Last day in France

Today was our last day in Paris. So as a group we explored Paris. We went to the oldest cemetery in Paris, then we went to a park and then we were able to go off and do our own thing.

Before we were able to go out and explore there was an adventure all in its own that occurred. My metro passes weren’t working and either was Laura’s. We looked back to see if anyone was in the window to help us and no one was there. Everyone was leaving us so we did the dumbest thing. We jumped over the gate. Now before you think poorly of me we see locals do it everyday so we didn’t really think about it. Bad decision, today just happened to be the day they were checking tickets. So after we jumped these to French ladies came running after us. They were in fact metro security and spoke no English so we could tell them our situation. We ended up paying a fine. It is crazy to think that my first fine or ticket of any kind happened in France. This will be a great story to tell the grand children.

The Cemetery 

First we went to the cemetery. The cemetery was really cool. It was kind of dreary but it’s amazing to think that inspiration can come from anywhere. The cemetery had some really cool pattern designs. I think it was really interesting being able to walk through a cemetery that could potentially have people buried in it that are older than America. I really enjoyed seeing all of the old graves and how much it has changed from then to now. While at the cemetery I found a random stray cat, it was creepy but cool. I tried to take a picture but was never able to get a good picture.

After finishing up in the cemetery.

The Cemetery

The Cemetery

After leaving the cemetery we went to a park that was down the street. I am not sure what the park was but it was beautiful. It was the perfect place for a lunch break.

When we left the park we were free for the rest of the night to do any last minute thing in Paris.

The Park

What I started sketching at the park

sitting at the park

The last thing on our list was to go up the Eiffel Tower. So later that night, me, Madison, Andrea and Laura all went to the Eiffel Tower. It was really cool. First we waited in line for about 45 minutes and then we went up the Eiffel Tower. It was such a beautiful view of Paris! Every hour on the hour the Eiffel tower lights up and while we were on top it did just that. It was amazing, and very bright. If you have sensitivity to bright flashy lights I wouldn’t recommend it. While the lights were flashing we decided to sing happy birthday to Andrea for her “birthday.” It was great people were staring at us.

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower

View from 2nd level

Eiffel Tower lit up 

Then we decided to complete a goal from our bucket list and kiss someone on the Eiffel Tower. The hardest part of this task was finding someone who we considered eligible. 

The other thing I found out tonight was that France is full of creepy men. EWW!! I have never had so many gross drunk men hit on me before, but that’s France for you.

Versailles

Today was a beautiful day! I woke up, got ready and went to Versailles. Versailles was created and inspired from Vaux le Vicomte. It was made for King Louis XIV. You can recognize this from observing the detailing. Louis XIV was king during the Baroque period of design and Versailles is very much Baroque with all of the gold and decoration. Another detail that was common for Louis the XIV was the symbol of the sun, and so throughout Versailles this symbol will appear.

The symbol of the sun

I have one word that could describe Versailles, HUGE! After turning the corner from the metro station, you could see Versailles right away, all of the gold on the building reflected bright in the sun.

Versailles from a distance 

Me standing at the gates 

When we got there we decided to look through the gardens first. It was like going to the zoo, on a hike, and to Disneyland all in the same time. It was very large. Versailles definitely takes the award for the largest place we have seen so far. While going through the gardens we went and saw the Gran Trianon and the petit Trianon and the separate world that Marie Antoinette created for herself. 

Sculptures

Marie Antoinette's portion

Marie Antoinette's Portion

While in the gardens, we sketched and while I was sketching the group left. I was with Andrea. Once we realized that everyone was leaving we started to follow, and then in the blink of an eye we lost everyone. So we started to go the way that we thought everyone else was going but that was wrong. We ended up lost at Versailles and not only were we lost but we had to go to the bathroom. It was quite the experience. As we were walking in search of the bathroom and the group we decided that of all the places to get lost Versailles was probably one of the worst ones. Once we finally found a bathroom we found the group as well. That was exciting, it was like when a child gets lost in a grocery store and they finally find their mom and dad that is how we felt.

Lost At Versailles

Once we were done with looking through the gardens we went inside. It was magnificent. The work put into Versailles is incredible. My favorite room was by far the hall of mirrors. It was beautiful. While we were in there we saw a bride and groom taking wedding picture. It was beautiful. Her wedding pictures are going to be incredible.

