up up and away...

Wednesday : We woke up early and headed over to the directors apartment where we got on a bus and headed out to the hometown of Van gogh. When we got there we walked around the town where they had posted signs depicting his painting at the spot where he would have painted it. We walked around an old Church which he has a famous depiction of and then we found a field of wheat to run through.

It was all so beautiful and picturesque. Then we walked to the cemetery where he and his Brother were buried (after committing suicide).

Next we walked past his house and down small homes and fenced gardens. We met up with the rest of the group at a château where they have a museum of impressionism. It was a super fun museum (its kind of like a Disneyland ride with a fake café and fun train ride !) After that we got back on the bus and rode to Giverney (the home of Monet). It was absolutely breathe taking ! The sight of oceans of flowers swaying in the slight breeze could not even compare with the fresh, sweet smell hanging in the air. We walked through his cheerfully painted home and I couldn’t help but wonder, « had Van gogh lived in such a happy place would he have still ended his own life ? » I am not sure how he could.

Side track- I love nature. Paris is wonderful and I love the beauty of people and their marvelous creations. However at the end of the day – God’s creations just can’t be topped. I find a peace and joy that is unexplainable whenever I wander through His creations. Whether it be through the woods of Virginia, over the peaks of Philmont, or among the fleurs de Giverney, I am filled with wonder at nature’s beauty and God’s love.

Anyway after wandering through the flowers and the lily ponds stopped by a small café for some food and then made our way back to the bus. We then drove back to Paris. Sadly, I was supposed to bring someone their towel from Nice (but I had forgotten that morning) so I had to run back to my apartment grab it and then I met a bunch of people at Notre Dame. I didn’t really want to use another métro ticket to get to Notre Dame (b/c our Navigo no longer worked) so I just walked from bastille. It was a lovely walk and I realized just how much I am going to miss Paris. After giving Maddi her towel I headed with Mckenna, and Rachel to Shakespeare and Company (an old book store that is so fun ! It is very reminiscent of something out of Harry Potter – with books just stacked precariously EVERYWHERE !) Then Mckenna, Paul and I tried to find a hot chocolate place that is supposed to be SUPER good (Angelina’s) but when we finally found it – it was closed – not to mention pricy) Well then Mckenna and I raced back to our apartment for our last dinner. I was kind of sad that our last dinner was with Claude and her daughter (because her daughter tends to dominate the conversation –and I really love taking with Claude.) But – it was still really fun – and of course delicious! Then after dinner we Claude our gift of an old (1925) how to learn English book. She LOVED it! I was so happy I almost cried. It is amazing how much you can grow to love someone – even despite language, age, and religious differences – MAN I LOVE HER!!

Thursday : I woke up and went for my final run in Paris (word about my runs- they are seriously one of my favorite things I did because you get a quick view of large parts of Paris – plus you are filled with all those endorphins and…. Basically I just feel SOOO HAPPY!) Well, on this run I went to basically all my favorite spots including (Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, Pantheon, Louvre, Jardin de Luxembourg, Place de Voges, Latin quarter, along the Seine, and I saw the Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triumph, and all the marvelous bridges.) I stopped at a little café for an eclaire, and bought my favorite little butter knife thing at the market by my house. It was wonderful. Then I went home did last minute packing – exchanged bisous with Claude and left for the Gare. Then we took the train to Lyon – TGV baby! When we got there we had some crazy metro riding and bag lugging to get to the hotel but it just added to the amazing adventure. After that we walked around Lyon a bit – just to get a brief overview of the city. After walking around for a while we stopped for dinner at an AMAZING little restaurant in vieux Lyon. I had an amazing Lyonese salad, saussison, and crème fresh stuff for dessert. It was AMAZING! After dinner we hung around the river being super giggly on the bridge. Then we came home and watched Les Mis – well, really I just fell asleep on the floor.

Friday : In the morning we walked around the city. Prof Hudson took us into the courtyards in the buildings and told us about the renaissance architecture. We also went to two museums one about the history of Lyon and one about printing. The printing museum was the COOLEST. We learned about the evolution of languages and how printing effects our modern language. Then that night we went to dinner at the French version of Denny’s it was actually pretty good for being pretty cheap. After dinner we went to the Basilica at night. It was absolutely beautiful. The lights of the city reflecting off the river was wonderful. I talked to Sarah about our favorite views in the world – it was so fun to think about all the incredible things I have seen. Next we went to the area in front of the church and played the animal noise game – it was so funny! For the rest of the night we were all laughing, goofing around and being silly.

