heritage site - the Bayeaux Tapestry. I wasn't sure if I'd make it or feel up to going while I was planning this trip but I sure am glad that I went in the end. The tapestry is nearly 1,000 years old and is absolutely magnificent. When you go you are given an audio-guide that walks you through the story that the tapestry tells - as most of the population was illiterate back then, the tapestry was used to relate the story of William the Conquerer's conquest of England in 1066 to the masses. I am not normally a big audio-guide fan but this one was super helpful, informative, and fast paced enough for my liking.

After the tapestry, I rushed over to meet the tour at the train station - as expected it was mostly Americans though shockingly there were two people younger than me on the tour! 

The other perk of the tour is that they provide transport - a key element that would have made things much tougher for me if I had gone at Normandy alone, I likely would have had to rent a car.

First stop on the tour was the Point du Hoc. This was a battery of guns that was supposed to be overlooking both the Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day. Although the guns had been temporarily removed by the Germans in order to build re-enforced bunkers, the battle for the cliffs above the peninsula was undertaken by US Army Rangers. The area is unique because the heavy shelling that took place before the invasion is still apparent in the topography of the land - there isn't an inch of land that isn't part of an impact crater.

The point is also just a beautiful outlook of the cliffs /  ridge that was scaled by the allies as they invaded Normandy.

We then landed on Omaha Beach - one of the two American beachheads and the bloodiest area of the initial landing. I won't go too much into the details of the battle as I am no expert on the matter and it will probably bore 95% of the people who read this blog and just want to see that I'm safe and having fun.

After an obligatory dip in the English Channel I noticed that there are still guards on the beach - though this time, they are there to save lives. Today, the beach is guarded by fellow lifeguards!

Here are some pictures from the Dog Green Sector of Omaha Beach:

Some people on my tour were surprised that people use the beach for swimming and recreation - but it's over 65 years since the invasion… it would be tough to pass up such a nice beach and it would be a shame to those who lost their lives liberating it if the beach was never to be used again. Yes, it is a war grave in many ways… but at this point in the world's history one would be hard pressed to find anywhere that wasn't fought over at one time or another.

One thing that very much impressed me with Normandy in general is the reverence given to the allied nations who fought there more than 65 years ago. To this day American, British, and Canadian flags hang all over the area and the few veterans that we saw walking around were always greeted with the utmost respect by locals and tourists alike.

We then went to my most anticipated site - the American Cemetery.

According to my guide, after Arlington this is the second most visited cemetery in the world - and I believe it. Over 400,000 Americans visit yearly and over 1.2 million people. There are over 10,000 graves, 3 medal of honour winners, 4 women, two Roosevelt's, and 149 Jews (whose graves are marked by Magen Davids instead of Crosses.

I must say, the American Government sure does a fantastic job with cemeteries - this one was probably the single most beautiful cemetery I have ever been to. It takes a different direction from the Israeli national military cemetery - Mount Herzl, though it is much like British and Commonwealth war cemeteries.

I won't write anymore about it because any words I put down would be inadequate once again.

Finally, we ended up at the Longue Sur Mer Battery - which was a Germany battery of 4 massive guns which were to be used to fire on allied ships in the channel. The guns could fire up to 30 miles!!! 

Fortunately for the allied ships, their command post was neutralized by a bomber early on and therefore the guns became ineffective before the ships arrived.

Finally I got a bit of a surprise myself. As I mentioned before, in undergrad as a history specialist I wrote a couple papers about WWII. For my automobile history seminar in 4th year I wrote about the Willy's MB which is better known as the Ford GP - Willy's won the contract from the American government but when higher production numbers were needed the design was also leased out to Ford to make copies.

Here at Longue Sur Mer I found a working, original (so the owner claims), Ford GP which just made the trip all the more special and real. The army green color - exactly as it was when the jeep was deployed - enhances the battlefield picture and really lends a sense of realism to everything that I saw in Normandy.

