Europe, Summer 2002 In the summer of 2002 we all had pretty much graduated.  Four of us grabbed a cliche and a plane and backpacked around Europe for five weeks or so.  Jeff, Mike, and I made the first leg of the trip through France, Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Austria.  Then we met Tyson in Rome and swung by Cinque Terra, the French Riviera, Spain, Normandy and London.  I was supposed to go to Ireland for a couple months with Jeff and Ty, but I was broke, missed my bed and girlfriend, and needed to take the LSAT, so I headed back with Mike after five weeks.  Jeff, myself, and Mike with Notre Dame in the background.  Never did see the place.  Got sick of sightseeing and pretty much the whole dumb city of Paris after a day.  Our remaining time there was better spent in Amsterdam.  Ever notice that Paris is full of dog poop?  Dirty French. First of all, the French charged us a ton of money to get into Versailles and see the hall of mirrors - And the mirrors weren't even clean!  Then they wanted to charge us even more to see Louis' stupid gardens.  Not a chance, greedy Frenchies.  We should have let the Germans keep the damn place. I know gas is expensive in Europe, but let's be honest here. Apartment for a week in Prague                 =              $300 Bottle of Absinthe (90% alcohol)                =              $10 The look on your buddy's face when he takes his first shot of the stuff out of a teacup and realizes he has nothing to chase it with   =   Priceless The intrepid travellers take Monterosso.... ...and spend a quality evening drinking $2 wine and playing Euchre on a wooden door mounted on blocks.  "But what about the artwork of Europe? The symphonies?  The museums?" you may ask.   None of that for these guys.  Cheap alcohol and English-speaking girls is all the culture they need. "That looks heavy.  Let me give you a hand with that." The French hate it when American kids come to Nice. The French really hate it when the American kids do Karaoke in Nice. And the French really, really hate it when American kids come to Nice and do a really horrible Karaoke version of the Backstreet Boys.  Surprisingly enough, no International Relations majors in this group.  Le Pen was right.