Sorry I haven't posted anything this week. And I probably won't be able to post anything until Sunday. It's been a crazy week getting ready for midterms (today ah!) and I am going to Belgium early in the morning tomorrow and am not taking my laptop. But just to tide you over . . . you can see my latest photo essay here. It didn't turn out as good as I wanted, but oh well. And there's some really good photo essays by other people on there that you should look at if you want to see a bunch of great photos of architecture in Paris!
A bientot!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Incredible Video
I'm going to go down a different path today with this post. It's not about Paris at all. I saw this video on Facebook and it was just so moving and amazing, that I wanted to share it in case any of you haven't seen it before. If you have, it wouldn't hurt to see it again!
*Now, I know that there are a ridiculous amount of typos in the video, but just ignore them. It's worth it.
*Now, I know that there are a ridiculous amount of typos in the video, but just ignore them. It's worth it.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
I . . . love Paris!
Notre Dame - 400 steps. Arc de Triomphe - 298 steps. Eiffel Tower - 710 steps. My week - 1400+ steps.
*Give or take a few steps on each. I'm not positive on the exact numbers.
Somehow I managed to be here in Paris for over a month without going up to the top of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, or the Eiffel Tower. Then, I somehow managed to do all three this week!
It's been a crazy week - but an AMAZING week. My legs are on the brink of a rebellion, but it was all so worth it. Each of the experiences and views were so different and so great. As you saw in my prior post, the view from Notre Dame was amazing. The walk up was intense with the little tiny spiral staircase.
Then on Tuesday we did Arc de Triomphe. This was INCREDIBLE. We went up there at night. The city is a completely different thing at night. The view was beautiful and the city was fantastic. It was as I was standing there on the clear night, with the perfect weather, with my head in between the bars staring out at the beautiful city that I truly fell in love with Paris. I've loved Paris since I got here, but that night it became so much more. I don't know how I am ever going to leave it. (And I saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle for the first time that night too!!)




And it gets even better! Today we did the most iconic building of them all. The Eiffel Tower.
I see it like every day and I've been there multiple times, but it was my first time actually going up in it. My legs were pretty sore (shocker), but we made it! We obviously paid the second fare to go all the way up to the top from the second level (via elevator luckily) because how could we not have? It was so . . . just wow. The whole experience was amazing. Oh I just love Paris so much.
Some of these were taken on the stairs on the way up, some on the first floor, some on the second, and some from the top. Hopefully you can tell the difference.














So the reason we did the Eiffel Tower today was because it was in the walk we were doing. Or we did the walk because we wanted to do the Eiffel Tower today . . . ? Either way, it was part of the walk. This walk was like super mega walk. It took ALL day. We went all over Paris, I swear. The three major things that we hit were the Musee Rodin, Invalides, and the Eiffel Tower. The Rodin Museum was AMAZING. I have always loved Rodin, so I absolutely loved seeing his work. We saw the Thinker!

And the Kiss! (which, btw, is my third favorite sculpture - wow, you just know so much about my sculpture preferences!)

And so many other things.