It's so nice to be in NICE!

Friday night – Possibly the worst nights sleep of my life. We waited for a long time for the métro to the airport. Then we wandered around the airport looking for a place to spend the night. We couldn’t get through security because it was about midnight (so securtiy was closed but we found a nice bench just outside of Mcdonalds and declared « this is the place ». Half of the girls decided that they would try to sleep on the chairs (with arm rests) and the other half of us banked on the floor. I lay out my towel, plumped up my backpack (for a pillow) and used my scarf for a wonderful blanket. I looked at my masterpeice and said to myself – with all my practice at philmont and my creativity with my luggage, this night is going to be gréât ! And then I lay down.

Turns out concrete floors are not the same as beds of pineneedles. Surprise ! Also there was some machine which made a high pitched sound about every 30 seconds – so everytime I thought I was just about to drift off to dream land that blaring sound would remind me of my reality. I lay on my back. Turned to my side. Hmmm, maybe the otherside. Stomach ? Definately not. Curled legs, uncruled legs. That is about when the screaming started. Some poor child was being forced to the same fate as us (waiting in the airport all night) and he was not happy. Only when its 3 in the morning and you are trying despirately to sleep, it is hard to keep that perspective. I wanted to kill him ! About the time he stopped screaming a parade of clicking heels marched passed as flight attendents and security people reported to work. Around 4 :30 we just got up resigned ourselves to the fact that we were not going to sleep, bought an expensive but totally Worth it pain au pomme, and made our way to security. (turns out our night could have been worse – Sarah had the night by herself at orley airport where there are mice !!) After we made it through security we dicovered they have bed like benches and carpeted floors… yeah… we totally had hobo envy.

Saturday : The short flight to Nice was fairly uneventful. We got there and took the bus to the beach by our hôtel. It was beautiful. We went to the grociery store and then had a picnic on the beach. Following that we held up towels for eachother so that we could change into our suits in the public shower. Other women did not have any issues about modesty as we got our first taste of topless sun bathers (question : why is it that the topless women are always old, flabby and wrinkly ? – GROSS- cover that up ! Well, then Maddi, Kayla, and I swam out to the boowy which was a lot farther that it first looked – but the water was cool, clear, and beautiful ! We played at the beach the whole day. I built a rock castle (because the beach was rocks not sand), and we had some gréât conversations. It was a wonderful relaxing day which we followed up with some delicous food at a café (I got a gyro assiette…mmm). The only draw back to the day was the fact that I got FRIED !! Anyway – the other worry was the fact that we were staying in a Small hôtel with 8 girls (when there should have been 3). We were scared that they would kick us out – so we had to go back to the hôtel in shifts so that the management wouldn’t get suspicious. So after dinner some when home and some of us wandered around the beach front rue. It was so beautiful ! Then another shift went back and others of us went to the old quarter of Nice. The buildings were absoulutely wonderful. The Bright colored walls and shutters just made everything cheerful. Sadly I was not feeling too gréât…. I felt feverish because of the sun burn, but it was totally worth it. Well, we were just about to start walking back when it started pooring rain. The rain felt like electric shocks on my burn but at the same time it felt good. We danced around in the rain and then got a little cold and decided to wait for it to let up a bit. We stood undersome trees and talked while we waited for the rain to stop. Then we went home for the night (I claimed the floor again so that I wouldn’t have to touch anyone.

