Hell yeah! Pete, the Hiking Machine here and let me say again Hell yeah! The reason I was back on the trail finishing the Bullen Hollow Trail.
If you remember, the Lummox wet his diaper on an aborted trip up this trail. However, today I carried him up the full length of the Bullen Hollow Trail. The Lummox liked the trail for the views I liked that it was steep in spots...just the way the Hiking Machine likes it. One thing we both liked was the snow. Once we got to the Deer Pond at the end of the trail there was an old truck. Anyway, that is all as the Lummox will have more which means I am out...BITCHES!
It was back to the Cabin early this week for four days in Southwest Virginia.
We went over on Sunday afternoon and we're greeted by snow on Clinch Mountain. It seemed to snow from Gate City to Midway quite a bit. But surprisingly there was none in Fort Blackmore and even more so with the lack of it on High Knob.
I decided to go out with Bax (and Pete which he forgot to mention) for a quick hike because I knew what was coming on Monday a day of rain. Not just rain, but a cold one all day and then thunderstorms that night. It was because of this we stayed over there Tuesday.
Speaking of Tuesday it was pretty sloppy out that morning and indeed the rest of the day. The temperature was more spring-like than winter. So it made the early afternoon in the barn clearing out some stuff not half bad. Since I had promised Bax my last task of the day was to take him on a hike. On this we encountered turkeys and deer...both he and Bax enjoyed themselves.
Since I started this blog with snow why not finish with some pictures I took of Camp Creek Bald this past weekend.
Hell yeah, Pete, the Hiking Machine, coming to you from the trail on Wood Booger Ridge. I really wanted to be on my Knob sending this out to all of the jabronis out there, but the Lummox had to bigger that big white tank...Kaiser Bax along. However, after rain all day yesterday (I would have gone out but the pansy wouldn't) so beggers can't be choosers on this glorious Tuesday. So with that, I am out...BITCHES!
The fourth blog where the second week of my trip to Europe headed to France and its wonderous capital Paris.
Day Eight: Switzerland To France & Paris (July 17, 2010)
Day eight of the trip started a little sadly as we prepared to leave the fabulous land of Switzerland. However, the French countryside is beautiful. One of the areas we passed was the Champagne region. Remember, if it doesn't come from here it is Sparkling Wine.
Saying goodbye to Switzerland...
...& hello to France
The French Countryside...
...a chateau...
& another.
French Churches
Summer sunflowers
Once in Paris we first went to the hotel (Pullman Paris Centre Bercy) before heading out. First was off to dinner at Les Noces de Jeannette. Here I had the French delicacy, Escargot...they were amazing. Then it was to BLANK to watching the evening lighting of the Eifel Tower. This is one of the most popular tourist destinations and the crowd showed this. Then the rest of the evening was an after-dark trip around Paris, proving it is the City of Lights.
Our full day in Paris would be a busy one. We started out with a trip down the Champs-Élysées and a stop at the Arc de Triomphe. Commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte it was built in the style of Roman Triumphant arches, except bigger. It was completed in the 1830s.
Next stop the iconic Effiel Tower. Built-in 1889 We saw it lit up the evening before but now was time to go up into the 1,063-foot tower. I would like to say I went to the top, but alas no. The reason because of the small elevator going up from the middle observation area, the line was loooong. The view from the middle deck was still spectacular!
The Eiffel Tower
Looking Northwest towards Jardins du Trocadéro
Clockwise Left: Arc de Triomphe, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Sacré Coeur Basilica, & Les Invalides
Champ de Mars
Looking up the Iron Lady
For our next destination, we had a choice between the Palace of Versailles or the Louvre...so we choose the former. There were a lot of great things to see, but the most famous is the painting by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa.
The Louvre
The Pyramid
Inside the Louvre
Ceiling painting
The most famous painting in the world...
...the Mona Lisa
Paintings of Louis XIV
The Imperial Crows of Napolean (L) & Joséphine (R)
The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David
Portrait de Jeanne d'Aragon & Death of Cleopatra
Venus de Milo
Roman Emperors
The Great Sphinx of Tanis
Sarcophagus
Sarcophagus of Pharaoh Sekhemre-Wepmaat
Processional Way of Sphinxes
Colossal statue of Ramesses II
It was here that I decided to make a detour to the Les Invalides which contains the Tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. Let me say it isn't a short detour (about three miles), but since I am a historian and I don't know if I would get back to Paris I decided to just go...I am glad I did. Once back I knocked one more food item off my bucket list, foigra.
Anyway, that concluded our time in Paris. Let me say that I didn't find Parisians rude and Paris is a wonderful city. It is what Rome once was before the Christians dismantled it. If there is ever a world capital, it should be Paris...
