It's crazy how easy it is to travel these days. I woke up in Paris, and after only a short 2 and a half hour train ride, which goes literally underwater, I arrived in London, pretty much walked across the street from the train station to my hotel, checked in, and was ready to start exploring by like 12:30ish. Almost too easy. Today it was nicely overcast in London, and sprinkled every now and then. Nice to have it cool again. Started by taking the underground to the greatest church in England, Westminster Abbey. This place really is all that it's cracked up to be. All of English history is right here. You're surrounded by the tombs of kings and queens, and all of the major events in England have in some way involved this church. ... read more

Today was... inspiring and disillusioning, touching and dull, and invigorating but so exhausting that I gimped my way back, hobbled and crippled. The best part was honestly leaving Paris, getting out early on the 8 bullet train only 45 minutes to the city of Reims (pronounced rance). Yes, I visited yet another cathedral, but this one was especially important because it served as the coronation spot for French kings, and, frankly, is just a beautiful place. You can stand gawking at the west portal facade forever. More just so impressed that people could actually build such a thing. A monumental achievement driven by sheer faith. But, in Reims, the absolute best moment was the least expected, and one I didn't even think I'd have time to see. Reims was where WWII officially ended - papers were ... read more

Today was a near flawless day of travel. I left Pontorson after a nice breakfast, and playing around with the owner's cute dog, first for Rennes, and then the fast TGV into Paris Montparnasse. Here by 1ish. This is when I got this perfect rhythm down. Easily found my hotel, which is literally right next to the Luxembourg Gardens, my balcony looks out over it, got situated, and then, with my route down, I started at St. Sulpice Church, which is just up from the Gardens. This place is more like a temple than a church, and is oddly famous for its big fountain in front that appears in The Da Vinci Code. From here I walked up another couple of blocks, crossed the busy Boulevard St. Germain, dropping by St. Germain-des-Pres. I loved this little ... read more

The great thing about staying in a B&B is the quaintness and the fact that the owner is usually extremely friendly. That's certainly how it is where I'm at. This morning I literally opened my door to the living room, and sat down to a home-cooked breakfast. The family dog, Farah, laid at my feet the entire time. And I think I definitely got on the host's good side by admiring her book collection, especially her prized book of Charles Baudelaire's poetry. She's letting me have breakfast earlier than usual tomorrow, since I have to leave early. After hopping on my bike, I set off for the relatively leisurely ride down to Chenonceau, the absolute best of the many chateaux in the Loire. The ride was a little over an hour, and wound through a beautiful ... read more

Today things just didn't work out. But, really, that's okay, mainly because I tend to be superstitious about travel, and look out for signs. This morning I got a glaring sign when, having literally been on my bike for 2 minutes, both tires exploded beneath me. Not just one tire, but both. That has to be rare. To top it off, all of this happened right in front of the tourist office, where I rented the bike. And the two ladies who rented the bike to me saw it, and rushed out to see if I was okay. I was going so slow nothing really happened, just kind of slammed against the curb. But these two ladies were very concerned, helped me inside, were almost too attentive, gave me back all of my money, and overall ... read more