After finishing up the tour, taking some time to see yet another outstandingly beautiful cathedral (yes, they are starting to blend… I do have pictures but I'm not sure that will help), I went to visit the British cemetery with some Canadian graves and the memorial to all Journalists who have died in warzones. I was quite impressed to see a modern memorial such as the Journalist memorial that has been kept up to date. There are names from every year from 1944 to present engraved there and it is an ongoing project.

That's about all for Bayeaux. If this is posted, it means that I have arrived safely in Nice and am far too tired after a 10 hour travel day to post anything about here. Nice is my second last real stop of the summer. I'll spend 3-4 nights here, visit Monaco, hit the beach and possibly Cannes, and then head off to Barcelona followed by Tel Aviv for one last day in Israel before flying home. I have lots of transit time in the next 10 days which will mean I'll need lots of decompressing time on the beach as well. Hopefully I can swing both as this traveller is starting to become a bit weary.

Trip Counter:

Days: 55

Cities: 35

Countries: 12

Planes: 4

Trains: 24

Automobiles (cabs & busses): Drove my first Standard car on the wrong side!

Bikes: 1

Castles: 8

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

Plays: 4

Beaches: 2

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Read almost the whole thing today), Decision Points - George W. Bush (18%)

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British Beatles Mania!

I've spent my last 3 days up in Northern England - first in York and then in Liverpool.

After my harrowing drive that I posted about last time, we made it up to York, a beautiful little medieval city. We started our time in York by riding our second ferris wheel of the week - the Wheel of York. It gave us a great view of the ancient city surrounded by its wall and of the fantastic cathedral named the York Minster that lay within.

The cathedral is massive and houses the largest Stained Glass Window in the world, though it was under re-construction at the time.

We then took the afternoon to walk around the streets in the old city which feel completely medieval. 

Finally, we did what anyone on a tour of England should do - we had high tea in an authentic tea room. The food was very yummy and it actually turned out to be a real meal. Although I am no tea expert like some of my friends, I did quite enjoy the house blend that they served us at Betty's (which is nearly 100 years old!).

On Tuesday we headed out to Liverpool. My impression of Liverpool before coming was that it was an industrial centre - and that would have been correct many years ago. The city really has rejuvenated itself and is gorgeous now! Not only is it Beatles Mecca, but their waterfront area is beautifully developed and there are great tourist and shopping districts as well. 

We just took a walk around (and did the Beatles Museum) on Tuesday after arriving at the Hilton and had an easy night catching up on the Olympic action… Canada really needs to step it up! Team GB is quite impressive in their success. The highlight for me of the Beatles Museum (because I just am such a law nerd) was an early Beatles contract - it was so short and basic, I took a picture but will spare you all and not post it on the blog.

Wednesday has been a very busy day around Liverpool. It started with me trying one more classic british food - Marmite. Apparently it is a very divisive food - people either love it or detest it. After a quick taste I have decided that I very surely fall into the later category. We spent the morning on the Magical Mystery Tour bus taking the official Beatles Tour of Liverpool where we saw the childhood homes of the Beatles, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, the church that rejected Paul from its choir because they thought he didn't have a good enough voice, and I learned a whole lot about the history of the group, Brian Epstein, and everything else Beatles.

We already did Abbey Road in London so I feel as though I really have done all the major Beatles sights around England.

After the tour, we spent the afternoon walking around the Cavern area and ate lunch there. The cavern is the club where the Beatles really got their start and is the most famous concert venue in Liverpool. The Beatles played there approximately 300 times!

Here's one more store that I found amusing:

Today I said goodbye to Uncle Larry - Thanks for the fantastic time in England! 

I flew back to Paris this afternoon and was very impressed with Charles De Gaulle Airport - it is really beautiful!

Trip Counter:

Days: 52

Cities: 33

Countries: 12

Planes: 4

Trains: 21

Automobiles (cabs & busses): Drove my first Standard car on the wrong side!

