Good afternoon my wonderful friends and family! I can honestly say I miss each and everyone of you very much. It is incredibly humbling being in this dark and mysterious city all by myself. I arrived to my apartment in Prague last night after 8 wonderful days in Western Europe. Unfortuantly, I still can't supply pictures because these internet cafes won't let me. I will start school on Monday and have pictures coming then. They are pretty darn good.

Anyway, in a nutshell (and a small one at that) my trip to Europe went something like this:

I arrived in Paris and went straight to a quaint little hostel on the south side of the city. I was in a room with 4 other beds, all of which belonged to various travellers that were out roaming the city. Making that my goal as well, I tried my absolute hardest to do as much walking as humanly possible in the shortest amount of time. My first route led me to the East side of Paris, across the river to Gare De Lyon, a big train station that would take me to Florence two days later (amazingly, I think I heard that same station got hit with some rioting 3 days after I left! Yikes!) From there, I crossed the river again, near Norte Dame Cathedral, hugging the river towards the Eiffel Tower. Luckily, blue skies and warm weather entitled me to some of the most beautiful views of the entire city and I tried my best to soak it in an a very nontouristic fashion...I sat on the steps of a palace-like building and ate a fresh baugette with brie in it...I went to a local coffee shop and had an esspresso while reading the paper and watching Parisian life flash before me. I had a beer near the Louvre, trying to picture what this city looked like 200 years ago...it was very nice.

However, I did get that feeling that I hoped wouldn't creep into my mind when I came over here. Here I am, alone in "The City of Romance", "The City of Love", watching everyone around me fall just a little more in love as they walked those beautiful streets. I think it doned on me that maybe I'm not as happy by myself as I have been in the past...and maybe it took going to Paris to realize that. However, with that said, I listened to some advice that one of my dearest friends wrote me in a letter, and trekked back to my hostel to go find some FRIENDS!!

It turned out to be a dude named Carlos. He was from Mexico, 15 minutes outside of Cancun. He had been travellling for 7 months, and it was his last night in Europe before he was to return home. That passing of the preverbial torch felt like it should have been in some kind of movie. We go out for some French wine and a small dinner, and start talking about everything and anything that pops into our heads. It was wonderful. In those 7 months, he learned so much about the politics and lives of Europe...he gave me great hope for what was in store for my future. It was a great way to begin a trip and, in his opinion, not a bad way to end one as well.

It turned out that Carlos had about 8 hours the next day before his flight so we went to go see a little bit of "underground" Paris. Literally...we went to the catacombs under the city, where over 6 million bodies were sent after there wasn't enough room for them on top (I guess they were starting to make the city smell). It was incredibly creepy, just picturing what it would have been like hundreds of years ago when old church members were taking care of these bones. I got some great pictures that chill you to the bone.

Then a couple hours with my good friend Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Now I kind of remember this place when I came with the family 7 years ago. But I have never been so taken back by a building as I have when I go to the Louvre. Everything in it blew my mind...such beauty!

After another quick coffee, it was back to the hostel to pack, and then a metro ride over to the train station. I was off to Florence, Italy!!

And with that, I think I will save all of us some time...Maybe I'll send another one to you guys tomorrow. As for now, I will continue finding my way around this enchanting city...please wish me luck. And if you have time, drop me a quick email...I really am out of touch with everything at the moment, and the last thing I want to do is stay that way with my friends and family. tyler.steer@gmail.com

Cheers!

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