Oakies and other stories

GZMoohoo posted a decade-old photo today, taken of my mother and I on Montmarte in 2004. It was my parents first trip to France - they visited me during my study abroad experience in Nantes. And yes, I was indeed wearing my "Oakeys" in that photo. But there is so much more to the story than that. And since I didn't have reliable internet access while I was in Nantes in 2004, it's entirely possible that some of you may not know it.

Just before my parents arrived in France, my faithful traveling companion (Jenny) and I took advantage of our spring break and went to Rome, Florence, and Venice. We were in Rome just before Easter and, when in Rome, if there is an opportunity to hear the Pope speak, you take it:

John Paul II. He spoke in 5 or 6 languages.

From Rome, we headed on to Florence. It rained a lot while we were there, so photos were somewhat scarce. This one turned out though:

From Florence, we took a day/train trip to a near-by town that had a street market. At that market, I was able to acquire my not-so-authentic "Oakey" sunglasses seen in Gz's blog. We were also able to take this truly silly photo:

As you can see, we were not the only ones taking this particular photo.

Finally, it was on to Venice for the final leg of our trip before taking the (LONG) train trip back to Paris. Venice was cool.

The Rialto Bridge spanning the Grand Canal. I am glad I could stick to the theme.

We ended the trip back in Paris, where we went to Versailles and (I believe) met my parents upon their arrival. The rest is history, and my parents and I have been back to France several times since. Aren't you happy to know where this France obsession came from?

Now, today's photo of a cat - some more Calvin nostalgia to fit with today's continued theme:

So. Little.