Sunday- Mckenna, Sarah and I got up and worked hard to find the bus that would take us to the street where the Church building was. It took a lot of prayer for everhthing to work out because I am not a gréât bus navagator. Anyway – Finally we got on the bus and were still a little worried that we wouldn’t find the Church – when I saw a man with a book rolled up in his hand. « I think that is a gospel docterine book ! » So we creepily followed him and Voilà – the Church. Unfortunatly the bus fiasco took us so long that we only got to go to sacrament meeting – but I saw it as a miracle that we actually did make it just in time for the sacrament. After Church – everyone was SOO cute. The guy that we followed actually came up and talked to us for a while about what we were doing there and other fun Small talk – he was super nice ! I LOVE OUR CHURCH !! then we talked to a girl who was actually from Lyon so she told us what we should do when we go there, and was again way friendly. And then we met the mom of an elder who is serving with the institute in our Ward back in paris (Elder Plaitain). She was super cute and told us to give her son a bizou and then she was like « well you can’t really do that but give him a nice big hand shake ! » Well then we had to leave and meet up with the other girl so that we could go to Monaco. Sadly the rain was COMING DOWN ! Some girls started to back out of going but they couldn’t think of anything else to do in the rain – and I just said « well, I am going to go. I figure that I am only in Nice once – if I get drenched – so be it. » Turns out everyone decided to come. We found the bus and took a beautiful wet ride along the coast to another country ! It reminded me a lot of greece except with brighter colored houses. When we got there, Sarah and I split up to find the bus stop going the other direction (so that we knew what time the last bus left – turned out it was a good thing we checked because we only had about an hour. So we walked around in the rain and saw lots of AMAZING cars, the beautiful beach, ornate casinos and the fun, different architecture. Then after a while of walking around we got back on the bus and rode back. Then we took our wet, soggy selves back to the hôtel room and tried to dry out. We made an early night of it – and this time I took a spot on the bed (which was a double and a twin pushed together with 5 girls on it.)

Monday – BEST DAY EVER ! So it turned out that the only ones who wanted to go on the bike ride were me, Sarah, and Paul. So Sarah and I walked to the bike rental place (after getting a little lost) and met Paul there. We stood in line for a while and then signed our souls away in return for our three new best friends (our bikes). Mine had a lovely basket which I was happy to shove my backpack in so that I didn’t have to carry it against my burnt back. Then we walked across the street to the train station. After a monetary fiasco because of the stupid train ticket machines which only take coins, we finally got our tickets and got onto the train. Then we rode out to Cannes. We got out in Cannes and biked around a bit trying to find the beach. Then we had a nice old lady take a picture for us – but I am pretty sure she had some sight problems so they were kinda crazy. (but I loved her cause she was so sweet and nice to us). Well, then we started out on our épic ride. At first, Sarah and I thought we might die becuase of all the trafic and cars nearly nicking us ! I was a little nervous, but then I would look out on the sailboat filled sea and my heart would soar ! At times like that I would shout « WOOOT WOOT ! » and that became my tag line. I am pretty sure I said it about a million times that day. I loved riding along the coast with the most beautiful italianate houses, Bright blue océan and lovely sandy or rocky beaches. It was seriously unreal ! We stopped and got some food at a super marché and then biked to an old fort. There we sat for about an hour just talking, eating and enjoying the beauty and amazing-ness of where we were. Then we kept biking and stopped every so often to take pictures. To be honest no words, no pictures can acurately capture what an amazing expérience it was ! Well, the ride took alot less time that we expected so we got back to Nice at about 3 :30 and didn’t have to return the bikes until 6 :30 so we went to another super marché and bought 2 liters of ice cream (chocolaté and coconut) and then rode over to a huge set of stairs in nice. Then we climbed up to the look out and downed that ice cream b/w the three of us. MMM….. so good. There was an awesome accordian player who just added to the unreal magic of the whole day. Then we biked back to the bike shop and gave back our wonderful little bikes and then walked to paul’s hostle so that we could go to the bathroom. We sat in there and talked for a while and then we went to go get dinner. After a long time searching we found an inexpencive persian place – SOOO GOOD and the man who ran it was super nice ! He helped show us how to eat it and joked around with us when we ordered things that he no longer made. It was a perfect little place and the food was delicous ! Well, after that we thought about doing a Sunset swim but Sarah and I were a little cold and way too full. So instead we just had an épic rock skipping contest which turned out to be just crazily throw rocks in the the beautiful océan. Then we just hung out on the beach for a while, talking, throwing rocks, and enjoying the remainder of our perfect day !

Tuesday:

Four of us got up early so that we could get to the airport. We made it there in plenty of time, and then our flight was delayed so I just sat on the floor and tried to sleep. Then we finally got on the plane and rode back to Paris. When we got back to the train station, we bought métro tickets but they didn’t work from that station apparently – but we didn’t have enough stupid coins to buy the right ticket – so I am sorry to admit we piggy packed onto the train. Well, then we got back to our appartement started to pack, and then I really wanted to see the inside of the Pantheon –but Mckenna had already seen it. So I went for a walk by myself just wandering the Streets of Paris in the perfect paris weather (misty and drizzly). I walked around and realized just how much I am going to miss this city. Then I went to the Patheon where I met up with Paul who said that we could climb up it – so we did – it was super cool. I loved seeing the graves of Voltaire, Hugo, etc but also seeing all the main sights of Paris from the top of the Pantheon. Then I walked home and had dinner with Claude which was delicious and fun ! I love her so bad !