It was incredible. Like wow. And the gardens were just breathtaking. This was seriously my favorite museum I've been too. It was just so great. (And I don't know if that includes the Louvre - because the Louvre is not just a museum, it's like it's own city.)
Then we went to Invalides, where we saw Napoleon's tomb and went into the Musee de l'Armee. The Army Museum kind of bored me to be quite honest. Apparently I am just a bad person who didn't appreciate how amazing what she saw was. But I am kind of okay with that. After the museum, we went to lunch at the Cafe de Marche. I had Tartare de Saumon. (That's salmon, in case you didn't assume as much already.) It was good, but not the greatest. The duck I had there before was way better. Then we splurged and got some amazing gelato from Amorino. They have phenomenal gelato. And when you order it in a cone, they make it into the shape of a rose! How cool is that? Maybe I will get a picture of it one of these times. After the gelato, we headed to the Eiffel Tower. Which brings us back to the semi beginning of this post! Yay.
*Give or take a few steps on each. I'm not positive on the exact numbers.
Somehow I managed to be here in Paris for over a month without going up to the top of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, or the Eiffel Tower. Then, I somehow managed to do all three this week!
It's been a crazy week - but an AMAZING week. My legs are on the brink of a rebellion, but it was all so worth it. Each of the experiences and views were so different and so great. As you saw in my prior post, the view from Notre Dame was amazing. The walk up was intense with the little tiny spiral staircase.
Then on Tuesday we did Arc de Triomphe. This was INCREDIBLE. We went up there at night. The city is a completely different thing at night. The view was beautiful and the city was fantastic. It was as I was standing there on the clear night, with the perfect weather, with my head in between the bars staring out at the beautiful city that I truly fell in love with Paris. I've loved Paris since I got here, but that night it became so much more. I don't know how I am ever going to leave it. (And I saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle for the first time that night too!!)
And it gets even better! Today we did the most iconic building of them all. The Eiffel Tower.
Some of these were taken on the stairs on the way up, some on the first floor, some on the second, and some from the top. Hopefully you can tell the difference.
So the reason we did the Eiffel Tower today was because it was in the walk we were doing. Or we did the walk because we wanted to do the Eiffel Tower today . . . ? Either way, it was part of the walk. This walk was like super mega walk. It took ALL day. We went all over Paris, I swear. The three major things that we hit were the Musee Rodin, Invalides, and the Eiffel Tower. The Rodin Museum was AMAZING. I have always loved Rodin, so I absolutely loved seeing his work. We saw the Thinker!
And the Kiss! (which, btw, is my third favorite sculpture - wow, you just know so much about my sculpture preferences!)
And so many other things.
Then we went to Invalides, where we saw Napoleon's tomb and went into the Musee de l'Armee. The Army Museum kind of bored me to be quite honest. Apparently I am just a bad person who didn't appreciate how amazing what she saw was. But I am kind of okay with that. After the museum, we went to lunch at the Cafe de Marche. I had Tartare de Saumon. (That's salmon, in case you didn't assume as much already.) It was good, but not the greatest. The duck I had there before was way better. Then we splurged and got some amazing gelato from Amorino. They have phenomenal gelato. And when you order it in a cone, they make it into the shape of a rose! How cool is that? Maybe I will get a picture of it one of these times. After the gelato, we headed to the Eiffel Tower. Which brings us back to the semi beginning of this post! Yay.
Monday, October 19, 2009
So. Many. Steps.
Two posts in two days! This is looking promising!
So I started off the week on a fabulous note. I went to French class, of course, and then I had a yummy Croque Chevres for lunch. It's like a Croque Monsieur, only it has goat cheese and tomatoes inside it instead. It's very good. After that, I did a walk. It was kind of a boring one, but oh well. It wasn't too shabby. Then I met back up with some girls and we climbed to the top of Notre Dame! It was about 400 steps up this little tiny winding staircase. It was crazy haha. But it was so worth it! The view was incredible! Like wow.
I took a LOT of pictures. Here are some of my faves.





(I love how you can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. And Sacre Coeur in that last photo)
And here's some pictures of me and not just the view! The first is self explanatory. The second is me in the doorway leading to the bell! So great.

After this lovely experience, we decided to walk along the Seine. After a bit, we sat down and just chilled there for awhile. How great is that? "Oh yeah, I sat by the Seine today." Wonderful.

