OK, so I haven't really written much in the past few days since we've hit France. I don't have a ton of time, but our train from Salzburg to Paris was interesting... open profiling of passengers, no passport stamping and 10 hours across European countryside. So far Paris and France in general is amazing. Lots of good food (and relatively cheap,) the Metro "M" transit system is truly amazing. Lots of cool little streets with lots of shops and bakeries. We've spent time listening to lots of French people who don't know English talk to us. We've seen a lot of the big sites, like the Arc de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower (so beautiful at night), the Latin Quarter, Notre Dame, The Pantheon, and a bunch of other things I took pictures of but can't remember the name. Tonight we are going to do a boat tour of the city.

Tomorrow we head off for the western side of France (La Rochelle) and maybe hit up Normandy and some other things. Hopefully we'll stop off at this macaroon place and hit up some other touristy things before we take the train out of this place.

Having a great time, don't know what time it is anymore... it's almost 10PM and there is plenty of light outside still. The World Cup energy on this side of the world is incredible and hard not to get caught up in.

Gotta run. Need to look for housing in our next town. But for those curious, I've worn the same clothes multiple times without washing them! But boy, am I sad I didn't bring my dancing shoes. ;-)

- EuroGreg

ok, for those who actually read this, i have a few moments for an update. We're in Salzburg, austria. (this keyboard has a weird layout, excuse typing errors.) having a great time here. vienna ruled, but was a way busy time. saw lots and lots of stuff there. so far, i've taken over 300 pictures on this trip. a little ridiculous, but i don't care. so far, salzburg is my favorite place, maybe just because we haven't needed to rush here and the city is beautiful. i already want to come back. (steve, be on the lookout for my next vacation request form...)

hope all is well back in the states. tomorrow we`re off to paris via train (oh, do i have stories about that trip from vienna to here, but that will be for another day.) until another cheap internet cafe shows itself...

-EuroGreg

Oh, and for the poster asking about the macaroons, no update yet. We didn't have time to visit Harrod's in London and we're not in Paris yet. Stay tuned.

Just a quick update for today. We made it to Vienna, albeit with some challenges. First off, our time in London was excellent. Took a whirlwind tour of the city in less than 24 hours. Saw lots of the big sights (Big Ben, London bridge, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Parliament) and more. We almost got in trouble for leaving our hotel an hour later than checkout. The Londonites are very much a stick by the rules type of people.

From there, we almost missed our flight because the bus to the airport took FOREVER then our airline claimed that we weren't booked for the flight. Thankfully, the great people at Ryanair put us on board. Once we arrived in Bratislava, we tried to get on our bus to head for Vienna, only to find they didn't have us booked for that either! The lady working at the bus company's desk helped us out got us to Vienna. But of course it gets better. So, once we arrive in Vienna, we got dropped off in a place where our friends weren't planning to pick us up. So, we waited an hour, made some calls and finally were united with our hosts! A crazy day of travel and sightseeing.

Today, a cloudy day in Vienna awaits us, along with some hiking about the Alps. More stories to come.

- EuroGreg

So, I'm in the Shannon, Ireland airport waiting for my flight to London! Here's what's happened so far:

Out of O'hare, we left on an earlier flight (4 instead of 5), which opened up a door of opportunity in Newark/NYC. We took our 3 hour layover and visited New York City! Saw Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, Macy's, 5th ave, "The beginning" of Broadway (ave) and LOTS of New Yorkers. They're everywhere. From there, got back to the airport and flew to Dublin, then Shannon! They fed us twice on that flight. Dinner around midnight and breakfast sometime later (I actually missed that one.) An unexpected stop to be sure. But the accents here are well worth it. I've never seen so many Irish people - can't imagine why.

Anyway, I'm not really sure what time it is in the "real" world, but I do know I had a Guinness at a time which would've been just after sunrise back in Chicago. Having a great time so far. We'll see what London has to offer next. Stay tuned for more random updates from EuroGreg.

If time permits, I will post as much randomness as possible from my travels in Europe this summer. I won't promise anything exciting or interesting to read - or anything at all. But it's a place to check out if you feel like it. :-)

I'm off for the airport this afternoon. Stay tuned for infrequent and inconsistent updates!

- EuroGreg