Amazing Adventures

Wednesday- We checked out the medieval museum which was super cool and in a really fun building. Then I had to race to class. After class we went on a walk/bus ride to where famous poets used to hang out, and then got the worlds BEST religeuse (pastry) - sooo good! After that Me, Sarah P, Kara, and Paul went to Invalide and saw the army museum and Napoleons tomb. While we were there there was a funny incident with the wind - b/c I was wearing a skirt and there was a group of old guys- well a gust of wind came and picked up my skirt. My hands flew down- and then one of the old men said "watch out for that wind" (in french). My face turned red and then I started cracking up! It was so awkward but so hilarious. That was super fun, and then after Kara, me, and Paul went to Croissy and Kara and I went to a café for dinner and then went back to play games with Paul and Caleb. Super fun good day.

Thursday- What a wonderful - full day. We met the whole group at Gard du nord and took a train to the Renaissance museum (which is in a wonderful chateau). It was fun to walk around and see all the tapestries, and Renaissance aspects of architecture. Then we had a picnic, and rode the train back. Following which I pulled some teeth and convinced some of the group to do a photo scavenger hunt with me all around paris. IT WAS SO FUN! We raced around on the metros and reminded ourselves how well we know Paris, and how much we love it! After that Mckenna and I went home to make Claude dinner - we made Taco salad (which we had to make the taco seasoning (which was an adventure b/c we didn't have all the stuff) - but it was still super good! Anyway, I also made some fresh salsa - that was soooo good (there is only one jar of "mexican sauce" in the store and it tasted WEIRD!) It was so fun to watch Claude's face and how excited she was to try American food. Gloria was over as well, and so Claude would ask how to eat it and then she would try and convince Gloria to try it. It was also super funny to see their reaction to the "spicy" flavor - (which we actually had tried to tone down) - they added ALOT of creme fresh! Well, Claude basically LOVED the experience which made it all so fun for us. Then after dinner we brought in homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk in big cups. Then we showed them how to dunk their cookies and wait till it soaked in a bit - and then eat. They loved it! Gloria was convinced that Mckenna's mom was a Patisserie chef b/c it was her recipe, and Gloria also said -"I love American cookies!"

Claude loved them so much she asked us to save some for her daughter to try. The whole thing was just what I had hoped it would be. It gave us a chance to share some of our culture with claude and we got to watch how much she wanted to learn about us! I really do love her. Then after dinner (yes we did the dishes for her) we met up some friends by the eiffel tower and watched the lights go off. It was so fun to just talk and laugh and watch the beauty of france sparkle! Paris is magnificent!

Friday- Got up today and went to put money on our phone. Then we headed over to the Louvre where a BYU art history teacher was teaching her students and said we could tag along. Low and behold Courtney from freshman year was in that group - it was super fun to catch up with her. It was also really neat to have someone tell us the significance of the artwork - it makes museums so much more enjoyable! After that we went and found an old "how to learn english" book from the early 1900's which we are going to give Claude as a going away gift (b/c she collects old books. Then I came home, packed, took a take home exam, and ate dinner. Tonight me and 7 other girls from our group are going to sleep at the airport so that we can make our early flight to Nice. It is going to be GREAT! (we didn't originally plan to sleep at the airport - but there are no metros to get us to the airport early enough - so - hobo style here we come. Well, I probs won't post anything until after nice so- there will be a lot of catching up to do I am sure!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.

Trying hard not to get as behind as before. Monday - I did a lot of homework. I wrote a paper, studied for a test, went to a photography exhibition, bought some sandals, wrote a paper for the photo exhibition, and did my class readings while sitting next to the lovely Seine...mmm.... school in Paris. Then last night we had dinner with Claude and it was super funny because we tried to explain how we didn't have beach towels to take with us to Nice (only we didn't know the word for towel). So I commenced acting out wiping down with my napkin. It was hilarious - but it worked because between laughter she said, "ooh....serviette de plage"... We all started laughing and every so often we would just say serviette de plage and all start laughing. Oh my - I am really going to miss her.

