On my way back to Metz from Venice I caught up with my Brother in Basel, Switzerland. We continued to Metz on a very packed train and arrive at about 3am on August 1st. The morning of the 1st was very busy for me as I packed and prepared to leave Metz. We left Metz around noon and were on our way to Paris via Verdun. On our travels through Verdun I gave the tour from what I remembered from m y trip there with GTL in early July. We then headed on to Paris where we stayed on the Eastside of town. We took the same boat trip as I had taken in May on my Paris Part I trip. We just missed the strobe lights on the Eiffel Tower on that evening. That kept us out a little later then we would have liked and made for a little walk to get home that evening.

On the August 2nd we had our only full day in Paris and we tried to fit everything in. We started out with a trip up the Eiffel Tower and went on to the Armament Museum that I had been to in May. Went to Notre Dame and the Louve again. Didn't really hit anything more than what I had done previously, but it was a good time with the family. On the morning of the 3rd we left for the Normandy beaches. We went by Mont Saint Michel on the way to our hotel in Bayeux. It was a very interesting place to walk around. We had dinner there before leaving for our hotel. Got to our hotel late and went to bed to prepare for our viewing of the beaches the next day. Got started about midday on the 4th and first went to the St. Mere Eglise. That was where the 101st Airborne Division was practically wiped out when they missed their drop zone inland from the Utah beach landing area. Next we went on to Omaha beach. Omaha beach as everyone knows is where the Americans found the toughest resistance and thousands lost their lives to begin the battle for the European mainland during World War II. We saw artillery bunkers and barrack bunkers. Some were more intact then others, but further up the beach we saw some where they had left the guns intact and that had very little damage to the structures.

We also spent some time at the main American cemetery in Normandy. This site was indefinitely set aside by the French government for the US to construct a cemetery for Americans who died in the Normandy theatre. The site was not well marked, which just added to the peacefulness of the site. You walked through the entrance to see the greenest grass possible on an entrance lawn. It was very quietly and peaceful. After walking on a walkway through the trees you began to see the thousands of white crosses. There was a small building at one end of the cemetery that had the information about the battle of the continent laid out. It was very humbling to stand there and overview the nearly ten thousand white crosses that were in perfect rows that underneath them had men of approximately my same age who died serving and protecting the United States. As we first arrive the two US flags were lowered to the sound of a 21-gun salute. It was electronic, but realistic in sound. There wasn't a great ordeal or military presence. It was just a simple, quiet place overlooking the beaches in Normandy where you can really respect those who have served and died over the years for us. As we walked we noticed the grave of Theodore Roosevelt Jr. The name was painted with gold to signify the awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Even though he was asked to remain aboard a ship he was on in the Channel he left with his men to be in the Battle of Normandy. While I continued to walk through the rows I heard the waves crash against the beach. It was a place of honor and remembrance, something we don't do enough.

The next morning we left for Calais where we were going to catch the Eurostar train to London. There was a little confusion over where the station was, but we found it with plenty of time to spare. I expected this train to be a little nicer than the other trains I had been on in Europe but it wasn't. If it didn't travel through the Chunnel there wouldn't have been anything nice about it. We arrived in London's Waterloo station and took a taxi from the station to the hotel. That night we walked down to Big Ben and the parliament building. It also was right across from the new Millennium Observation Wheel. The next day was got tickets and got on a bus tour that we could get on and off all day long. It took us by most of the sites. At 11:30 we went to the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Turns out that it isn't that exciting. I had always heard of it being something interesting to watch and there were a lot of people out to see it the day we were there. After it was over we discussed about how uninteresting it was. Oh well, at least I can say that I have been to Buckingham Palace. After the changing of the guards my mom went to visit St. Thomas hospital. Those of you that know her can understand her interest. Sounds like it was very interesting to her. While she was visiting there, Jonathan, Dad and I went on the Language Tour Bus that our company provided. That turned out to be better than the regular tour bus. We also visited the reconstructed Globe Theatre. When I built a reconstruction of the original Globe Theatre in high school I never imagined that I would see it while I was in college. We finished the day with a visit of the War Rooms. That was where Winston Churchill and his advisors were during the World War II bombing of London. It turned out to be the highlight from our trip to London. After that day was done I packed and got ready to return to the States.

The next morning we took a taxi to the train station and then a train to the Airport. We got there at about 10:00 because my parents had their flight at 11:15. My brother's flight wasn't until 12:30 and mine was at 2:45. So in other words, I was there for a while. I had some lunch and walked around a little. My flight was full and was of course eight and half-hours long. I landed in Philadelphia on time at about 6 o'clock. Turns out that they were having weather cancellations for some reason. Wasn't raining or anything like that so it was a surprise to me. Personally I just think the Philadelphia airport just has problems. My flight was cancelled so they gave me a choice of Air Tran that would arrive at about the same time as my original flight, or United that would go trough Houston and may never arrive in Atlanta because of there labor disagreements with their pilots. So I picked Air Tran. I went to there ticketing office to wait in a long line. Didn't really matter since the flight was delayed by about an hour. And once I got on the aircraft we sat on the taxiway for at an hour. So the flight that was supposed to take off at 19:20 didn't take off until 21:20. At least it was a nicer aircraft. When I arrived in Atlanta my friend Keith was waiting to pick me up with our mutual friend. We waited forever for the luggage to come out. After it did Keith and I headed for his house.

Spent the night and the next day there. Went to lunch with Keith and two of his friends. We had a good dinner there before leaving for the Amtrak station in Atlanta. The station was crowded as could be. Just like when I left Atlanta on May 13th I was carrying everything that I used during my stay in Europe. Now that I have been on European rail I have a something to compare Amtrak to. All I can say his that European rail is faster, more efficient and goes more places. As for legroom, European rail can't come close to the personal space that Amtrak provides in coach (2nd) class. They even have an outlet for me to plug my laptop into. I can only speculate that my parents will be waiting for me at the Spartanburg rail station to bring my summer 2000 semester to a close.