64. First Class

I started this trip to Amsterdam by taking the first-class train -- rubbing elbows with high-powered businesspeoples, celebrities of wit and glamour and the latest stars of pornography, only without touching elbows because the seats were far too large and spacious. That didn't prevent us from hobnobbing, however, smoking our cigars and sipping cognac around the fireplace, exchanging bon mots and throwing back our heads in peals of laughter. Oh, the first-class times we had!

63. Charming Bretagne

We had a rough start to our trip, because we had unwisely chosen to pick up our rental car on a holiday. Anticipating the increased demand, Hertz decided to open their agency two hours later than the officially posted hours. So we started out on the route to the South of Brittany well into our precious daylight hours.

62. Prague

Well, summer is winding down, and I've been scrooging my vacation days away for Christmas. Apart from the business trip to Washington (where I stayed locked inside the hotel room) and a couple of weekends with Mom and Dad, I really haven't done much travelling this year. Fortunately, Justine and Shelley had already organized a trip to Prague this weekend -- all the arrangements were already made, and all I had to do was book a flight.

61. More Little Cousin

I just realized that I moved in with Kendra and her family back when I was the same age that she is now. Time flies -- and I'm glad it does.

60. Little Cousin

Kendra used to be my little cousin. Now, she's legally an adult and (having graduated from high school) is bumming around Europe with her friend Brenda.

58. Strasbourg

I told an Alsatian that my parents and I were exploring a corner of France that we had never visited before. She replied, with a sniff, that we weren't visiting France -- we were visiting Alsace.

57. Canadian Cuties

Before my parents, I had a pair of oh-la-la visitors. I would like you to meet Verlane and Jude.

56. Paris Flash Mob

Q: What's black and white and red all over?

55. Egypt

Pharoahs and pyramids, hieroglyphics and gods,extravagant tombs of kings, the Luxor and the lush Nile. Monuments of incredible proportion and age, ancient technological marvels and wonders that have captivated the world for centuries...

I wouldn't be seeing any of that.

54. Sisters

In September, Deanna and Keri finally made it out to Paris. They are fun and charming and wonderful guests, and they take wonderful pictures. I went through their photos and took the most brilliant -- but then I couldn't make myself pick the top ten. So I'm warning you before looking inside, especially all my backwater relatives without broadband (hi Mom and Dad!), this is a big one.