Today - I went for a quick run, and studied in the morning. Then I headed to school which was great. Then we went on a fun walk where we saw where the tour st. Jaques which was at one time a cathedral but was taken down during the revolution. We also saw were the St. Barthelemy day massacre started. After that fun walk, Me, Mckenna, Paul, Amy, and Rachel did the walk for class. We wandered around the latin Quarter and saw the skinniest street in Paris, Academié Français, along the Seine, etc. While we were walking around I saw a random niche just begging to be a photo spot - so I ran over there and we had a blast trying to fit us all in there! Then we came home and had an awesome dinner (with an AMAZING store bought crème brulé thing... mmmm SO FLIPPIN GOOD!

Super behind...but super epic...

Friday: Thursday night I asked people on facebook if they would like to see the sunrise at Sacré Coeur (because it had been previously suggested but we had never done it) there was alot of excitement even when people found out they would have to get up at about 4:30 am. So Friday morning I got up early, rolled out of bed and mad my way to the metro. Mckenna and I hurried up the huge flight of stairs to see a group of our friends with odd looks on their faces. As we got closer they explained that SURPRISE sacré coeur faces west. There was no sunrise for us despite our portrayal of devotion (through giving up our precious sleep)(but it was still pretty). So.... laughing from the lack of sleep and swaying somewhat we all made our way back to the metro and went home for some extra sleep. Then we met each other again to go to the catacombs. The catacombs were really unbelievable. I at first entered in a joking way (a little scared) and expecting the catacombs in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (with dancing bones and the works). What I found instead was quite different. At I walked amongst the piles of bones I felt that were I was walking was hallowed ground. I think the most obvious shock was just sheer numbers. 6 million bodies creates a lot of bones. And by seeing those numbers I could not help but think just how many wonderful people have live before and will live after me. I was also impressed by the reality of death (not animated or mystified by movies - but what really happens when one's spirit leaves their body). It was not at all scary, more just sad. I could not help but think that this is where we would all be stuck forever without the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The other part that I loved was that the crosses every so often reminded one that there is hope because of the Atonement! We can all live again - what an amazing MIRACLE!!

After the Catacombs we continued to the Louvre where I got to see the works of the millions of people who have lived on the earth. My favorite by far is the flying victory. I only did a quick run through but it was super fun to see things that I had learned about in art history classes. Next we went to a café with just me, Mckenna and her friend from when she was little (who was visiting). We had fun just sitting, eating, talking, and taking our sweet time - it was a great French café experience. Then we walked toward Notre Dame and saw some awesome roller skaters doing sick tricks over a bar. We walked around Notre Dame and that area at sunset which was the perfect end to our day (starting with the sun "rising").

Saturday:

I woke up so excited because I got to go get my dad from the train station and spend the weekend with him! I hurried to Gare du Nord and anxiously waited to see his head in the crowd – finally it appeared and I hurried to give him a big hug. Then we made our way to get metro tickets from the machines that I HATE (which of course didn’t work and we ended up buying a not so great pain au chocolat so that we could have the change to get the billet.

Well, then we rode to my apartment and I showed him around he met Mckenna and Claude and got to see my room. It was all super fun! I just really enjoyed having him there to talk to and explain my worries as well as all the wonderful things I had gotten to do. Then we went to lunch at a delicious Café and had the typical French beef and frites and mmmm…. Mustard!

We had a great time chatting it up and then took the metro to the institute building where I have church and school. We looked around and then continued a meandering walk back through the Marais to my house (stopping on the way to see the house of Victor Hugo). Then we went back to my apartment, I chucked some clothes in a backpack and we were off to find the car rental place. Sadly it took FOREVER to get the car, so we didn’t get to Le Mans until late. However the drive was super fun and made me so grateful that I have wonderful parents I can talk to who really care about how I am doing and are willing to talk about themselves as well. When we got to Le Mans my jaw dropped as I looked at the old roman ruins, the grand old wall around the old part and the magnificent cathedral. We went into the Cathedral and enjoyed part of a Saturday night mass, which was fun to experience and then stopped by a crepery for AMAZING gallets and crepes.

Then we walked around old Mans for a while, as the sun was going down. I simply cannot describe how beautiful and un-real it was!

Sunday:

WE got up and prepped for church and then took a walk around/in the cathedral, and a fun market.

We wanderded through the lovely old homes and I was forced to pinch myself and be reminded this was not a movie set but reality. Then we went to church and I tried hard to understand what was going on. It was a fun cute little ward with wonderful characters. One of my favorites would have to be the drunk orgainist who was chugging away in between hymns. It was fun to go to a real ward without millions of tourists. It was also fun to talk to people about my mom and my uncle who were both missionaries there.

