Luxembourg, Paris, and Home

Well the end of my trip has concluded but the memories will always be remembered. I am glad to be back in the States for many reasons but mainly simple things like staying in a place more than a couple of days, food (refills and free water), not having to worry about losing something (passport, credit cards), etc. I loved being over there and I am sure I will go back someday but this trip was amazing and the amount of experiences that occured were priceless. Now being back here I must continue on with my life and focus on the upcoming challenging school year and getting things ready for that while trying to get back in contact with friends. No more travel plans are scheduled for this summer so I guess that gives me time to think about my next big adventure. Well I guess now to the last 5 days of my trip:

Luxembourg
We arived in Luxembourg City in the afternoon and took a bus to our hostel. It was a very nice hostel. That night be walked around the town and also got some groceries. That evening, while setting out back in this open area, we met an orchastra from Slovenia. They were having a small party of sorts becuase the next day they were scheduled to play. We also became friends with the Slovenia Wine Queen (sort of like a state fair queen, she gets paid, has a car, and dress, ect.) It was a really fun night because they invited us to partake in their little party.

The next day we toured more around Luxembourg and were able to take a guided tour of the Duke's Palace. It was small but very interesting since it is still being used to this date. That afternoon we were able to see our new friends from Slovenia perform. That evening we got to bed a little earlier since we had to get up early in the morning to go to Paris.

The following day we arrived in Paris! After getting to our hostel and aquainted we tried to go to Versailles for the afternoon. After about 30 minutes of using the metro system we found out that the spot we needed to get on a suburban train was closed. We were not sure how else to get out there so we decided to tour paris that afternoon. We first went to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. This was my second time being there but this time I got to go to the top. The view from up there was amazing and gave a great description of how big Paris actually is. Following this we started out on a path to see the Parthanon, Luxembourg Palace, Nepoleon's tomb, and the Eiffel tower. After seeing all of these sights we went back to the hostel for dinner. That evening we decided to go out on the town. We figured that it would be smart to walk to where we wanted to go that evening just in case the metro was closed by the time we wanted to go back. We were directed to go to a certain area of Paris to experience the night life and we set off for that area. Well after walking about an hour and a half thru some shady areas we decided to take the metro back and call it a night lol.

The next day we got up and went to this white churh that was on a hill that overlooked the city. Great view. The next stop was the the Arc de Triumph and we went to the top of here. It was really cool because some 13 streets come together at the Arc and also gave another great view! We then walked down to the Louvre area and then headed to Crypts of Paris. Unfortunately we were unable to go in because the place of closing soon and the line was way to long. From there we went to a train station to get Greg a train to Frankfurt for his flight home. After working that out we headed back to the Louvre area and did a little souvenir shopping and got slushies at this little fair they were having in that area. After this headed for the Eiffel tower. We went to the top and had yet another amazing view! After this we ate at a cheap asian resturant. Then headed back to the Eiffel tower to see the light show when the sun went down. It was awesome!

The nex day Greg and I got up early and headed to the Louvre. We were able to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, Revived by Cupid's Kiss, Nike of Samothrace, and Liberty Leading the People. We spent around 4 hours there and it was quite interesting. There is so much art there that I dont even think we saw half of it. After the Louvre we headed out to Versailles. The bad thing about it was that the Palace was closed on Mondays and we werent able to go in. This is the second time I have gone to Versailles and not able to go in the Palace. We did however went to the gardens that I really like and they are huge! That evening we went out to a nicer resturaunt for dinner. I had duck and it was really good.

The next day was the start of the long travels. It tooks us about an hour metro/train to Charles de Galle Airport. Finally got checked in and thru security. Then off to London. Then back thru security. Then to Chicago on a 7 hour trip. I somehow got a seat that had extended leg room. I also watched a couple of movies. Then arrived to Chicago. Went thru Customs, then security. Had dinner at Chilli's and got our monies worth of free refills. Then off to KC. Mom Dad and Brother picked me up. around 22 hours worth of traveling that day and I was really tired.

Well that is the conclusion of my Europe Backpacking Extravaganza! I thank you for following with me thru my travels and I hope that you enjoyed some of the posts that I have put on here. I am very fortunate to be able to do things like this and I am thankful for all of you that contributed in my experience. Thank you and I hope you liked this becuase I know for sure that I have!