So all in all, it's been a fantastic Monday and it looks like this week is going to be a good one!
So I started off the week on a fabulous note. I went to French class, of course, and then I had a yummy Croque Chevres for lunch. It's like a Croque Monsieur, only it has goat cheese and tomatoes inside it instead. It's very good. After that, I did a walk. It was kind of a boring one, but oh well. It wasn't too shabby. Then I met back up with some girls and we climbed to the top of Notre Dame! It was about 400 steps up this little tiny winding staircase. It was crazy haha. But it was so worth it! The view was incredible! Like wow.
I took a LOT of pictures. Here are some of my faves.
(I love how you can see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. And Sacre Coeur in that last photo)
And here's some pictures of me and not just the view! The first is self explanatory. The second is me in the doorway leading to the bell! So great.
So all in all, it's been a fantastic Monday and it looks like this week is going to be a good one!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Massive Update: Take 2
Okay, I for real am going to start being better about blogging. haha. Because I don't like having to keep having these like dump sessions. So I am PROMISING to blog at least three times a week. Because I can't break a promise. Therefore, I have to follow through! So, there ya'all go. I will be better. But since I didn't follow through with being better after London (oops haha), I now have A LOT to fill you in on. The funny thing is, since my last post, the most stuff has happened. Blah. Time to blog dump.
LONDON
London was absolutely amazing. I loved it. So so much. We got there in the middle of the day on Monday. That night we walked around a little and decided to go to Les Mis. Best production ever. Oh my goodness. It was phenomenal. Then Tuesday our whole group went to The Globe and saw As You Like It. It was sooo fun! We stood, like the peasants would have back in Shakespeare's time, and it was great! We were like RIGHT there. I got bumped numerous times by the actors walking onto the stage. I highly recommend this to anyone. After that, we went and got tickets to Wicked. It was my fourth time seeing it haha and it was amazing. Good play. The Glinda was kind of a let down, but besides that it was wonderful! Wednesday we pretty much shopped all day. Which was awesome. And then we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and then to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! I had never seen Phantom before, so I was completely thrilled to see it. I loved it!! So so much. It was incredible. I still liked Les Mis better, but Phantom was so great. Like wow. On Thursday, me and three other girls took a bus tour thing to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath. It was soo fun. Totally worth it. We went to Windsor and explored the castle for awhile. Then we did Bath. The Roman Baths were so cool. And I loved the city itself. So amazing and beautiful. And then we made it to Stonehenge. Which was awesome. Of course. On Friday I went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Way cool experience. Then I finally had fish and chips (right off of Tottenham Court Road! bah! how exciting is that?). After that it was on to the British Museum. It was so great. I wish I could've spent more time there. I saw the Rosetta Stone though! And really cool mummies. And a bunch of other stuff. Then we went to evening prayer at Saint Paul's. The music was really pretty. And Saint Paul's is just beautiful. Then we went to Wagamama's for dinner. It was excellent. We ended the trip with the V&A Museum. It was awesome, but it closed earlier than we thought so I didn't get to see much. Then we went home the next morning. Whew. That was rushed and not detailed, I know. Here are some pics.

Windsor Castle.




I love when people see you trying to take a picture of yourself and ask if you want your picture taken. That happened at Buckingham Palace.
SINCE LONDON
So much has happened since London. It's really quite ridiculous how much I have to tell about haha. The first week back there wasn't that much. I was sick, so I didn't do a bunch of thing. Although we did take a field trip with our whole group to Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte. If you didn't know, Vaux le Vicomte is the chateau that inspired Louis XIV to build Versailles. He was jealous of how great it was and threw Fouquet (the owner) like into prison haha. Sad, but kind of funny. Based on this history, you know it's gotta be something special. And it was. But they have recently added like . . . figures to the rooms. Which was just creepy and cheesy. Haha. But the gardens were way pretty. Here's some pictures from Vaux le Vicomte.


(yes, that IS a screen on the left playing a scene of people dancing, as if the room keeps going hahaha)

