DrStroz.com

This is a guest post by Benjamin M. Strozykowski from the Stroz.net blog.

Well, Thursday was a bit of a disappointment for us both.

We started driving at around 10:15pm on Wednesday night and, other than stopping for gas, drove through until we arrived at our hotel around 10:30am. They let us check in early, so we hauled all of our stuff up here and I basically just passed out, after not having slept for 27 hours.

I woke up around 3:30pm, and it was raining. What a bummer, we were planning on going out to the beach on our first day, but it’s thundering pretty bad. So, we decided to shower and get ready, and we headed over to our favorite restaurant of the area, The Crab Shack.

I got the BBQ Ribs, and Myriah got the Half-and-Half with shrimp and crab legs. We shared each of our dishes, as they are always monstrous. After dinner, we walked around a bit, looked at the alligator pond, saw a few cats, and went into the bird house to see the Macaw’s and other Parrots.

We got in the car, and headed back to the hotel, and I decided I wanted ice cream, so we stopped at the ATM, then headed over to the “Sugar Shack” for some hand-dipped icecream. Myriah got a chocolate malt, and I got a cookie dough scoop on a waffle cone.

We drove back to the hotel, and decided that since it wasn’t raining, and it was warm enough, maybe we should at least go walk on the beach, so we headed over (Myriah had finished her malt, I was still carrying my ice cream). When we got there, we could see a visible divide in the sky where the thunderheads were moving in over the ocean. It was really neat, one side a light grey, the other almost black.

Myriah saw one lone seagull, so she asked for a bit of my cone, and threw it to him. As the cone chunk left her hand, 50 more seagulls showed up, staring at Myriah. So, we fed them a few more chunks, and it started to rain really hard.

We made it back to the hotel and into the freezing air conditioning.

If only today would be any different, but it looks like the Weather Channel has other ideas for us:

Last night Joe and I went out and walked along the Seine. We saw the Place de la Concord, Jardins de Tuileries and the Eiffel Tower lit up with bright lights. Eiffel Tower was covered with huge strobe lights and 2 spinning spotlights off the top. This morning we rode the Metropolitan (subway) to the Arc de Triomphe. We did not go up to the top because the line was incredibly long. Walked back to the hotel along the Champs Elysees. Stopped for lunch at the Grande Hotel across from the Opera Garnier. Joe said it was a wallet busting lunch. Went into the Opera house. Saw the grand staircase and even got to go into an opera box. The place is very beautiful. Extremely ornate with a lot of wasted space. This evening we’ll be packing and preparing for our trip home tomorrow. We are taking a shuttle bus to the airport around 9:30 a.m. Our flight takes off around 12:25 p.m. We should arrive at Dulles around 2:50 p.m (local time). Then of course our 3 hour drive home in the limo. See everyone when we arrive.

We were awoken in the middle of the night by a horrific thunder and lightening storm. There was torrential rain but fortunately non of it got in our open window. By the time we left for our 1/2 day tour of Historic Paris and Notre Dame, the rain had pretty much subsided. We drove around the city and saw the Sorbonne, Latin Quarter, Bastille Square, and the Opera Garnier. Then, we took a short boat ride to Notre Dame (buses are not allowed on it’s island). By the time our guide got us in we only had 15 minutes to look around. We decided to break away from the group and walk back (it wasn’t that far). This way we got to look around Notre Dame for an hour and then we walked down the street to St. Chapelle. There are incredible stained glass windows there. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a little bistro for a late lunch. We got club sandwiches and for dessert we split creme brulee, tiramisu, and a strawberry tart. Excellent! Joe had my dad go to use the toilets because they had pissoirs. Came back to the hotel and relaxed for a little while. Dinner tonight will be finishing up some of the snacks that we brought with us so that we don’t have to pack them for the ride home. Tomorrow, we’re going to the Arc de Triomphe and Opera Garnier.

This is a guest post by Benjamin M. Strozykowski from his blog at Stroz.net

My wife and I will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary on Saturday. We both have been looking forward to our trip to Tybee Island in Georgia for a long weekend.

We are leaving tonight, and driving all night to get there. This is no small feat, as it turns out this should be around an 11.5 hour drive.

Myriah worked 11 hours today, and has been working overtime for the past two, so she is ready for a nice nights’ sleep in the car on the ride down. I’m going to be entertaining myself with podcasts (Diggnation, The Totally Rad Show) and a radio show (Slipstream from the BBC).

We’re very, very excited about all of this, so I will probably be writing about the goings on here on the blog.

If all goes well, we’ll be spending most of our time on the beach. We also plan to go to the Crab Shack (one of our favorite places down there), and going on a “haunted walk” in Savannah.

All in all, it should be a fun vacation, with time for just the two of us. As long as the weather does better than what is expected, things will be dandy.

Up early this morning to go to the Louvre. There was a long line but we got in first because of my mom’s wheelchair. Pretty cool! Walked all over the Louvre. Saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Code of Hammurabi, and Napoleon III Apartments. We also saw the inverted pyramid from the Davinci Code. Came back to the hotel to freshen up and then off to Eglise du Dome where Napoleon Bonaparte is buried. He has a massive tomb in red granite. Then, we walked to Eiffel Tower. We probably walked 2 miles from our hotel to Eiffel Tower, but remember we’re pushing a wheelchair the entire way. Another incredibly long line at the Eiffel Tower. We got to go up right away again because of my mom (traveling with her does have it’s benefits). Got great views of the city because it is very sunny and hot here today. High around 90. We wimped out and payed for a cab back towards our hotel and the Hard Rock Cafe. We did walk back to the hotel which is about a 10-15 minute walk. Tomorrow, we have a half day tour of the city. We’ll be seeing the Opera Garnier (Phantom of the Opera), Le Sorbonne, and we’ll be going in Notre Dame. We’ll think of something to do in our free time in the afternoon.

