Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy, France

	Mont Saint Michele stands in the middle of a wide open bay (100,000 acres) opening onto the English Channel. Three small coastal rivers, the See, the Selune and the Coueson flow into this inlet creating
majestic loops on its sands at low tide. During high tide, the water rises to as much as 50 feet flowing in at 200 ft/min. Mont Saint Michele formed of Granulite extruded some 20 million years ago from the earth's core.

Today, at the top of the rocks sits a Monastery that has evolved to its current state over some 400 years. Monks do live and pray at this Monastery even today. The foot hills of this rock are surrounded by shops and cafes serving local cuisine.

The climb to the top is strenuous but well worth it. Take a tour of the monastery - there are some excellent views of the bay from up there. It is closed on Sundays. On all other days you may want to get there first thing in the morning as the place gets very busy very fast (it is one of the most visited places in France).

Paris Icons

	Even though we have been to many of the top Paris icons before, I still looked forward to visiting them once again. I think the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and
a walk down Champs Elysees are a must.

Two new places I hadn't visited before are the Louvre and the Picasso Museum. There is so much to see at the Lourve that one can easily spend two whole days there. I had enough time to see the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the Dying Slave by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

I am not much of an abstract painting enthusiast, but I tremendously enjoyed the Picasso museum. I was especially taken by his 1938 painting Maya a la Poupee for obvious reasons.

Marienplatz, Munich, Germany

	Marienplatz is situated on the heart of old Munich. In the middle ages, the square was used as the central market and a place for festivals. At the center of the square
is a statue of the Virgin Mary erected to protect and look over the city of Munchen.

Most of Marienplatz was destroyed in World War II, except for a few historic buildings. Today, the entire area of Marienplatz has been rebuilt, the facades on the buildings closely resembling the pre-war architecture.

In the center of the square sits the Gothic style Neues Rathaus (the New Town Hall), which was built between 1867 and 1909. The front facade houses the Glockenspiel - figurines perform the Schläffertanz or the Cooper's Dance three times a day. The dance was originally performed in 1517 to commemorate the end of the plague. Unfortunately we missed this - maybe next time.

The entrance to the Town Hall displays a plaque of all of Munich's sister cities, one of them being Cincinnati! The other cities are Verona, Bordeaux, Kiev, Edinburgh, Harare and Sapporo.

This area is filled with department stores, hotels, restaurants, out door cafes and beer halls. This is home to the famous Hofbrauhaus as well as other beer gardens.

On one end of Marienplatz is the Residenz, the home of several kings of Bavaria from 1385 to 1918. The complex boasts of over a 130 rooms with varying decors spanning the 6 centuries.