Besides this little field trip, I didn't do much. I went to the Saint Ouen Flea Market though. That was awesome. And I did my homework. Which included my photo essay for the week. You can read it here if you want. It's so me haha.
Now this week has been a completely different matter. I have done SO much. I don't even know where to start! So I guess I should probably just start at the beginning of the week haha. I had a French test on Monday. Not exactly exciting. Tuesday I had class and then I went to my friends' apartment to plan our Italy trip! And we figured it out! And bought tickets! So I officially have my Italy trip planned! Well, the plane tickets at least haha. I am so very thrilled. We are going to Rome early on a Thursday and staying there until Sunday night. Yay!
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday I had class again. French (which I have everyday) and Art History. We are finally at a time of art that I really like. (Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, etc.) As always, we went to the Louvre and spent two hours there. So during that time I saw the Mona Lisa for the first time! Which is cool just because it's the Mona Lisa haha. But even better than that . . . I saw my favorite sculpture for the first time! It's the Eros and Psyche one by Antonio Canova. It's my absolute favorite of all time. Which is saying a lot, because sculpture's my favorite kind of art. I saw a copy at the Met when I went there, but this was my first time seeing the original! And it was so beautiful. So wonderful. Wow. I only saw it for a second though because we were just walking through that room. So I need to go back and spend some time really seeing it! Same with the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue (my second fave), which I quickly pass like everytime we go to the Louvre.
So after class is when my week started to become like best week ever. That night, I went to a soccer game! A REAL soccer . . . er, football, game! It was France vs Austria. And it was one of the funnest things I have ever done. The excitement and everything was just so great. I LOVED it! I don't know how I'm going to go back to the U.S. where soccer's not that big. Oh goodness. It was just so great.


THURSDAY
Thursday was a great day haha. It "started" off right with Confit du Canard for lunch. Duck is my favorite meat. Because seafood's not meat, right? If it is, then it's my favorite non-seafood meat! Look how yummy it looks!

After lunch, we went to the Salon du Chocolat. We = Professor Olivier and about half the students. The rest were doing other things or were in Ireland/Amsterdam. They totally missed out. Because it was AWESOME! There was so much chocolate. Everywhere. And this thing is like a big deal. They do it in like Paris (obviously), NY, Tokyo, Moscow, etc. Basically it was like a fair/boutique, where all the booths are different chocolate companies. Local French and otherwise. And most had free samples. Talk about chocolate overload. Mmm. It was wonderful. And they had a fashion show with clothes that were at least partially made out of chocolate. Here's some pictures, so you can get an idea of the fantasticness of it!
*Sorry that some of them are blurry!




(Really blurry picture, but I just had to show you that price. 49 euros!)