This morning we started with a half day tour to Versailles. The chateau is only about 12 miles outside of Paris. Versailles has 2000 rooms and they are huge. You can’t imagine the size of the place. We only saw a little piece of it (maybe 20 rooms). Louie XIV’s bedroom has 88 pounds of gold leaf on the walls! Briefly walked through the gardens before getting on the bus to return to Paris. There was an hour interval between Versailles and our second tour to Chartres Cathedral. This time we had about an hour and a half ride. The Cathedral had amazing stained glass windows and is huge. There is even a maze on the floor in the nave for penitents. It’s 150 ft. long and you do it on your knees while praying (we didn’t do it). We had to pay 40 cents to use the bathroom before we got back on the bus. Both of our rides today were in a closed double decker bus. Back in Paris, ate dinner at McDonald’s again. Tomorrow, we’re planning on going to the Louvre and the Opera Garnier. We’ll look for Mary Magdalen’s tomb under the pyramid just like Tom Hanks.

Joe has a bad cold from the crappy London air. Fortunately, we brought a Z-Pak along with us.

Got up early and took 2 cabs (we have 8 pieces of luggage, a wheelchair and 4 carry ons) to St. Pancras Station to catch the Chunnel (Eurostar) to Paris. Shot through London mostly in tunnels. We were at Folkestone before we knew it. We couldn’t see much when we were under water- just a black tube. The entire ride from London to Paris was only 2 and a half hours. We think we were going about 100 mph. Very smooth ride. When we arrived in Paris we took a van to our hotel. We’re staying at the Louvre St. Romain which is directly across the street from the Louvre. After settling in, we walked over to the Jardin de Tuilleries and down to the Place de Concord. Walked the Champs Elysees almost to the Arc de Triomphe. Also, walked to the Alexandre III Bridge. Ate dinner at McDonald’s, which serves beer by the way. It still cost 25 Euros ($37). Tomorrow, we have an all day tour of Versailles and Chartres Cathedral.

On our way to the Tower this morning we walked past the Monument on Pudding Lane where the fire of 1666 started. Spent all day at Tower of London today. Toured all around the White and Bloody Towers. Saw all the Queen’s Jewels and Crowns. Then, walked over to the Tower Bridge. Saw it open and close once. Road up one tower to the top and walked across to the other tower. Nice views except it’s sprinkled on and off all day. Went to Planet Hollywood for dinner. Tonight we’re packing up to prepare for our journey to Paris tomorrow. We’ll be riding the Chunnel EuroStar tomorrow morning all the way into Paris.

Had trouble getting around London today because 2 of the tube lines were completely shut down for repairs. But we got to Westminster Abbey this morning just as it was opening. And just as it started to rain. Today is the first day that we’ve really seen rain and it was only sprinkles. Walked around the Abbey and saw all of the tombs of the famous people buried there. Afterwards we went over to the Thames riverside and saw the Golden Hinde (Sir Frances Drake’s ship). Then, we ate lunch at The Anchor. Fish and chips of course. Tom Cruise supposedly ate there. I know- big whoop. We walked past The Globe Theatre and then across the Millenium Bridge making our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Once inside, Joe and I walked up 285 steps to the Whispering Gallery. You can stand on opposites sides of the dome (which is huge) and whisper and the person on the other side can hear you. It really worked. Joe and I could hear each other. Also saw a wedding party going in as we were going out. Hot pink and silver. Yuck! Came back to the hotel and spent an hour doing laundry. I think it was my father’s first time ever. Ha-ha! Back at the hotel my dad and Joe were very interested in the 10 or 15 girls dressed up like Playboy Bunnies. We think it was a bachelorette party. Ordered pizza for dinner again. Tomorrow, we’re going to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

Up early this morning for the longest tour of our lives. Left at 8:10 from the bus station for a 13 hour tour. First stop was Windsor Castle. Unfortunatley, we only had an hour and a half here so we kind of rushed through the castle and chapel. Thankfully, we’d been here before. We saw the fields of Eton from the tower. On the drive we saw the fields of Runnymeade where the Magna Carta was signed. Also saw Ascot horse racing track where My Fair Lady was filmed. Second stop was Stonehenge. Apparently I shouldn’t make fun of my dad’s driving skills. All of the people on our tour were saying what a great job he was doing. The tour guide even said that he had muscles like a lion and that he was amazing. Then, I get to push her at Stonehenge and I hit a bump and tip the chair over. Don’t worry: she’s fine but I guess I shouldn’t be driving either. Then, we drove forever to Bath. Joe walked up beside me on the street as we were getting off the bus and said “Hey beautiful. Is it okay if I walk with you?” The lady in front of us thought that he was talking to her because she gave Joe a really weird look. We had a chance to go into Bath Abbey (snuck in the back way so we didn’t have to pay). We took a quick look around the Roman Baths before leaving to go back to the city. Arrived back in London around 9:00. Ate fish and chips at The Shakespeare Pub. Tomorrow we’re on our own again. We’re planning on going to Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral.