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THE LAST FRONTIER
The Clarion \ April 1,2011
0tb of
Apodyopsis (n)
Definition:
The act of mentally undressing someone.
Pronunciation:
A-poe-de-op-sis
Usage:
Mark practices apodyopsis while he’s working at
the old folks’ home.
'Europe'
from page 6
Many children begin drinking as early
as age 12. That’s two years before they’ve
tried geometry. Research indicates that
children are less likely to drink when
their parents are involved in their lives
and when they report feeling close to
theirparents. So next time you complain
about how fast they’re growing up.
consider that it might be in your power
to slow them down.
For advice on talking with your children
visit stopalcoholabuse.gov or
call 1-800-729-6686
without a government.
The next day we were on our way to France. We were staying in an old
section of Paris known as the Bibhotheque District, which translates to
“Library District” in English. It was named for the National Library that
we could see from the streets near our hotel. Four massive buildings were
arranged in a square pattern facing inward, they were designed to look like
open books.
The day started with our tour guide telling us our destination, but he
hadn’t told us that the first thing we would see at the top of the stairs leading
out of the Metro station would be Notre Dame. I have seen cathedrals
before, but this was incredible.
When I turned around there was a statue as tall as my house of St.
Michael flanked by dragons. Street performers would be out in the clearing
in front of the fountains later, and protestors as well. This area was close
to the Latin Quarter where local students would go to have a good time
in the evening.
As we drew closer to Notre Dame, the crowds began to swell, and the
number of street performers increased. Because of all the tourists there
were a dozen armed soldiers patrolling the gardens and the square in front
of Notre Dame. I was tempted to take a picture but we were advised it
could lead to trouble.
As cool as seeing Notre Dame was, stumbling upon the Eiffel Tower
was even more spectacular. We turned a comer and there was the spire,
every part lit up with a revolving light fixture you could see in the sky
from miles away. Close by was a boat that would take us down the Seine
on a night tour of Paris.
On the second day I had the pleasure of going to see the world-famous
Louvre, it was odd to find rooms larger than my house entirely filled with
statues of classical Greek characters and people. After spending three hours
exploring what might have been one eighth of the Louvre, I explored the
streets until dinner
I ended up in one of the smaller districts where even fewer people spoke
English, all of the streets were cobblestone unlike the parts of Paris I had
been growing accustomed to. Dinner that night had a very French feel to
it, I bought a Crepe with ham, egg and cheese, and a bottle of French wine.
An ideal ending to my stay in my favorite city so far.
Getting to London was fun but I slept through most of the journey because
the train left before the sun had risen. It took us two hours to make it to
London, when I woke up I was in a different country.
After getting off of the train we met up with a tour guide and were on
the road again, touring much of London. Dinner was satisfying, an English
Pub, complete with cheap beer and great food. Afterwards most of the tour
group worked its way through the London Underground to find the Theatre
in which we enjoyed the hit musical “Wicked.”
The final day in Europe was almost completely devoted to free time. We
were guided to the Tower of London and let loose into the city. Having
seen the Tower before, I spent a little less than an hour reviewing the new
innovations before I crossed the Tower Bridge, and sought out the Globe
Theater After seeing this famed attraction I walked alongside the River
Thames while I planned the next adventure, which ended up being a trip
to the other side of the city to see the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the
London Zoo.
The following morning our plane took off bright and early and flew back
to the United States. I think we were all ready to go home; everyone was
exhausted from all that we had done.
Most of the people on the tour would start walking mid morning and
not stop moving until the late evening. I think my comrades would agree
that all the aches, colds, and exhaustion were all worth it. I would do it
all again, and I recommend such a tour to any college student given the
opportunity.