Okay, that's more than enough chocolate pictures. Now onto the fashion show. I didn't have a very good seat so I didn't get very good pictures. So here's a video I took. It's better than any of the pictures!
LONDON
London was absolutely amazing. I loved it. So so much. We got there in the middle of the day on Monday. That night we walked around a little and decided to go to Les Mis. Best production ever. Oh my goodness. It was phenomenal. Then Tuesday our whole group went to The Globe and saw As You Like It. It was sooo fun! We stood, like the peasants would have back in Shakespeare's time, and it was great! We were like RIGHT there. I got bumped numerous times by the actors walking onto the stage. I highly recommend this to anyone. After that, we went and got tickets to Wicked. It was my fourth time seeing it haha and it was amazing. Good play. The Glinda was kind of a let down, but besides that it was wonderful! Wednesday we pretty much shopped all day. Which was awesome. And then we went to an Indian restaurant for dinner and then to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! I had never seen Phantom before, so I was completely thrilled to see it. I loved it!! So so much. It was incredible. I still liked Les Mis better, but Phantom was so great. Like wow. On Thursday, me and three other girls took a bus tour thing to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath. It was soo fun. Totally worth it. We went to Windsor and explored the castle for awhile. Then we did Bath. The Roman Baths were so cool. And I loved the city itself. So amazing and beautiful. And then we made it to Stonehenge. Which was awesome. Of course. On Friday I went to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Way cool experience. Then I finally had fish and chips (right off of Tottenham Court Road! bah! how exciting is that?). After that it was on to the British Museum. It was so great. I wish I could've spent more time there. I saw the Rosetta Stone though! And really cool mummies. And a bunch of other stuff. Then we went to evening prayer at Saint Paul's. The music was really pretty. And Saint Paul's is just beautiful. Then we went to Wagamama's for dinner. It was excellent. We ended the trip with the V&A Museum. It was awesome, but it closed earlier than we thought so I didn't get to see much. Then we went home the next morning. Whew. That was rushed and not detailed, I know. Here are some pics.
Les Mis.
Windsor Castle.
Roman baths.
My first, and last, time doing the classic, lame pose. Haha so funny.
A better pic at Stonehenge haha.
I love when people see you trying to take a picture of yourself and ask if you want your picture taken. That happened at Buckingham Palace.
SINCE LONDON
So much has happened since London. It's really quite ridiculous how much I have to tell about haha. The first week back there wasn't that much. I was sick, so I didn't do a bunch of thing. Although we did take a field trip with our whole group to Fontainebleau and Vaux le Vicomte. If you didn't know, Vaux le Vicomte is the chateau that inspired Louis XIV to build Versailles. He was jealous of how great it was and threw Fouquet (the owner) like into prison haha. Sad, but kind of funny. Based on this history, you know it's gotta be something special. And it was. But they have recently added like . . . figures to the rooms. Which was just creepy and cheesy. Haha. But the gardens were way pretty. Here's some pictures from Vaux le Vicomte.
Besides this little field trip, I didn't do much. I went to the Saint Ouen Flea Market though. That was awesome. And I did my homework. Which included my photo essay for the week. You can read it here if you want. It's so me haha.
Now this week has been a completely different matter. I have done SO much. I don't even know where to start! So I guess I should probably just start at the beginning of the week haha. I had a French test on Monday. Not exactly exciting. Tuesday I had class and then I went to my friends' apartment to plan our Italy trip! And we figured it out! And bought tickets! So I officially have my Italy trip planned! Well, the plane tickets at least haha. I am so very thrilled. We are going to Rome early on a Thursday and staying there until Sunday night. Yay!
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday I had class again. French (which I have everyday) and Art History. We are finally at a time of art that I really like. (Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, etc.) As always, we went to the Louvre and spent two hours there. So during that time I saw the Mona Lisa for the first time! Which is cool just because it's the Mona Lisa haha. But even better than that . . . I saw my favorite sculpture for the first time! It's the Eros and Psyche one by Antonio Canova. It's my absolute favorite of all time. Which is saying a lot, because sculpture's my favorite kind of art. I saw a copy at the Met when I went there, but this was my first time seeing the original! And it was so beautiful. So wonderful. Wow. I only saw it for a second though because we were just walking through that room. So I need to go back and spend some time really seeing it! Same with the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue (my second fave), which I quickly pass like everytime we go to the Louvre.
So after class is when my week started to become like best week ever. That night, I went to a soccer game! A REAL soccer . . . er, football, game! It was France vs Austria. And it was one of the funnest things I have ever done. The excitement and everything was just so great. I LOVED it! I don't know how I'm going to go back to the U.S. where soccer's not that big. Oh goodness. It was just so great.
During the game. Look how packed it is! And I just loved all the French flags being waved. It was sooo cool.
I bought an official jersey! And I had a hot dog. On a baguette. What a night haha.
THURSDAY
Thursday was a great day haha. It "started" off right with Confit du Canard for lunch. Duck is my favorite meat. Because seafood's not meat, right? If it is, then it's my favorite non-seafood meat! Look how yummy it looks!
After lunch, we went to the Salon du Chocolat. We = Professor Olivier and about half the students. The rest were doing other things or were in Ireland/Amsterdam. They totally missed out. Because it was AWESOME! There was so much chocolate. Everywhere. And this thing is like a big deal. They do it in like Paris (obviously), NY, Tokyo, Moscow, etc. Basically it was like a fair/boutique, where all the booths are different chocolate companies. Local French and otherwise. And most had free samples. Talk about chocolate overload. Mmm. It was wonderful. And they had a fashion show with clothes that were at least partially made out of chocolate. Here's some pictures, so you can get an idea of the fantasticness of it!
*Sorry that some of them are blurry!
Okay, that's more than enough chocolate pictures. Now onto the fashion show. I didn't have a very good seat so I didn't get very good pictures. So here's a video I took. It's better than any of the pictures!
FRIDAY
Friday was the happiest day ever, because we went to DISNEYLAND! Disneyland Paris, that is. It was SO fun! I mean, it was Disneyland. How could it not be fun? And it was decorated for Halloween! Which was heavenly for me because I've always wanted to go to Disneyland during October. The rides were way different, but great! It was really just so fun. As always, here are some pictures!



