celebrating 75 (not mine)...

I returned earlier this week from nine days in Europe with my father, a birthday gift delivered five years late owing to the COVID trainwreck year of 2020 that seems so close in some ways and so far in others. In our community, 2020 opened with a disastrous tornado in March:

was followed by the relentless tedium of quarantine:

and ended by waking up to the sound of an explosion Christmas morning:

But this is beside the point...

The point is that I had intended to celebrate my dad's birthday that year by taking a father-son trip to an international destination of his choosing, but circumstances being what they were, our adventure was postponed until this past month.

Day 1 & 2

Our adventure began in the Atlanta airport on a Tuesday night where we rendezvoused at One Flew South to enjoy a meal before boarding and hopefully get a better night's sleep on the overnight flight to London Heathrow. Upon arrival the following day, we were able to drop our bags at our Covent Garden apartment and head out to walk and acclimate to the new time zone. Fortunately, the other notable American arriving that day chose to visit Windsor Castle, allowing us to walk to Buckingham Palace and give our regards:

before making our way back through the theater district:

and closing out our first day by (barely) staying awake until sundown.

Day 3

Our first full day in London began with a visit to Greenwich, where we trekked up the steep hill to the Royal Observatory, stopping along the way to take in the stunning views of the Queen's House with central London looming in the distance:

At the Royal Observatory, we took a guided tour with museum staff, I was reacquainted with the fact that the most of its existence (at least in the West), astronomy was more concerned with timekeeping than cosmology, and while the tour focused on the technological and historical aspects of astronomy's evolution, I found it somewhat ironic that - although officially the birth and composition of the universe was the domain of religion for hundred of years - astronomy's preoccupation with time was in many ways always a metaphysical pursuit - a fact known by Neko Case, Oppenheimer, and Krishna all too well.

But this too is beside the point...

The point is that after the visit, my dad and I walked back down the hill to grab lunch at a Thai restaurant in town where we tried a delicious (and strange) Thai soda (Nam Dang Manao) that my dad adroitly identified as tasting like carbonated Kool-Aid:

After our meal, we headed back into London and made our way to the Tower Bridge:

on our way to the Tower of London, where a giant poppy field art installation graced the grounds:

This proved to be our final stop together for the day, and as became our habit, I rested briefly at the apartment before heading back out to explore other neighborhoods solo before dinner.

Day 4

Day 4 began with a walk to the British Museum, where we were treated to various stolen artifacts from the South Pacific:

to the Middle East:

and it didn't take a:

to translate just how powerful the British Empire was at its peak, allowing it to run roughshod across the entire globe until the Great War brought one epoch to an end, ushering in a Golden Age of misanthropic  Americans beautifully fictionalizing Europe between the wars.

Our next stop was the Churchill War Rooms, but along the way, we stopped at a food hall for lunch, and I had this amazing seltzer:

before we continued on to check out the various maps:

and charts:

that allowed Churchill to prosecute the war efforts, save Britain, and (apparently) drink copious amount of alcohol from morning until late at night.

I had to cut short my visit by a few minutes to take a work call (thankfully, the only one of our trip) but wasn't too disappointed since I had visited the museum back in 2019 as part of an exploratory mission to England with my dear friend John:

John and I in Exeter

that consisted primarily of visiting prisons like this one in Leicester:

But this is beside the point...

The point is that after the call and the tour, we walked down to Parliament:

where we admired Big Ben:

Westminster Abbey:

and even a fine likeness of the British Bulldog (pictured with Bob the Bulldog):

Done for the day, we headed back to our apartment, and I headed out for a couple of hours to explore Covent Garden and purchase gifts for my yin and for sidecar, which I found at this market:

Day 5

Our last full day in London began with a return to Greenwich, this time to check out the Maritime Museum:

This, out of everything we did on the trip, was one of the largest and most enjoyable surprises and provided an incredible, engaging historical overview of how dominance at sea catapulted Britain from the soggy backwoods of Europe to the apex of world power at the end of the 19th Century. They also had a special exhibit, which spoke to my childhood love of:

After a couple hours of exploring, we had worked up an appetite and decided to try a traditional meal - minced meat pie - at this establishment:

before exploring the Cutty Sark:

where my dad took the wheel:

Nearing the end of our touring day, I took my dad by Covent Garden Market on the way back our home, where we came across one of the most interesting street performers I've ever seen:

After dropping my dad at the apartment, I headed out to explore the Shoreditch neighborhood, which I had never visited before and included all manner of interesting graffiti art:

cool shoes:

and a vibrant street scene:

Day 6

Day 6 was a travel day, leaving the apartment around 7:30 and making our way to St. Pancras: 

and coming across this advertisement, which I sent to sidecar, who is counting down the days to the final season:

After boarding the Eurostar, we soon found ourselves Paris-bound and eventually arriving at our apartment, which was a key setting for Amelie:

After a brief rest, we headed out to explore Le Marais, walking by the Hotel de Ville:

and various other sites before returning home. After a brief rest, I decided to go back out and explore neighborhoods and sites I hadn't visited on my two previous visits, 25 and 7 years ago respectively, including the 10th arrondissement: 

where I found a cool hangout/art space at Point Ephémère by the canals:

and then headed to gawk at the Moulin Rouge with the other tourists:

before walking back home via South Pigalle and passing a closed shop that attempted to strike the right balance between racism and copyright infringement:

Day 7

Our seventh day, which inspired the entire journey to begin with, began before sunrise at the Arc de Triomphe:

where we met the guide who would take us on an all-day excursion to visit World War II sites in Normandy. Quickly surveying the group, it became apparent that I was one of the only middle-aged tourists in attendance, and that with the aging and ultimate disappearance of the Baby Boomers, the vitality of the sites we were about to see will likely diminish in the coming 20 years, making the inevitable journey from the living, vibrant past to simple history.

