The Travel Posts I've been meaning to do (pt 1)

1. Wimbledon - The Classiest Sporting Event
The colors, freshly mowed grass, Pimm's and strawberries with cream, ads by rolex & ralph lauren - from the moment you enter, the entire complex glistens. There's something about Wimbledon that makes you feel a part of history, of tradition, of... wealth. There were these skybox sorta things where everyone had white or blonde hair, fancy clothes, and held wine glasses. Nice. I like to believe the rest of us peasants had as much fun...

But what makes Wimbledon classy is the tennis itself. The typical American sporting venue comes stapled w/ crazy fans, wild cheering, wild jeering, taunting, yelling, and unrestrained profanity. At Wimbledon, thousands are silent the moment the balls thrown up for serve until the point is won. This is no place for booing nor obnoxious taunting. This a place of respect for the players and for the sport. No one forces anyone to do anything. It's just the nature of the game. And it's undeniably classy.

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2. Paris - Day trips do not do a city justice.
A few Winants and I decided on a day trip to Paris. It was the cheapest option we could find at the best price. We rationalized: how can we be this close to Paris and not see it? So we went. 6:30am train ride from London. We'd arrive by 10am Paris time. Leave Paris at 8:15pm and be back in London by 10pm.

10 hours in Paris? Who were we kidding? Sure, we did do a lot. We saw Mona, Nike, and Venus at the Louvre, we walked through the Catacombes, looked up at the Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe, took pictures w/ the Tower Eiffel, even fit in a quick cruise down the Seine...

If I were Paris, I'd be offended. How can you get to know me if you're not spending any time!?

I felt like we merely skimmed the page of a book rather than reading it. I wasn't able to talk to any locals. I wasn't able to sit, listen to the people and things around me, and reflect. I didn't even see Paris lit up at night. We moved from one spot to another for the purpose of checking off our list so that, ultimately, we'd check off Paris off our list, but INSTEAD... I wasn't able to slow down and really appreciate Paris for it's beauty.

...(Yes, it was damn beautiful - felt like walking through a painting).
I still appreciated it, but I miight play my cards differently next time.

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3. British Museum - Why it's disgusting.

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4. How History's become real for me.