Happy New Years!!!

Happy New Years from Manila! Sorry for the lack of updates, been busy planning my next trip, but now that it's finally started hopefully I'll be updating more regularly.

Good-bye New York

the sky's awake!

auroras from 38000 ft over northern Canada

Jungfrauregion, Switzerland

Jungfrauregion is the region in Switzerland that includes Jungfrau, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Jungfrau-Aletsch area. Jungfrau can be reached by train, though the tickets are pricey, starting at CHF 137 and increases based on demand.

racked railways
the cogged track in the middle allows the train to climb steep slopes

view of Jungfrau from Wengen

view of Lauterbrunnen from the train
this is an HDR photo from a moving train, so the bottom-left corner ended up repeating

Mättenberg from Grindlewald station

panoramic of Eiger, Mättenberg and Wetterhorn

train back to Interlaken

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken is often the entry way into the Jungfrauregion, but the town itself also offers many outdoor activities along with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. Only thing to remember is that, like all of Switzerland, activities here are relatively expensive.

view from the hostel

protestant church

overlooking Interlaken from Harder Kulm

Bergrestaurant Harder Kulm

sunset from the Interlaken canal

Lausanne, Switzerland

Notre-dame cathedral of Lausanne

Notre-dame cathedral interior

view of Lausanne from the top of Notre-dame cathedral

Lausanne panoramic

New Name

The blog has been renamed! Please update any bookmarks and links.

Streets of Paris

Love locks on Passerelle Léopold-Sédar-Senghor
Not the original love locks bridge, which is just up the river at Pont des Arts, but close 

Musée d'Orsay

Tuileries Garden

random building we walked by

Victor Hugo's house

Saint-Sulpice Church

Paris Metro

Gare de Lyon
waiting for our train to Switzerland

Paris - Food and Desserts

Other foods and desserts from Paris

liver

pho from Pho 14
Vietnamese food might not be the first thing you think of when you think Paris, but the pho is actually pretty good and worth a stop. Service is quick and brisk.

desserts from Angelina

crème brûlée

macaroons from Pierre Hermé

other desserts form Pierre Hermé

Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum)

The world famous Louvre, one of the most well known museums in the world.

If you don't want to stand in a long line, there are several other entrances besides the main pyramid entrance such as Rue de Rivoli & Pl. du Carousel entrance or the Porte des Lions entrance. You can also enter directly from the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre Metro station.
Tickets can also be purchased in advance. It will cost a couple euros extra but will let you skip the lines.

outside the Louvre

outside the Louvre

the pyramid from below

the large crowd around the Mona Lisa

Les Noces de Cana (The Wedding at Cana)
the largest painting at the Louvre, often overlooked because it is opposite of the Mona Lisa

Panthéon & Notre-Dame de Paris

Pantheon was originally built as a church, but is now used as a  mausoleum for famous French people.

Unfortunately, the dome is under renovations at the moment

neoclassic architecture interior

The basement is now used as a mausoleum for famous French people such as Voltaire, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo and Marie Curie

Notre Dame cathedral

gothic architecture interior

mid-day mass

Notre Dame in the evening

Notre Dame from the side

Notre Dame from the back