London, Paris, Chamonix-Mont Blanc

I know, I know. I've been slacking and I'm not gonna waste your time with excuses, I'm just get right into it and try to bring this blog up to speed. So, here is whats been going on for the past 3 months.

The last entry I made was November 9, and it was about grocery shopping. After that day, we played some volleyball, yes, but we also had weekend off in December and a 10 day Christmas break from volleyball and Buehl.

For the weekend off, four of us decided to head over to London. Myself, Matt, Rob and Pink (who's grandma lives in London and graciously offered us her house for the weekend as she was away visiting) caught a plane at a nearby airport and spent 4 days touring around old London.

Night one involved me getting lost and separated from the group but randomly finding them in a Canadian bar, The Maple Leaf. We also went to Tiger Tiger later on. Pink almost killed a guy there. Well,not really but he did lob a couple pint glasses at some tosser who had it coming (left to right; Pink, me, Pink's friend Ana, Matty and Rob)

Wearing a bobby hat in Tiger Tiger.

We met a group of girls studying to be Veterinarians. This one took a liking to Rob and was very good at help defense as we found out on the dance floor. Pink's face is priceless.

Pink's friend, Ana, lives and works in London. She met us out for the first night. Not suprisingly, we didn't see her again after that. Her and Pink bickered the entire time like an old married couple.

This photo pretty much sums up how we felt each of the four mornings. Well crafted, Rob.

The Tate Museum. We also went to the Museum of Natural history. Rob was loving that place. I know what you're thinking...yes, we do enjoy a little art every once and again.

The Globe Theatre.

Me in the Globe Theatre. This was a highlight for me.

And that pretty much sums up London. We saw some museums, Buckingham Palace, rode in a black cab, drank Starbucks' holiday lattes whenever we saw and open Starbucks, shopped, saw Picadilly Circus, went out downtown once (its a pain to get around london cause its so busy), and spent a lot of time at the local, GJ's.

After our last match of the season, the team hosted a Christmas party. This was a good night but unfortunately I can't find any pictures. Basically, the club rented a big hall, we ate dinner, Rob played some music for the crowd and we had a few beers. The next morning, Matty and I had to drive to Paris (about a 5-6 hour drive) to pick up my cousin, Sergio, who was coming to visit. Matty was still drunk when I picked him up at 6am the next day and tried to pack a bag for a week's vacation while drunk. This was interesting. We leave a bit behind schedule, but nothing serious. As soon as we hit the road, Matty passed out. I somehow managed to find my way to the airport in Paris as Matt was waking up. We picked up Sergio, hung out in Paris for a couple days and drove to Chamonix-Mont Blanc for a few days of skiing/boarding in the French Alps. Here's what that looked like.

Sergio and I at Notre Dame. I brought the boys around Paris and we saw all the sights; Louvre, Champs D'Elysees, The Eiffel Tower, Catacombs, Arc de Triomphe, a few local pubs.

Myself, Matty and Sergio on the lift. This was my first attempt at snowboarding. What I learned; The French Alps are not the best place to learn how to snowboard.

Awesome views from the top. It took me and hour to snowboard down from there. It was a slow-go but no bones were broken.

More views.

Myself and Sergio about the make our way down the mountain.

The drive home from Chamonix was incredible. Twisty moutain roads and spectacular views.