Part IV of Travels: Cool Sites

I went to so many different sites that there's no way to write about them all. So here are a few of my favorite sites.

I'd been to France before but never got a chance to go to Versailles. This time I made a point to go and was not disappointed. After seeing Marie Antoinette I knew that I could not miss out on seeing this absolutely beautiful place. Just for fun I've taken some stills from the film and put them next to my own pictures.


This is the front of the castle where the scene at the beginning of the movie where she first comes to court is filmed. Also, the screencap below is towards the end where the people are protesting and she comes outside and lays her head down. This front of the castle is so beautiful.


The gardens are beautiful, and huge! The sheer massive amount of land Versailles is on is pretty crazy.


After I left Versailles I thought, "I really want to watch Marie Antoinette again." Guess what was playing on the plane ride home? Marie Antoinette, I think it was fate.

One of the coolest places (or weirdest/scariest, depends on your taste) was the Kostnice Ossuary (aka Bone Church) in Kutna Hora, about 40 minutes outside of Prague. I had no idea this was even here until I met some Australians who told me about it and I'm so glad I did. It's a room in a church made out of over 40,000 human bones, yup, HUMAN FREAKING BONES. In 1278 the Cistercian abbot of Sedlec, Henry, traveled to Palestine and the ‘Holy Land’, bringing home a sample of earth which he sprinkled on the grounds. This caused the grounds to be considered sacred and as a result, lots of people wanted to be buried there. After the Black Death spread throughout Europe, there were 30,000 bodies that all wanted to be placed on these sacred grounds, so they um, got creative.


The chandelier is made out of every human bone in the body.




The Park Hyatt in Tokyo is where Lost in Translation was filmed. Even though it's just a hotel I absolutely loved it. I didn't stay there but made a point to go see it. Sofia Coppola said she chose to film the movie there because it felt like a floating sanctuary in an incredibly chaotic city, and I couldn't agree more. The reason it seems so serene is because the hotel begins on the 41st floor. The lobby, etc . . are all 40 stories above Tokyo and every room has a fantastic view of the city. The combination of black granite everywhere, incredible sweeping views of Toyko and quiet atmosphere, combine creating this odd feeling of calm.

My stupid camera ran out of battery so i couldn't take pictures of the incredible view but check out the website to see more. If you're even in Tokyo and can afford, definitely stay here! Funny enough, Lost in Translation was playing at on TV when i was in Tokyo. It's been a trip of Sofia Coppola movies.

Next up: Japan! Get ready for lots and lots of posts about it.