Versailles

Versailles

Versailles

Hall of Mirrors

At the end of the day if I had to make a decision of whether I liked Versailles better than Vaux le Vicomte I would say no. I say no because Versailles is way to big and it just shows how proud the king was. 

Patterns

This morning I woke up expecting to go to Versailles. I looked out the window and saw gloom and thought, “great, this is going to be a long day.” Apparently I was not the only person who was thinking this after seeing the rain.  So instead of going to Versailles we had another relaxing day.

Today we started out being creative. We were given time to brainstorm ideas for patterns and then we critiqued them as a group. Most people like to hear feedback about their ideas so this was a nice treat, plus it also helped prevent procrastination. Although we didn’t go to Versailles we still went out and saw more of Paris.

Moulin Rouge

After the weather cheered up we went to Sacre-Coeur instead. On the way to Sacre-Couer we stopped by Moulin Rouge. It was cool to see. Not only did we see Moulin Rouge, we saw really cute shops, old European roads, and beautiful scenery.

Crazy Graffiti

To get to Sacre-Couer we took the metro and then we walked up. Sacre-Couer is located on top of a hill in Paris, so we were basically going to the highest point in Paris. When we got there it was worth the hike. The view was incredible. After arriving a small portion of the group decided to climb to the dome at the top of Sacre-Couer.

Sacre Couer

Most people wouldn’t want to climb up 300 steps to see a dome or a simple view of Paris but I would go back and do it again. It was worth the small amount of money and the climb to the top. The view was incredible, and it was so peaceful at the top.  I feel like a commercial trying to sell a product but it really was a great experience. Besides now it is official I can say that I have been to the highest point in Paris.

Climbing to the top of the domb

View from the top

After climbing to the top and soaking up the view I went back down to ground level and went inside of the basilica. It was beautiful, plus I enjoyed seeing the nuns.

Sacre-Couer was beautiful and was a highlight of the day. My next highlight was getting sketched by a man on the street, he did a really good job and it would’ve been perfect if he had gotten my eyes right. I enjoyed being sketched though and seeing the outcome on the page was worth it.

Yummy Cupcakes 

Then like usual I got a sandwich for dinner. And on the way back to the hotel we saw children yelling in the streets. At first we thought it might have been a riot against child labor or something but then we realized they were cheering because they won a championship for football (soccer)! It was really exciting. I realized that in America we don’t show our passion like that as much. Sure we get excited about a win but we don’t chant down the streets and block traffic about it. 

Lockets of Love: Summer Solstice

Laundry time

Sparks coming from the machines

yay for clean clothes

I thought that yesterday was a slow day but today was even slower. I woke up and did my laundry because everyone likes you better when you don’t stink. The laundry mat was really interesting; it was a blast trying to figure out how to use the machines. It was also expensive so from now on I will never complain about how much it costs me to do laundry at school in Logan.

Zaha Hadid Exhibit

Zaha Hadid Exhibit

After doing laundry some of us decided we wanted to check out the Zaha Hadid Exhibit that was in Paris. Unfortunately by the time that we got there it was closed but the experience getting there was cool all in its own. We went back past the Notre Dame. It was cool seeing the Notre Dame in a different angle. Then we looked at this really cool bridge. It had pad locks all over it. These padlocks all had names on them and were there to symbolize love it was really cool to see. While we were looking we thought it would be fun to see how many times we could find our names.

Lockets of Love 

It was pretty intense trying to get there.  The metro was packed full. As Laura put it, it was like a living death camp from the holocaust. There was so many bodies packed in, when you thought that one more person couldn’t possibly fit on the metro ten more would get on, it was very hot and cramped.

Summer Solstice starting

Another thing that we thought was a little strange today was how crowded the metro was and that there were random music/dance parties going on everywhere. When we got back to the hotel we realized why. Today was summers solstice and of course there are going to be parties. Later that night we went to one. It was an outdoor concert. It was a lot of fun. The people there were all pretty chill so we decided to show them how to rock out at a concert.  Once we got lost in our own little world we had someone come up to us and tell us that we were cool, and that he wanted to be like us.  It was a great experience in Paris.

Flea Market

Today was nice. I was able to sleep in, which was exciting. It was a really relaxing day. We woke up in time for breakfast. Then we took our time getting ready for the day. Then around 12 we ventured off to the Flea Market.

