After the boat ride, we got in a van and drove through the city, basically driving by every famous landmark in Paris, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre.

After flying overnight on a Saturday, I got into Paris and went to my hotel, where I showered and got my second wind. I booked a tour for the afternoon and then started walking towards the Eiffel Tower down the street. The designation on the tower was a countdown to the new millenium... 860 days until 2000. It was hot that morning, and people were swimming in the fountain. The lines were too long, though, to go to the top of the tower.

I walked back to my hotel and saw barricades on the street. I stood there for a while and someone asked me what was going on. I told them I thought the Pope was in town, but I didn't know. I crossed under the street and ate lunch in an outdoor cafe, when suddenly I heard cheering and then got this shot of John Paul II.

After I saw JP2, I went back to my hotel and was picked up for my tour. It began with a boat ride on the Siene, starting around the Eiffel Tower and going down beyond Notre Dame, past all of the famous bridges.

In August of '97, I had my first opportunity to go across the Atlantic. I was supposed to travel with a colleague, but his boss pulled him at the last minute, so I went myself. I spent about 30 hours in Paris and then 4 days in the London area. But I managed to tour both cities enough to know I wanted to return.

1997—Paris & London

On Friday, I got a chance to tour London, so I took the train into town and started walking. Here is Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

I continued my walk past Westminster Abbey, and then on here to Buckingham Palace. I saw the crowd early in the morning and wondered what was going on, so I hung around. Soon, there was the changing of the guards, so I got a good view of that. I then toured the inside of the Palace.

I continued above to Trafalgar Square and then on to Piccadilly Circus, Soho, and St. Pauls’ (upper right). I ended my trip at Tower Bridge below. I flew back home the next day, and that evening, Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris... on a street I had been on 6 days earlier. Her funeral was at Westminster Abbey, and people lined Buckingham Palace to grieve and give flowers. I had been to them all.

After spending Sunday in Paris for play, then working most of the day there Monday, I took the train from Paris to London through the Chunnel. I worked Tuesday in London, then went north to Coventry and stayed at this place, called the Coombe Abbey. Originally a 12th Century Cistercian abbey nestling in England’s historic heartland, Coombe Abbey is now a hotel.

This is also one of my all-time favorite pictures. Many mistake this for London Bridge, but it is Tower Bridge.