Bikes: 1

Castles: 8

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

Plays: 4

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy (DONE! finally... but quite good), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11%)

10

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Adventures in Northern England

Today was completely exhilarating for a very different reason than any other day this trip has been amazing. Today was a physical thrill - like your first time riding a bike, or getting up on water skis, or learning how to drive stick, driving on the left (wrong) side of the road, navigating British round-a-bouts.

Today I did three of the above all at the same time - and yes, I already knew how to ride a bike and water ski.

I have never driven stick, never driven on the left (wrong) side of the road, and we don't really have many roundabouts in Canada so that was a very scary but also delightfully entertaining and certainly harrowing bit of time driving. I am a pretty good driver back at home and have no problem adapting to new cars. I haven't driven in a month and a half since I left home and therefore was itching to get behind the wheel. I love driving - it is relaxing and quite fun for me. That being said, today I learned that driving well is not universal and that knowing how to drive does not mean I REALLY know how to drive. Luckily I stayed on the road, caused no issues (except for being a bit slow once), only stalled a single time (!!) and am pretty proud of my first performance of the most ridiculous way to start driving standard, ever.

First stop of the day was still in London - Abbey Road studios. Obviously obligatory photo is attached:

We drove from London to York which is located in the north of England. On the way we visited Althorp (the burial place of the late Princess Diana) and the Cathedral of Covertry - it was completely bombed out in WWII and was super neat to see.

The estate at Althorp was gorgeous - it is a large mansion with lots of grassy land all around. Diana is buried on an island in the middle of a pond which is only accessible by boat and not to the public (though they call it a lake… it isn't a lake by Canadian standards). The site itself is beautiful - when we arrived the fish were jumping, the ducks were quacking, and the sun was shining down through the clouds. The house at Althorp is beautifully decorated, has an outstanding library and tons of artwork depicting the 9 Earls of Spence who have lived on the estate. The current 9th Earl is Diana's brother, Charles. He was actually home today so we met him and he signed Uncle Larry's book.

We got into York pretty late at night - on Monday we will tour the city and see what this nearly 2000 year old city has to offer.

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Loving London

Days 2, 3, and 4 in London have been SUCH a whirlwind - it has become my favourite city of the trip.

I didn't feel like blogging the past few days as I have been just so exhausted coming back to the hotel at night that I just crash as soon as my head hits the pillow. Our days have been jam packed full of sight seeing and complete exhilaration. 

On Thursday, we spent the day walking around the Olympic venues. Our first leg of the journey was to O2 arena via the Emirates Airline (which is a gondola that crosses the Thames). We then walked around O2 which is being used for gymnastics for the first part of the Olympics but were not permitted inside the actual arena area - just the outer ring of the inside of the building. It was quiet anyways as there were no events going on when we were there

Following our time at O2, we then headed off to the main Olympic park area! There were SO many people there it was almost overwhelming. Everyone was just so excited to be around and were flying all of their countries colours. We had lunch at Jamie Oliver's restaurant (which I was really excited about because I love Jamie and the work that he does) - I had the cannelloni and it was quite delicious!

We then did a bit of damage at the official Olympic shop though the merchandise is not nearly as good as Vancouver 2010 according to Uncle Larry. 

Following our time at the park, we headed to Greenwich to encounter the Prime Meridian. Though, the main Prime Meridian sign is inaccessible to the public because of the Equestrian Olympic events, there is another sign which we found and took pictures with.

So now I've made it to the prime meridian and the equator… unfortunately I don't think there is any land that straddles the international date line so next up it looks like I need to make it to the two poles.

Uncle Larry and I then took a boat up the Thames river to Westminister. On the way we passed under the Tower Bridge and by many very interesting places of which I got lots of pictures.

I was most impressed by the amazing development at Canary Wharf. Apparently it was pretty run down not too long ago and has recently been revitalized into a really great area of London.

Random fact of the day that I learned:

Did you know that the word Wharf is actually an acronym that stands for Warehouse At River Front? I sure didn't!

