Tuesday, June 26th 2007: Paris is Amazing!

At the Catacombes! We were some 80 feet underground with millions of bones! The quarries were converted into a mass tomb near the end of the 18th century. It was kinda creepy but really cool!
Some of us in front of the Church of the Sacred Heart
Jim Morrison's grave in Paris
Lindsey and I looking hot in front of the Moulin Rouge
Inside the Paris Opera House where Phantom of the Opera was filmed

Today was full of fun! We woke up early to go to the Musee d’Orsay, with the group. It was a pretty neat place. There were paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, including original works from Degas, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, etc. Afterwards we were free to do what we want so a few of us went to the Catacombs, The Paris Opera House, Moulin Rouge, The Church of the Sacred Heart and best of all, Cimetiere' du Pere-Lachaise, the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried. Kaari and I were so happy since we are huge Doors fans and never thought we'd get the chance to go! We packed a ton of stuff into the day but it was well worth it. Paris is amazing!!

Monday, June 25th: St. Chappelle, Pompedou, Notre Dame, Louve

In front of the Notre Dame!
Inside The Notre Dame during Mass
The Pompedou. The escalator was outside of the building and had an amazing view of Paris
The view from the Pompedou
Gelato break! It was so good!
What a long day! We sure did pack a lot in today and I really wish we could have spent a little more time at some of the places and less at others. Our plans have fluctuated a lot since we have been here in Paris. Many of our planned visits had to be rearranged due to their random hours. Our first stop was Sainte-Chapelle. The church was built in six years (1242-1248) and was designed to house the relics of Christ's Passion, including the Crown of Thorns! Our next stop was Notre Dame. I was so happy to go there since it wasn't on our list of places to visit and I was worried I wouldn't see it. The cathedrals are by far my favorite places we visit. They give me goosebumps! They are so beautiful. The Pompedou was the next stop. It's a very modern museum which I didn't really care for. Some of the art was cool but I just don't see much talent in most of the modern art. Getting a huge piece of cardboard and painting it three different colors isn't art to me. I could do that. The cool part of the Pompedou was the outside escalator that took us to the top of the building. We had the most amazing view of Paris from there. Next we hit up the Louve. It was so awesome! It was just as impressive in real life as it was in Da Vinci Code. We saw the Mona Lisa and I even snapped a picture of it even though we weren't suppose to. I also saw a large collection of Egyptian pieces, the Samothrace, and the Venus de Milo. We were planning on going to the top of the Eiffel but we were really tired and it was raining really hard.

Sunday, June 24th 2007: Disneyland Paris!

Today five of us girls spent our free day at Disneyland Paris! I felt kind of dumb going at first but we ended up having such a great time and it was great to loosen up and have a break from the group and the constant tour guides. Plus, how many people can say they have been to Disneyland in Paris!? Space Mountain was my favorite ride. We went on it three times and two of the times I had the front seat! It was weird seeing all the Disney characters I grew up with speaking French! We though it was hilarious every time we got on a ride and the voice would come over the PA and give directions in French. We had no idea what they were saying but we just buckled in and enjoyed the ride. We left around nine o’clock and headed to Planet Hollywood for some dinner, which was a pretty bad idea might I add. The food was gross and overpriced but what can ya do? Overall, the day was awesome and we had such a good time! It’s crazy to think none of us girls knew each other a few weeks ago and now we are the best of friends exploring Europe together! I love these girls :)

Saturday June 23, 2007: Paris!

Us at Fontainebleau

On the steps at Vaux Le Vicomte
Entrance of Vicomte
one word..BEAUTIFUL!
Today was wonderful! First off, we slept in until ten o'clock which was much needed after everything we went through yesterday. We had a bus arranged that picked us up at our hotel and took us to all our destinations for the day. It would have been nice to have this kind of service everyday, but in all reality, part of the experience is the traveling it takes to get there! Our first stop was Fontainebleau. It was a gorgeous mansion that dates back to the 12th century. Since then, all the kings of France have lived in the Palace. The most impressive part was the horseshoe stairway at the entrance to the Palace. After Fontainebleau, we hopped back on the bus and headed for Vaux Le Vicomte. On the way, our bus driver stopped at a supermarket so we all could get some lunch for our planned picnic at Vicomte. I will never forget how confusing it was to shop there! It was hilarious. None of us know a lick of French so it was tough trying to figure out what kind of meat we were buying for our sandwiches. When we arrived to Vaux leVicomte we enjoyed our picnic and walked the gardens. We waited to go inside because we had a candlelit tour eight. At night they light everything up with candles, even outside in the gardens! At eight the sun wasn’t down yet so we didn’t get to have the full experience of the candles but luckily they shut all the blinds inside so it was very dark. I loved it because it gave us a real glimpse of what the house looked like some four hundred years ago when they didn’t have electricity and had to use candles.Vaux dates back to the early seventeenth century and is home to the tragic story of Nicolas Fouquet. Fouquet was King Louis XIV's superintendent of finances and a faithful minister who built the beautiful Chateau. The King visited Vicomte and threw Fouquet in prison for life out of jealousy of his beautiful estate. The history and beauty of this place was fascinating. I loved it here. We finished Vicomte around ten oclock and jumped on our bus for the long ride home. Today was once again ..amazing! Tomorrow five of us are going to Disneyland Paris and I can’t wait!