Reims

Sadly, Reims was under construction while we were there.

I’ve been told that the main drag is really quite lovely, when the barricades are down.

Of course, Reims has its obligatory Roman ruins. But I love what they did with the multiple style road blocks.

And the cathedral. This is where all the French kings were crowned.

Saint-Dénis.

Saint-Dénis is a banlieue (suburb) on the northern edge of Paris, but it has a long, rich history.

Today, it has a lively market. This picture was taken after Richard and I broke free from the crowds. There were times we literally couldn’t move.

This is the only picture that I took of a stained glass window that actually came out pretty good. One out of many dozens of pictures of the seemingly unending list of cathédrals, églises and basiliques that I was in; not a very good percentage ratio.

The Cathédral of Saint-Dénis is where all the French kings and queens and dukes and dutchesses and marquis and (ad naseum)…are buried.

Paris

What can be said about Paris?

Yeah, it’s got a couple of halfway decent museums.

The Seine is kind of picturesque, if you squint your eyes.

The gardens are above average.

There are odd little pieces of marble all over the place.



Okay, second trip to Paris and I am still madly in love!

J'aime Paris!

My new Icelandic friend

Hey, at least he isn't imaginary, unlike most of my other friends.

Nature Day In Iceland.

It wasn’t Richard’s favorite day. Rain, gloomy skies, 55 degrees and a tour guide comparing Iceland to Siberia soured him on the island nation as a top vacation spot. I however, loved it.

Geysir: the grand-daddy of them all. (And by the way, Geysir is his name, just like Old Faithful.)

Gullfoss: the amazing waterfall. Pictures don’t do it justice, so I will post a couple to bore the peewaddens out of you.



Thingvellir: where the North American and European plates are splitting apart. The place isn’t spelled with a “Th”, but a letter that is otherwise non-existent and I can’t find on the internet. It’s kind of like a “P” at half mast.

Velkomin til ĺsland!

That may, or may not, be an appropriate welcome to Iceland. I learned two words of Icelandic (ĺslenska) while I was there. ‘Hæ’ which is pronounced like “Hi” and is translated to (you better sit down folks, this is a mind-boggler) “Hi”. And then there is “Takk”, which is actually short for some phrase that can only be pronounced after decades of speech therapy. It means “Thanks”. Say it twice (“Takk Takk”) and you are damn near a local.


The iconic church in Reykjavik.



Something of a typical street scene in Reykjavik.



Come on folks, it is just funny! (It's an advertisement in the window of a bar!)

We are home.

We are tired.

Pictures and travel tidbits to follow.