After a quick walk past Westminster (I got back there the next day to go inside), we headed off to our play of the night - Wicked! Of course I had heard the music and loved it but this was my first time seeing the play. The production was beautiful, the costumes amazing, and I couldn't help but smile walking out of it - tons of fun!

On Friday we got up early and headed to our appointment with the Queen. Uncle Larry had gotten tickets to Buckingham Palace to go inside and view the state rooms. Needless to say they were absurdly opulent, gorgeous, magnificent, and any other adjective that could be used to describe a working palace of the largest monarchy the world has ever seen.

After some fish and chips at a very classically british pub, it was time for the historical centre of the UK: Westminster Abbey. I cannot believe how many significant historical figures are buried there. In fact, there are so many important figures in the Abbey that Oliver Cromwell is buried in a random grave on the floor.

Friday night we had tickets to go see Phantom - the cast was outstanding. It was my first time seeing the play as Phantom's 10 year run in Toronto ended when I was still too young to see it. I have always loved the music and it was so great seeing the production live! I can't believe the play is 25 year old; older than I am! It is both classic but also very much still alive - so glad I got a chance to see it!

Saturday was the perfect last day in London. We were having a really tough time getting tickets but eventually persistence pays off and we were able to find 2 tickets to Athletics this morning at Olympic stadium. We were sitting right beside the Olympic Flame

We saw Usain Bolt run the 100m dash, the women's heptathalon (long jump and javelin), the women's 3000m steeplechase, the women's pole vault, and the men's 400m (featuring a double leg amputee dubbed 'Blade Runner' because of the shape of his prostheses).

Words really cannot describe the Olympic park, the atmosphere in the stadium, or what it is like to be there. What a great last day in London.

Tonight we're off to see Mama Mia and tomorrow we depart for York. Uncle Larry will be completing his gold medal event - shattering the world record by seeing 8 West-End plays in his 8 nights in London. His skill, perseverance, and endurance in navigating the TKTS booth is quite astounding. So glad I could be a part of this truly inspiring act of love for the theatre - and some may argue partial lunacy. However I too have a soft spot for going to see shows so I am very impressed with his dedication to the arts and am so glad I got to tag along for part of it.

Trip Counter:

Days: 48

Cities: 30

Countries: 12

Planes: 3

Trains: 21

Automobiles (cabs & busses): so many busses!

Bikes: 1

Castles: 8

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

Plays: 4

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy (62%), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11%)

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Rule Britania!

I really wasn't sure I'd be typing this but WOW do I ever LOVE London!

I've been here for 12 hours, spent 6 of them walking around, half an hour on the London Eye, half an hour waiting for food at dinner because the service was stupidly slow, and well… i wont get ahead of myself just yet regarding how I spent the rest of my time.

SO, my day started with chunneling which is something I've always wanted to do even though it is more expensive than flying. Yes, I know… it is just a long dark tunnel… but what it represents is just so cool that I had to do it. If you want a picture of what it was like… turn off the lights, shut all the doors and windows… and there you have it, your very own chunnel! 

Okay okay… on to England! 

I am very lucky to have my very awesome Uncle Larry hosting me for the next 9 days in the UK so all the fantastic things that I get to do are thanks to him! 

After arriving in St. Pancras station in London I was immediately greeted by the wonderful Olympic volunteers who are all over the city as well dressed in pink. They are super helpful and just wonderful. There were also some French olympians on my train which was kind of cool, though I didn't meet them.

After finding my way to Leicester square (pronounced 'lester') I finally met up with Uncle Larry and we immediately got down to business. I have never been to London so I let the pro take the lead. We made our rounds down through Piccadilly Circus to Oxford street, over to Hyde Park, down through Trafalgar Square and eventually to the London Eye.

On our way, we passed through this awesome park right in front of the US Embassy where they had massive board games and where men in suits were playing ping-pong. How cool?!?

Walking around London was just super cool. Seeing all of the sights that make London so iconic in person with the added excitement in the air from the Olympics just makes the city incredible beyond words. I ran into a Canadian archer today at the eye and we chatted for a bit about where we go to school (he goes to U of T) and he called Western a party school (which it honestly has gained a bit of a reputation for… but I also firmly believe that a school can be both fun and academically strong). 

