Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Catacombs of Paris

Catacomb in general
During the course of my life (as of 2014) that I have been traveling to many places around–mostly in few countries, I have seen many strange things that I could not believe they could be attractions for tourism such as a wreckage from a nuclear bomb in Hiroshima (not that I found this site boring, rather it left me a powerful image of how devastating nuclear bombs could be) or empty desert in Iran. But I would say the Catacombs of Paris is the weirdest places that I have ever visited so far. And I'm not sure whether I mean it in the positive sense or the negative one.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Château de Chambord & Château de Blois

Chateau de Chambord, Chambord, France
My first impression of Château de Chambord wasn't really a good one. When we talk about castle, I tend to think about those huge castle from the Disney Land and in all the Disney movies. But this one is different. I once learned afterward that this is not exactly a castle, but instead a courthouse. It was built by King François I in 1519 as a hunting lodge and not a permanent residence for any royal families. The structure itself was built by limestone because it is lighter than other materials like marble, but it also absorbs moisture making the itself cold and humid.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

First Story in Paris: Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower–one of the most iconic structures in the world
I want to start my story about Paris with one of the most iconic structures in the world, the Eiffel Tower. Once I have some free time after settling down, I decided to walk to the Eiffel tower to be able to see the tower from different views. Some people might think that it is just a tower that happened to be famous but, personally, I always think that I want to see the Eiffel Tower from different angles and took great photos of it. Even though I still have no little knowledge about the tower itself, it still made me excited every time I came to see it. One of the reasons for this might be from a story when I was in middle school.