Matt and Jac in Europe: October 2006

Finally, a mere three months after our return from Europe, this photo journey is coming to an end. And there was much rejoicing.

There weren't as many quality pictures at this point in the trip, as we were getting weary of being shutterbugs and just weary in general. There's especially a distinct lack of much from London, but we were only effectively there for about a day and a half.

Here's the shores by Tintagel, the reputed birthplace of King Arthur. There's all kinds of legends around this area. Cool.

Here's the view from the Glastonbury Tor. Lovely.

And here's the Tor itself, with the ruins of St. Michael's Church at the top. When King Henry VIII dissolved the monastaries during the English Reformation, the local abbot was hung here for refusing to turn over the abbey to the king.

You are looking at an architectural marvel known as the scissor arch in Wells Cathedral.

Here's lovely downtown Winchester. It's a smallish city with lots of charm.

Let me tell you, the Guinness assuredly tastes better in England.

Here's an impressive root system at Avebury.

London's famous Millennium Bridge across the Thames.

We wound up spending our last night in Europe at Heathrow Airport. Luckily, our camping gear made what could have been a pretty crappy night OK!

Thus ends the Matt and Jac Europe 2006 photo extravaganza!

Shoot. Time really does fly. Europe is such a fading memory already, even though we only got back a month and a half ago. These photos focus mostly on Paris, the crown jewel of our French experience. We also stopped in Strasbourg, Normandy and Brittany, but there weren't many pictures from them. That's too bad, becuase they had their unique charm.

Caution: There's a lot of pictures in this one! Vive la France!

Les Champs-Elysees. This is a great example of a world-class street in a world-class city where you can stroll the streets without a care in the world - as long as you don't look at the price tags!

Jac loves Art Noveau. Here she is at one of Paris' famous Metropolitain entrances. These apparently kicked off the Art Noveau movement.

And here's a beautiful Art Noveau room at the Musee d'Orsay. Tres organic.

I wonder if anybody's done this before...

Paris was an art tour de force. Here we are entering the Louvre via its iconic glass pyramid.

But not all famous Parisian icons are in galleries.

A short walk away from the Moulin Rouge is Monte Martre, one of the more charming parts of Paris with a great view of the city.

Here we're wondering if the Pompidou modern art museum will actually have anything that isn't messed up.

Jac thought that this pink room was pretty fun.

I thought that this shadow sculpture was pretty fun. Otherwise, most of it was well beyond messed up.

This is my kind of art: a beautifully crafted prayer in stone. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is stunning. I'm more pleased in an artistic sense with this picture than with any other I took on the trip.

This was certainly one of the highlights of the entire trip. A bunch of us planned to meet at the base of the Eiffel Tower for a picnic of wine, cheese, bread and chocolate that lasted all night for some. Truly magnificent.

The Eiffel Tower is ridiculously photogenic. I took a ton of experimental photos of it during the lightshow and this is one of the best results. This was not done by photoshopping (other than some color tweaks).

Finally, we leave Paris for Mont St. Michel. This, believe it or not, is an abbey. One that happens to be heavily fortified as there were extensive wars between Brittany and Britain. They fought so much that they have the same name. It used to turn into an island at high tide - until a causeway was built in more modern times.

This is a really fun shot from inside the Abbey at Mont St. Michel. You might not notice at first, but that's a giant mirror and I'm taking a picture of our reflection.