Anyways, London is just so amazing, the culture here is so strong that you can't help but suck it up. The matching red double decker busses, post boxes, and phone booths… the police officers who just look ridiculous in their helmets… the Olympic mascot who looks like an alien blob… and the throngs of people who are just excited about London itself makes an already amazing city unforgettable.

Tonight I had the special treat of seeing Les Miserables for my first time in the West End Theater District. I have always loved the music from the play so getting to see it in person capped off one of the best days of my trip so far in a spectacular fashion.

PS: Eponine absolutely killed it - not that the entire cast wasn't outstanding as well.

PPS: How appropriate that I was able to see this play a mere few days after visiting the grave of Victor Hugo in Paris' Pantheon.

Trip Counter:

Days: 45

Cities: 30

Countries: 12

Planes: 3

Trains: 21

Automobiles (cabs & busses): so many busses!

Bikes: 1

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy (62%), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11%)

Castles: 7

Pantheons: 2

Churches: Scores

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Paris, Paris, and more Paris!

Paris Paris and more Paris

The past few days in Paris have been super busy seeing as much as I can of what this amazing city has to offer.

On Sunday we headed to Versailles for the fountain fair which occurs on Sundays - the fountains are turned on a couple times each Sunday and the gardens really shine as much as they once did. 

We did not end up going into the Palace at Versailles because the line was super long and we heard that it is not worth it. Instead, we went into Marie Antoinette's house and the house of Louis XV which are both on the grounds of the gardens (and are both free to enter for students!). 

Marie's House:

Louis XIV's Bedroom:

After a long day at Versailles, we had an early night. On Monday we got up early and toured all around Paris. We wanted to go to a few museums that were close on Mondays (as many are in Europe), and ended up seeing my second Pantheon of the summer (where a ton of really important people are buried), Notre Dame, the Palace of Justice, and the Montmartre area. 

Montmartre includes the opulent Basilica de Sacre-Coeur, 

a fantastic overlook of Paris,

and the red light district of Paris.

Today was a bit of a more relaxing day. We started off with an early morning at the Catacombs which open at 10:00 but if you arrive there after 9:30 don't expect to get in before 10:45-ish. The accessible area of the catacombs are 2 km long but they extend in a much larger labyrinth underneath Paris. Apparently there are 6 million bodies located in the tombs and they are super creepy to say the least - though slightly less so than those of Rome because the bones are just stacked, not arranged artistically which is somehow weirder for me. The catacombs make up only 1/800th of the huge limestone quarries that permeate the soil under Paris. which is super cool and very crazy. It's amazing how awesome the Metro system is in Paris and how it was built snaking through all of the hidden gems that exist beneath the surface of this city. Speaking of the metro, it is SO big. The only thing I can compare it to is the Berlin u-Bahn and s-Bahn which are both fantastic as well. There are a million stops that are just so convenient. Yes, sometimes it smells and often there are tons of steps to get up and down between the streets or to transfer between lines, but it is so complete that it's worth it.

I also made it to the Musee d'Orsay this afternoon to see their fantastic impressionist exhibit. Their collection of Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, etc. was really impressive. In fact, they had a whole room dedicated to Van Gogh and yet they had so many of his pieces around the museum that not only did they have a Van Gogh exhibit, but his pieces were also placed elsewhere in the museum because they had so many. The only place where I saw more of his work was in the Van Gogh museum itself in Amsterdam! Can you tell that I really like his art?

Tomorrow I get to take a ride through the Channel Tunnel (chunnel) to London to meet up with my Uncle Larry and take in the Olympic atmosphere! Unfortunately that means saying goodbye to Lindsay but it was great travelling with her for the past two weeks. Thanks Lindsay!

Special Notes for this post:

Happy Birthday to one of my oldest friends, Zak, and of course - just for Sarah, Happy Birthday to Harry Potter.