But this is beside the point...

The point is that the ride to the coast lasts nearly three hours, and by this point in our journey, I was fully symptomatic with the cold my father brought with him from Florida, and it would take a modern miracle for the two of us not to have infected every other one of the seven passengers in the van. We made a brief pitstop at the halfway point of the drive, and I snapped this picture of comics to send to sidecar back home:

Arriving at our first stop, we immediately came across a rainbow:

and then a series of bunkers that are essentially in the same condition they were 81 years ago:

along with fields still barren from the salt sewn by the French to try and stymie their German occupiers:

before heading to the American Cemetery:

and its thousands of crosses:

and occasional star:

From there we walked down to Omaha Beach, but the high tide prevented us from making it onto the sand so we took picture from afar:

Our final stop was Pointe du Hoc, where the craters from carpet bombing are still visible:

and the first paratroopers landed overnight on June 6 and had to scale impossibly steep cliffs:

to take the strategic position held by the Nazis that provided protection of Omaha and Utah Beaches:

It was this final stop, more than any before, that helped me to appreciate the enormity of that day in June.

Day 8

Day 8 begins with the RER B to Versailles, which passes through Meudon, a Parisian suburb most famous (at least in the US) for being the one-time, part-time home of a degenerate movie star. My own connection to the town is less notable, but it was where I stayed in during my first visit to Paris back in January 2000. My strongest memory is not germane to this venue (at least at this time), but my second strongest memory is of trying a stinky French cheese at the local farmer's market, which smelled (and tasted) much like Scotch whisky.

Both memories are beside the point...

The point is that Versailles was the single most memorable aspect of that first trip, and I was curious to see if it made as large of an impression this time with its breath-taking approach:

stunning ceilings:

grand gardens:

and quaint family portraits:

Louis-Phillipe and his sons

Suffice to say that the answer was yes, and after spending the morning there, we grabbed a baguette and ate across the street from the train station while we waited for the next train back to Paris. Upon arrival, we found a park to sit and talk, unwittingly taking a spot next to the oldest tree in Paris, which has been there since 1601:

To close out our day, we walked across the Seine to Notre Dame, where we had been able to nab free skip the line tickets:

Like Versailles, this cathedral was just as impressive  as I remembered, with its famous Gothic ceiling:

towering stain glass windows:

and even a statue of Joan of Arc tucked away in a corner:

Sufficiently amazed for the day, we returned back to our apartment, and I again ventured back out to check out Place de Bastille and its July Column, which commemorates the Revolution of 1830:

Walking back to La Marais, I came across various graffiti, ranging from the Smurfs:

to Space Invaders:

to this bikinied vixen:

My final stop was this comic book shop, where I picked up a couple of age-appropriate graphic novels in an attempt to help trick her into practicing her French more:

Day 9

Wednesday was our last full day in Paris, which began with a rainy wait in line at the Louvre:

Once inside, we made a beeline to the top floor so we could enjoy at least some of the galleries before they were completely thronged. It was here that we came across one of the coolest things from the whole trip, a 700-kg clock and automaton:

La Quete du Temps by Vacheron Constantin

This magnificent piece includes 6,293 mechanical complications and took seven years to build. We were fortunate enough to chat with one of the engravers who was onsite to wind and activate the automaton. The rest of the Louvre is well-documented so rather than attempting adding more tourist-riddled photos of famous paintings to the mix:

unknown woman, Napoleon Crossing the Alps

I will skip ahead to our afternoon visit to the Eiffel Tower:

and the ineffable views it affords, even on a cloudy day:

After returning to the apartment, I headed out for one final evening promenade, feeling a mix of introspection, nostalgia, and melancholy. Rather than venturing into a new neighborhood, I decided to stay close and explore Tuileries Garden, which was nearly empty due to the cold, rainy weather:

After a final walk down to take a final look at the Seine:

and the Palais Royal:

I headed back home, retrieved my dad, and we enjoyed our final dinner at this cafe, where we shared an incredible French onion soup (or, as I imagine they call it in Paris, onion soup):

Day 10

Our final morning begins before dawn, making our way to the airport via the train and making our way through security just in time to grab 30 minutes in the Air France Lounge prior to boarding. In an homage to my yin, who brought me a chocolate croissant back from the same lounge 15 years ago, I wrapped up one for her and one for sidecar. We boarded our flight, and settled in for the long flight back home: