Not that I'm trying to make you jealous, or anything, but...

I'd just like to pause for a moment, to reflect on how cool this is.

Americans don't go to Europe very often, in part because of the challenges of getting here, but the great thing about coming here is that once you arrive, everything is so close. I've spent most of the last two weeks near a single town, and already I've been to about a dozen museums, Monet's garden, a zoo park inexplicably filled with hundreds of animals, some amazing ocean cliffs, charming seaside towns; cathedrals, ruins, and castles. Today, I went here:

Built in a little over a year by King Richard the Lionheart in 1196, captured by the French in 1204, an important castle in the 100 Years War, and then mostly dismantled in the 1600's by religious orders for its stone, this site is about a half an hour from my house.

But, um, I'm sure you all have lots of nice things near your homes too...