Show April 13 1995 Page 5 lion of Inurisis in a given place at any time After our bus lour we ventured on out to Windsor Castle The castle began construction over 900 years ago by William the Conqueror and is still used by the present royal family We had dinner that evening in a pub in London and enjoyed traditional English fare We usually had evenings on our own so that night it was off to the Hard Rock Cafe This is r the first one ever built and it was here where a few of us quickly look —— musicians arc buried here or have memorials enshrined to them including Henry Purcell Queen Elizabeth I King Henry VII Charles Dickens and Isaac Newton Then it was on to The National Gallery Here you can find paintings by such masters as drinking age IK One thing you learn quickly at places like this is you seem to always exit through a gill shop Day 4 32(195 small village on the hanks of the Avon and is home to the clothing from Versace to Levi Strauss After shopping at the mother of all stores it was time to head to the concert to end all concerts— the artist formerly known as Prince Well it seems Mister “I have a name that is unpronounceable" thinks he doesn't have to perform any songs that were written as lrincc (in other words any song that anyone would know ) and still command 40 bucks a ticket I must admit he did put on a great show regardless After a stop in C unterhury we drove Bren Johnson Royal Shakespearean Theatre That evening the group decided to sec a play but what did materialistic Danny do? I went shopping with my fellow cohort Tara Bonaquisto We relumed to Piccadilly and visited Madame Tussaud's Rock Circus This place was incredible if you're a fan of American music which the English arc Tliey have wax statues of everyone from Buddy Holly to Bon Jovi and the likeness of these models was uncanny Then we went and took night shots of Big Ben and Westminster Ahhey Day world's largest department store I larrods They boast 400 different types of cheeses in their deli and every brand name of Day 6 32295 Shakespeare's birth place Stratford is a 532195 This would be the craziest day of tlic trip if not my life! It was to be our last day in lamdon and we were free from the tour group We had a lot to see ami not a lot of lime to do it in It started at Westminster Ahhey ’Iliis is one of the most cathedrals in the world Many of the worlds greatest leaders poets and breath-takin- g to Dover where we boarded a ferry that would lake us not just one hour further ahead of mountain standard Tara Bonaquisto at the Arch De Triumph Paris time but across the English Channel and Michelangelo Rubens Rembrandt into Paris We got into Paris late and and Picasso It's so hard to appreciate went to our hotel the Quality Inn all the paintings when you arc on a (French for Quality Inn) lime constraint Everywhere I looked Day 7 32395 there were school children as young as six or seven getting guided lours education of the gallery The h art-ric- many receive in that country is incredible When I was that age I was eating glue Next it was off to the British Museum The British is filled with artifacts of cultures dating hack to the prehistory Every civilization known to man is represented here From documents like the Magna Carta to n lyrics by the Beatles and llandell's Messiah are here It is the best history lesson oik could ever receive Witnessing up close Egyptian mummies and Greek marbles it truly was an incredible hand-writte- sight Of course we couldn't leave London without saying we had shopped at the w hicli is a big student section The narrow roads are alive with people and exciting pubs and cafes Though I don't know why it is called the Latin Quarters- there arc more Greek Gyros sold in that one square block than in all of Athens Our night ended with a hang at the “Paradis Latin” a very rude and bawdy cabaret People asked me when I returned if it was worth it and what do I tell them? Yes yes yes ohhhhhhhhh yes! No longer will Europe be a far away place that is only reserved for PBS specials and textbooks It is in me and will be forever Everyone should have the opportunity to go at least once if not twice I know I will certainly go mad if I don't gel hack there In Paris in front of Notre Danic Cathedral there is a mark in the sidewalk that is the true center of the city Locals say that if you stand on it you will return someday I think I stood there for 20 minutes soaking - v advantage of the somewhat lower This day found us heading out to Oxford lor an optional lour of the very elite college and its inspiring town We went out to Stratford and loured William at the Latin Quarters We had a bus lour your meal do not order the big one Someone on the trip who will remain nameless (the scholarship dude) innocently ordered the big Coke and happily received a swimming pool of beverage (hat would have quenched the thirst of 10 men crossing the Sahara in August Sure fine great then the hill came It was $17 not the bill— (he Coke Second of tlic day could be found at the Palace of Versailles bathrooms— which were two and a half francs admission (roughly 50 cents) Now I can understand all the imported marble and gold plated chandeliers That night found us on a romantic boat voyage down the Seine River rip-o- ff through the heart of Paris Day 8 32495 Iliis day would he the right up there with the craziest day of my life in lamdon We had oik day to sltovel in as miK'h of Paris as possible before leaving the next day We rode to the top of the Arch de Triumph ate lunch at the Moulan Rouge gazed upon one of iIk most beautiful view s in (Ik world atop the Eil fcl Tower soaked in the paintings of the great impressionists at the Musee De Orsay including Van Gogh Monet and saw the Mona Lisa and lgas and Venus IX Milo in the louvre JmJkisMiiehMn it all in tin week that had gone by it would become a and how soon memory on a shelf to pull out lor relatives and friends A trip to a foreign land makes one realize how we can never think of ourselves as us and them It nude me look inward at the roles everyoiK plays on this earth and how important and at ilic sank time insignificant these roles can be A trip like this was the best lusloiy lesson and litc lesson one could ever receive beyond the walls ot l he classroom of Paris stopping of course for photos at the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Then we rode out to Versailles It was at Versailles where the word would he the catch phrase for the day Not referring to the palace oh no this place is beyond description and words The home to King laiuis (lie XIV XV and XIX took over thirty years to build and has beautiful gardens as far as the eye can see stretching out behind the palace To think that people actually rip-o- ff lived there is amazing Hack to the rip-ofFirst let me just say that if you hupten to find fs yourself eating lunch in Versailles and are debating wether or not to order the big or the small Coke with London's famous Tower Bridge |