Well, after church we had a picnic by the abby that was built by the wife of Richard the Lion heart (cool huh?). After that we drove around and found the big race track for the 24 le mans car race. It was fun to pretend we were part of it as we spead around.

Then we started our drive back and took the senic road so that we could see cute little towns and pass the chartres Cathedral. When we got back we turned in the car and then when to the place where John Taylor first preached in france. That was wonderful to see and also to hear the story of. Next we made our way to the madeline where we also watched some mass. Hen we took the metro back to gare du nord (with hard to aquire tickets- the lady at the ticket booth slammed the door on me when I said the machine didn’t work. And the came out to help me.) It was super sad to say good bye- but what a wonderful visit.

Monday: decided to only speak in french for a week. went for a run to the jardin du luxambourg around them and to the pantheon and then rode the metro back. Walked around notre dame and wanted to go to the conseige but it was not free... hope to go back. Then I split off while they went to st. Denis - I went to the louvre at first they didnt let me in for free either but I went to a different guy and it worked. Man that place is big... by that time my feet hurt, my brain hurt, and I was just not feeling it... So I mean I stayed for at least two hours but then I left and found a place to get a millefeuille and ate it in the jardin de tulleries.

Then I just enjoyed that for a while, then went over to the institute but i was an hour early for fhe so I went to the only remaining renaissance fountain left in paris, and then to the road where herni 4th was killed.... then I went to fhe for the lesson and hurried home for dinner.... which was as always super fun - we talked about what we did over the weekend/today and also about the problems in the world (especially with the economy). Today was a rough day- I am sore, my head hurts and I know that tomorrow I am going to have to get up and speak more french. If it doesnt kill me it will make e stronger, and if I don't hate the french language by the end of this week - I will love it.

oh... also there is a big political riot at the Bastille all the time now (after the riots began in spain) - usually a bunch of young people calling for a revolution like that which started at the Bastille - it is kind of cool to be part of history - right outside my window! Below is a picture of a banner calling for Paris to wake up just next to the Bastille Monument.

Tuesday/Wednesday- I can't remember exactly what I did each of these days so I will just stick to the basics - one of these days I went for a run to Notre Dame. Also I went to an archeology museum which is under the big are in front of Notre Dame - that was so cool because it showed the evolution of paris from pre-roman times. It was fun to learn about the history while walking alongside ruins dug up by archeologists. Both of these days I went to class with our new teacher - Professor Hudson- He is super awesome! Tuesday we all made ourselves sick from eating too much millfeuille - but boy was it good! Then both days I sat in on the 400 level Renaissance class which consisted of some lecture and then some exploration (where Hudson took us around Paris and showed us examples of what we were learning about. I loved that because the added knowledge of the historical/artistic significance gave walking around Paris a whole new layer of significance. Then of course we had our dinners with Claude which were delicious and super fun.

Wednesday we had to eat early because we went to a french production of Peter Pan. It was super hilarious to one watch it in french (but with a bunch of random songs in english - not the songs from the disney movie). Also - the way that french comedy is totally different from American - to what me just seemed super weird was to the french audience super hilarious. Then randomly they said some English curse words but none of the french kids/adults seemed to realize... the whole thing was quite the interesting experience!

Thursday – We got up super early to get to our professor’s house by 7. When we got there the bus arrived and we all hopped on and commenced our long sleep. We Slept for about two hours and got to Bayou. We walked around the town which was so flippin’ cute.

We walked down little allies and over stone bridges. Finally a bunch of kids stopped for lunch but Sarah and I had brought food so we just found a bench and sat down to have a nice little picnic I was impressed with our ability to have a fun, normal conversation in french …( granted we had lots of problems –but we effectivly got our points across.) Then we went and saw the bayou tapastry which was super cool. I was amazed at just how long it is and also at the amazing story that it told. It was incredible to see that just like with my french I they were able to get their point across though a foreign language – (cross stiching).

After that we got back on the bus and road to the American cemetary of Dday.

That was an amazing expérience. As I rounded the corner of the monument I looked out on the sea of headstones and I had to fight back the tears. There are really no words to describe amazing feeling on those grounds. I slowly walked through the headstones and as I neared them I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer. With tears running down my face I thanked my heavenly father for this expérience and for the awe-some sacrifice of these Young men and thier families. I felt so proud to be from a land whose Young men were willing to give their lives for the freedom of others. That in turn made me think of what I do to give/dedicate my life to the lord as well as my fellowmen. Really, there are just no words to describe the incredible expérience to be had there. After leaving there we went to Pointe du Hoc – which was a key battle ground in the dday invasion.