We didn't meet a single princess. How sad is that?
SATURDAY
Saturday was a lovely day. I went to the Bois de Boulogne in the morning to take pictures for my photo essay, which you can read here. Then I did a walk. During that walk I went to Saint Sulpice and to PIERRE HERME! He is like super rockstar of pastry chefs. Like best in Paris pretty much. The line was like out the door and around the corner. But it was worth the wait. I had a delicious mini macaron (his are supposed to be the best) and some other thing. It was two macarons with stuff in between I think. And the flavors were raspberry and rose. So good. Look how pretty and yummy they both look!


After my walk, I went to the Salon du Mariage. On the metro that morning, I saw the sign for it that I see like everyday. And the date finally registered yesterday. It was October 16-18! So I had to go yesterday! And it was AMAZING!!! Like the greatest thing I have ever been to. If you know me and how much I LOVE weddings, you will understand how it was like utter heaven for me. Especially since they had a room with WEDDING DRESSES. It was the same as Salon du Chocolat in that there was different booths. But it was way nicer and more upscale in a way because I mean, it's weddings. Couples were there literally planning their weddings. And THE best part of the whole thing was that they had a real fashion show. With the dresses. And some tuxes. I saw a wedding dress fashion show. With a real designers and high class designers and everything. Wow. Just wow. I couldn't really take pictures most of the time though, so I am sorry to tell you that I don't have any pictures to share with you. But know that it was incredible. Beyond incredible. Haha and my other favorite part was when one of the people there asked me, in French of course, when my wedding was and I was like "Oh, next October." Haha. Except in French but whatev. It was awesome.
I think that brings you all up to date! I will be back SOON! A bientot!
P.S. So apparently when you add like mass amounts of pictures and a video to a post, the pics go from good quality to very poor quality. Good to know.
Friday was the happiest day ever, because we went to DISNEYLAND! Disneyland Paris, that is. It was SO fun! I mean, it was Disneyland. How could it not be fun? And it was decorated for Halloween! Which was heavenly for me because I've always wanted to go to Disneyland during October. The rides were way different, but great! It was really just so fun. As always, here are some pictures!
We didn't meet a single princess. How sad is that?
SATURDAY
Saturday was a lovely day. I went to the Bois de Boulogne in the morning to take pictures for my photo essay, which you can read here. Then I did a walk. During that walk I went to Saint Sulpice and to PIERRE HERME! He is like super rockstar of pastry chefs. Like best in Paris pretty much. The line was like out the door and around the corner. But it was worth the wait. I had a delicious mini macaron (his are supposed to be the best) and some other thing. It was two macarons with stuff in between I think. And the flavors were raspberry and rose. So good. Look how pretty and yummy they both look!
After my walk, I went to the Salon du Mariage. On the metro that morning, I saw the sign for it that I see like everyday. And the date finally registered yesterday. It was October 16-18! So I had to go yesterday! And it was AMAZING!!! Like the greatest thing I have ever been to. If you know me and how much I LOVE weddings, you will understand how it was like utter heaven for me. Especially since they had a room with WEDDING DRESSES. It was the same as Salon du Chocolat in that there was different booths. But it was way nicer and more upscale in a way because I mean, it's weddings. Couples were there literally planning their weddings. And THE best part of the whole thing was that they had a real fashion show. With the dresses. And some tuxes. I saw a wedding dress fashion show. With a real designers and high class designers and everything. Wow. Just wow. I couldn't really take pictures most of the time though, so I am sorry to tell you that I don't have any pictures to share with you. But know that it was incredible. Beyond incredible. Haha and my other favorite part was when one of the people there asked me, in French of course, when my wedding was and I was like "Oh, next October." Haha. Except in French but whatev. It was awesome.
I think that brings you all up to date! I will be back SOON! A bientot!
P.S. So apparently when you add like mass amounts of pictures and a video to a post, the pics go from good quality to very poor quality. Good to know.
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