Trip Counter:

Days: 44

Cities: 29

Countries: 11

Planes: 3

Trains: 20

Automobiles (cabs & busses): so many busses!

Bikes: 1

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy (62%), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11%)

Castles: 7

Churches: Scores

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My Paris Premier

This trip I will be spending about 6 days in and around Paris - so far I've had only 2. thusfar, Paris has really delivered and I truly am incredibly impressed with everything that it has to offer - not that I've even seen a reasonable portion of it. On a  side note, sorry for the delay in posting this - the internet at the hostel is brutally bad which is very disappointing. I arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon and after checking into my hostel, the St. Christopher's, I headed to the very first place I could think of - the Louvre. Here's a little known fact, the Louvre is FREE on Friday afternoons between 6:00 and 9:45 to people under the age of 25 (with valid ID). So, I got the double bonus of seeing the Louvre and not paying a cent for the opportunity. Obviously I hit up the most famous sights in the museum: the Mona Lisa (yes, we all know it's small and overrated, but you still need to go see it and try and get a half decent picture… which I will spare you. Just Wikipedia it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_lisa.), the other Da Vinci masterpieces (which everyone just walks by in their lust approaching Mona), and my personal favourite, the Code of Hamurabi.

Today started with a morning walking tour of Paris - a great introduction to the city from New Europe - Free Walking Tours. I highly recommend finding their tours all over Europe - our guide Lauren was great! The tour started near Notre-Dame at the Fountain at Saint Michel. We walked along the Seine towards the Louvre and then over to the Hotel Des Invalides where Napoleone Bonaparte is buried. I learned all about french history, saw many of the important (and also not so important) sites throughout the centre of Paris. (Devil Wears Prada Spoiler Alert) Most importantly, we saw the fountain where Anne Hathaway threw her cell phone into the fountain at the end of the Devil Wears Prada. Another interesting thing that I learned is that the Louvre was built in parts by each king of France, so when Henry II built the first part of it, he had an 'H' carved into the walls, however he also was supposed to carve a 'C' for Catharine, his wife into the walls as well, however, as evidenced all over the exterior of the Louvre, it is an H and a D instead - the D being the first initial of the name of his mistress instead. Awesome. It's incredible how much Napoleon shaped the city in his brief time as emperor. After the tour concluded, I headed off to the Eiffel Tower to see it in all its glory during the way.

It is both very ugly and beautiful in its raw construction - a perfect juxtaposition for the old beauty of Paris which was luckily not scarred much by WWII due to a brave German general who refused to blow up Paris after Hitler apparently ordered it. After visiting the tower, I headed to the Arc de Triomphe which houses France's war memorials - it is very pretty and a great start to the Champs Elysees.

I then walked down the Champs and since we came across an english language cinema showing Dark Knight Rises in 15 minutes, the group that I was with decided to take a nice little break from touring and see the movie - one that we had all yet to see because we've been travelling. I must say, it was the perfect break from all of the learning that has been going on and generally is a fantastic addition to the Batman empire. Although the ending isn't completely shocking to say the least - could have predicted most of it… Guess I'm just used to the action genre. That being said, I am a huge fan and would recommend it to anyone who likes action movies - my heart was racing the entire time. Yes, the villain (Bane) is hard to understand because the sound is muffled and his mouth is covered for the whole film, but the dialogue isn't always crucial, the plot is fairly evident if you watch closely. After the slightly mindless break from touring, we got back to walking around the Champs back towards the Eiffel tower for a look at it at night. Each hour on the hour after sundown, the tower shimmers for a couple minutes and is even more beautiful than it normally is.

Following my second encounter with the tower I called it a night back at the hostel. Tomorrow morning is Versailles!

Trip Counter:

Days: 41

Cities: 29

Countries: 11

Planes: 3

Trains: 18

Automobiles (cabs & busses): so many busses!

Bikes: 1

Books Read: The Social Animal - David Brooks, The Presidents Club - Nancy Gibbs & Michael Duffy (62%), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11%)