We're off to see the market

The Flea Market in Paris is known as one of the biggest in the world. At first I wasn't sure what to expect but once we arrived I realized that it was just like a giant yard sale. I really liked seeing the variety of objects that could be found. There was a large variety of objects it ranged from antiques, to useless toys or junk, to brand new clothing. It was really interesting to see.

Part of the Flea Market

Walking around and observing the way people interacted and the environment reminded me of back home when I would walk down the street or in some cases through the halls at Hinkley. People were talking all around, there was loud music playing (the majority of it was American Hip Hop, R&B/ Rap) people fighting, people in love and people smoking marijuana. I felt right at home, minus the French and the overly friendly men. It was a really interesting experience. I also think it's interesting that the majority of the music played here is in English, that was a twist I wasn't expecting. At the market we got some crepes and other goods, it was a great experience.

Some cool bikes 

The guy who made me some food

Yay for crepes 

After going to the Flea Market we decided to attempt going out dancing. This didn't go very far. We found a place that looked like it would be a lot of fun but we didn't want to buy alcohol to stay so we left. Instead of dancing we went to the Eiffel Tower. On the way there we took the Metro and to our advantage it was completely empty so we decided to take some fun pictures, and now we can say that we took pictures on the Metro in Paris with only one other person on the train. It's fun when experiences pop up like that unintentionally.

Free day number 1 in Paris

Today was our first free day in Paris. It was a little bit intimidating since I don’t speak any French. If I remember correctly I took French for 6 weeks in 6^th grade. I enjoy listening to French people speak but when they start talking to me I have no idea what they are saying and when I want to talk back I automatically want to speak Spanish. I think it’s cool how since the languages are similar I start to think in Spanish. Another thing that is somewhat frustrating about it is I don’t know how to pronounce anything so even sounding words out doesn’t really work for me, instead I automatically start to sound it out as if it were Spanish which is wrong.

Today we attempted to go to church. There were two churches that we found that were fairly close. The only difference between the two was the timing. First we tried to go to the church that started later so that we could have a better chance of getting there, but when we got to the place where the church was supposed to be it was closed, literally it was bared up and covered. So then we made our way to the next church building where we were going to go at first and just barely missed church. We took some pictures and then talked to the missionaries. After talking to the missionaries we found out that the other building was at stake conference and that it is known as “the jungle.” Talk about an adventure.

Entrance to the Church

Us leaving 

From church we went to Notre Dame to see Quasimodo. Unfortunately when we got there he wasn’t home but it was ok we were willing to wait. We sat in there for about 4 hours. We wanted to participate in a service but it was taking too long and we were getting tired of sitting there. While we sat there I got some good sketching in and it was relaxing.

The Notre Dame

Rose Window in the Notre Dame

The Interior of The Notre Dame 

The Notre Dame is a gothic Cathedral and is a sight to see. It was equally beautiful outside and in. The detailing was incredible. I really liked the rose windows and the chandeliers. It was amazing, and I didn’t mind sitting in there to sketch and soak up the incredible work.

After leaving the Notre Dame we (Andrea and I) went back to the hotel to eat some food. On the way we saw some rioting going on, but since I don't speak french I had no idea why they were upset.

Riots

The Arc de Triomphe

Walking back down the stairs 

After fueling up we went to see one of the most famous monuments in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe. We took the metro to the stop where it was at and so when we came out from the metro stop it just took one step and a glance to be in awe. It is enormous! This is a monument where human scale really comes into play. It is crazy to see the real size versus what is portrayed in a photograph.

Look at the scale, that's Andrea standing there 

Look how small the cars are 

The Arc de Triumphe

We went to the top of the arc to see the view that everyone talks about. And the rumor was confirmed it was miraculous. Paris is Beautiful.

Me looking at the view 

View from the top

LOOK MOM 

View from the top of the Arc de Triumph

After Arc de Triomphe we had plans to go to see the Statue of Liberty but for some reason we couldn’t find it but instead we saw an incredible view of he Eiffel Tower. I’m pretty sure that I will never be tired of seeing the Eiffel Tower while I am here. 

Eiffel Tower

I think I can be the Eiffel Tower 

Yummy yummy in my tummy