A Half-Dozen Healys

Jason: Today is our final day in Europe, and while we're sad to end our adventure, we are looking forward to sleeping in our own beds once again.

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Carolyn: We've made it back to London! We left Joanne's this morning after a quick trip to Innos Market. We took the Metro across town to the Gare du Nord station to pick up the Eurostar train to Waterloo. We were early arriving to the station so we sat at a table and were promptly berated my a mean French guy who wanted us to buy three strawberry tarts in order to sit at the table. (We left.) We finally boarded the train and waved goodbye to Paris.

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Amy: Today was our last full day in Paris. On Joanne's excellent recommendation, we started the day at a nearby open-air market, which is only open throughout the summer on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It was very interesting to see all the food on display for purchase - fish, sausages, meat, olives. I got to sample some cheese and olives, which was neat. I perused the jewelry and clothes, and you will be happy to know I passed up the sparkly ("bling") tank tops AND all the jewelry - a huge feat for me. Carolyn and I got some beautiful pashminas (scarves).

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Jason: Today we took a trip to the 'burbs of Paris, to the château at Versailles. Joanne pointed us to a nearby rail line that took us to the town; from there it was a short walk to the château itself. On the way in the gates, a French TV crew stopped me and asked me how the French treated tourists. I prattled on about being treated well (especially given my utter lack of understanding the French language), and the producer nodded vigorously before releasing me. I'm sure the footage will end up on the cutting room floor, right next to my 2nd-grade Japanese computer TV commercial.

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Carolyn: Today's agenda: Île de la Citè. The Île de la Citè is one of two islands smack in the middle of the Seine. It's very big and easily accessible by metro. We arrived on the Île de la Citè at about 11:30 and headed straight for Notre Dame. Notre Dame is, of course, the grand cathedral in Paris. It continues to hold daily masses and is free to the public. We went in and Jay began to videotape. I lit a prayer candle and talked about Catholicism with the Healys. I also paid 3€ and went into the sacristy, which holds old reliquaries and the outfit that Napoleon wore to his son's baptism. After leaving the cathedral, we took a leisurely walk towards the Holocaust Memorial, with several souvenir stops along the way. When we arrived at the Memorial, we discovered it was closed for lunch (these Parisian landmarks close daily for a two-hour lunch). So we headed over to Saint-Chappelle, to find that it too closed for lunch. Finally we made it into the Conciergerie, the old Revolution-era prison that was home to Marie-Antoinette, Robespierre and others until their respective executions. (They kept talking about tumbrils and I kept seeing A Tale of Two Cities in my head.) We saw Marie-Antoinette's cell (a replica) and other prison miscellany.

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Amy: We are thoroughly enjoying our stay in this apartment! We are so grateful to our hosts, who will be arriving home tomorrow. For those of you who were confused about yesterday's blog title, part of our "entrance ticket" to Paris was to transport a rather large and heavy copper fish pan that Joe and Lisa had bought for Joanne back in the states. Jason had meticulously packed the fish pan within our luggage (along with a bottle of Basil Hayden Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, a request from our host), but the airlines decided to search that bag and throw the weight off-kilter. So the fish pan has heard some sarcastic comments from Jason as he wheeled it through the streets of London and up and down stairs in the subway. But, at long last, it has found it's home!

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Jason: Today was our last day at the Balincourt Hotel, our home away from home in Bournemouth. We'll miss the full breakfast, charming rooms, and friendly hosts, though the one thing I won't miss is the utter lack of water pressure. They keep the hot water near boiling; I assume this is so we can brew our afternoon tea in the sink. However, if you're in the shower and anybody in the county flushes their toilet, you're treated to a scalding Steam Bath Torture™. On the upside, we haven't needed to iron our clothes, but on the downside we're missing several layers of skin. But I digress...

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Carolyn: It's wedding day! Today we got up for breakfast at the usual time, but instead of dressing for the beach, we groomed ourselves to look fab for Sarah and Max's wedding. We cabbed down to the wedding, which was held at the Methodist Church in Bournemouth. The service was about 45 minutes long, and had lovely readings and hymns. The minister made a point to say that friends and family help to make a marriage successful, and we all had to vow to support the bride and groom, which was a touching addition to the ceremony.

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Jason: After last night's festivities, we're ready for a day of playing tourist in Bournemouth. Bournemouth is an old resort town, and people have been coming to the area for a long time to soak in the rays on the beach and enjoy their holiday (note usage of British term for "vacation"). According to informative posters, the town's primary source of income before tourism was that of smuggling. Arrr, matey.

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Amy: Alas, today was our last day at the fabulous Ritz Carlton Plaza (oh wait, I mean the Wellington, our home away from home). While the benefits of dorm living have begun to wear thin (no toilet paper in the bathrooms, damp towels, stickers on the furniture from former students advocating vegetarianism), we've made the best of it and figure we'll just appreciate our rooms at the bed and breakfast in Bournemouth even more. Jason and Carolyn headed down for the last breakfast of the never-ending stacks of toast, while Amy slept in a bit (gasp!).

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Jason: Amy and I decided to be ambitious and head for the Tower of London, which is one of the main tourist attractions in the City. The Gods of Queuing are with us, and the place isn't completely mobbed. We take a tour with a Yeoman Warder, better known as a "Beefeater". He provides a humorous and interesting history of the Tower, even going so far as to compliment Amy's neck (right after a long discussion of public beheadings).

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Carolyn: Today was the day of multiple modes of transportation. However, our first ride on the tube was delayed by about 25 minutes in a very curious fashion. We walked to the Victoria tube station in plenty of time to begin our journey. There had been some sort of hold-up on the tube, and they were only letting people up; we couldn't get down. We thought they might, say, alternate every 5 minutes or so, but no - we were still waiting for way too long (which later caused us to miss the first bus to Wantage). In any case, we trekked out to Wantage to see Sarah and Max's apartment (flat?) and in doing so, we walked, took the tube, rode a train, and experienced a double-decker bus. Folks, riding a double-decker bus through the English countryside is not for the faint of heart. The streets are incredibly narrow and bordered by trees. These trees often hang into the road and will smack into the upper windshield. It's like a Russian roulette game of when one will be heavy enough to break the windshield and decapitate you. However, the British drivers seem confident and progress down these road with speed. (Even a guy in a motorized wheelchair scooter was in the middle of the road doing at least 20 mph.) England is also different from the US as there is very little "suburban sprawl." When a town ends, it just completely stops and all of a sudden the bus is careening through fields. Fields of what, we never quite figured out, even though Jason tried mightily. Maybe wheat?

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Amy: Today was our first day in London, and we certainly made the best of it. After leaving the hotel and marveling at the cool but temperate weather, we walked back into Victoria Station, which is the nearest tube station to our hotel. It's about a ten-minute walk, and it was much quicker without dragging the baggage. We decided we would buy a bus pass for the day. After figuring out the ticket machines and the bus maps, we hopped on our first double-decker city bus. We sat up on top, and we watched the sights roll by before we hopped out in Trafalgar Square. This is the famous location of the many flying pigeons. (Sidenote: Can anyone verify if Trafalgar Square is the location in that jewelry commerical for the three-stone ring where the man asks the woman to marry him again, and then all her family is sitting on the steps?). Anyway, it was cool to finally be in famous places that we recognized. We took pictures in front of the first of many statues of men with or without horses.

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Jason: dawn arrives early in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My wonderful Aunt Cynthia, who let us spend the night in her house, is also nice enough to wake up and drive us to the airport. Check-in is uneventful, and we're on the plane for a timely departure.

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