Paris

The first evening I was in Paris I saw the Pantheon, which was very interesting because I didn't know they had one in Paris. I don't know what makes it a Pantheon, however the inside was beautifully decorated with paintings of saints covering the walls. There were also many famous people buried in the crypt in the Pantheon. Notably, Victor Hugo, Marie and Pierre Curie and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. That evening I also saw the cathedral of Notre Dame, however it was a Friday night and they was a service happening. So along with the crazy amount of tourists, the seating was completely full for the service, and it was very very crowded inside. The cathedral wasn't what I expected but I think my expectations were a bit skewed because it was the only cathedral I knew about before going to Europe. But it was a nice cathedral, the usual so to speak, with paintings of Christ or other biblical figures and ornate everything.

The following day I walked around Paris. I walked through a lovely park with marble statues aligned down the middle. I saw the Palace of Luxembourg, I am not sure what it was for exactly. I saw the Army Museum, which is where Napoleon's Tomb is. I didn't see the tomb, I just didn't care enough. I saw the Eiffel tower and I went to the very top, though it was a little foggy I still got a good view. I walked to the Arc de Triomphe, which is not that spectacular by the way, and I walked down the Champs de Elysse. I saw the pink obelisk, which is gray and 3000 years old, in the Place de la Concorde. The obelisk is fascinating, it is an actual Egyptian obelisk and it has those crazy hieroglyphics.

The next day was the first Sunday of the month and all the museums in Paris were free. So I went to the Louvre for 7 hours. Though I think it may have been better to have gone to two museums that day because the Musee D'Orsay was closed the next day so I didn't get to go.
The Louvre was insane, don't just because of the art but because of the volume of people the can fit in there. I did see the Mona Lisa, has everyone should. I walked through I lot of places and saw a lot of art there, the Louvre is massive. I particularly liked the painting of Napoleon's Coronation because of the grand scale of it. I also saw the Venus de Milo, though I am not sure why that one is famous. There were dozens of works that were famous, you can tell the famous works because there will be crowds of people and/or glass around the work.

My last day in Paris I didn't do much of anything because I was planning on going out during the night to see the City of Lights. I spent the day milling around the Latin Quarter, famous for its shops, cafes and bohemian vibe and it was the area where I was staying. Then as I had planned when it was dark I went for a walk. I pretty much did the same walk I did on my second day but in reverse. I started at the Pantheon, then to the Notre Dame, the Louvre, Place de la Concorde, Champs de Elysse, Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel tower. Paris is quite spectacular at night, especially the Eiffel tower. I didn't get to see the lights along the Champs de Elysse, I guess they don't turn them on in the off season.

I loved Paris.

San Sebastian

San Sebastian does not have a lot going on. It has two incredibly beautiful beaches, quite perfect in fact, but it certainly wasn't the beach season when I was there. I walked round the promenade, from end to end. I stuck my hand in the Atlantic, now I have touched both sides of the Atlantic. I saw the Cathedral but it was pretty plain as Cathedrals go. There is a very large statue, of Jesus, on a small moutain at the mouth of the bay. It didn't look to be on the same scale as the one in Brazil. I didn't climb up the mountain because the only thing up there was the statue, which I could see pretty good from the streets. That is pretty much all I did in terms of sight seeing. I did have a relaxing time there.

I am off to Paris, which is my final stop before coming home.