The land was all torn apart with huge bomb holes, and there were still bunkers and gunner posts which we walked through it was really eerie to walk through the areas where the german soldiers would have been shooting from, and try and imagine the brave soldiers scaleling the cliff only to find supply boxes without amunition. The whole day was just amazing especailly for me as a histroy major. I love studying because I feel so connected to the wonderful people who have lived before me. So, to go to a place where évents like dday really happened was just incredible. Well that night we went out to dinner at a fun pizza place –which was delicous and I had a wonderful time laughing my head off with Sarah p., Kara, and Casi. Then we went back to the hôtel.

Friday – Today we drove to Mont st. Michael. As we followed the bends of the road I caught my first glimps of the city and it took my breath away. The huge village rising out of the sand was very reminicent of Hogwarts. Really there are no other words for it than simply magical! We had a wonderful time walking around the cute little town and following different winding stairs upward. Sadly when we reached the abby we couldn’t go Inside because surprise surprise they were on strike. Still, we loved walking amongs the amazingly picturesque homes. Then we decided to go run on the quick sand – smart right ? It was actually super fun ! It was so weird to see/feel the sand rippling benethe you and then feel yourself singking. There were a few times we had to pull each other out which was a little freaky.

But then after a wonderful time down there we were hungry so we went and found a nice little crepery and had gallettes and crepes – YUM ! After that we had to return to the bus and started our drive to Le mans. When we got there we went to a store and bought food for dinner – I got rillettes ! WAhoo !

(Sarah and I got a baguette, rillets, a bunch of little cheeses, and two salads – perfect. Then we all returned to the hôtel and had a party in the hall while we ate our dinners then we played games and had a wonderful time (but sadly didn’t see any of le mans so I was glad that I had gotten to see it the weekend before.

Sat- We got up and had a WoNDERFUL breakfast with yogurt/honey/granolla,/ bread/Nutella/hotc hocolate/ etc. Then we drove to Blois where we got to see the beautiful château and admire the large variety in different acrchitecture peices. After walking through the château Sarah and I went to find food at a street market. We both bought a cool hat, and a delicious sandwhich (italian versioin of an australian bbq).

Then we drove to Chambourge and got to tour that châteaux as well. It was so much fun to run up and down the DNA stairs and try and figure out who was on which stairs. It was also amazing to still smell the smokeness of the air from all the huge fires built in the great fireplaces. We went to the Church and then all sat on the grass for a while just being amazed at the fact that we were really just sitting on the lawn of a pricess castle..

Then we drove home to paris. We played some fun games on the bus but when we arrived in paris I think everyone was happy to be « home ». Sarah and Mckenna and I decided to go home to our apartment and make dinner. So we went to the store and did the best we could to buy ingrédients for Taco salad. Then we went home and made it. It was super tricky b/c there was no taco seasoning packets in the store so we tried to make it with the spices we had and it must have been pretty close because as the smell wafted to our noses I got SOOO EXCITED. I did not realize how much I love some things about amaerica until that smell reminded me. The food was gréât but not really taco salad. The meat tasted really different and the salsa was closer to indian chutney than salsa…. But all the same i twas yummy and we ate a lot. I had also gotten some premade crepes from the store and we downed the package of those without too much difficulty (with lemon and sugar/Nutella…mmm) Then Sarah had to go home and I went to bed.

Sun- I loved going to the Ward in Le Mans so much that I decided I really wanted to go to a different Ward again (because it just hard with so many byu students, tourists, etc to have the same feeling as a real Ward). So I decided to go to Versailles b/c my mom was a missionary there and one of her companions also lives there. As I talked about it I also convinced Sarah, Mckenna, Toni, Paul, and Caleb to go with me. We all met at the train station and rode down there together. Then we walked to the Church building and got there in time for Sunday school and Sacrament meeting. When Sunday school was over (which was a super good lésson by the way) I talked to the office elder that I knew freshman year (Elder Ellis – who was there and sitting right in front of me) and asked if he knew a sister Rivoire or the Demur family – he got out his Ward list as said that the sister missionaries were over the Demur family and he didn’t see a Revoire. I then went and talked to the sisters (this is all in french by the way b/c it was my last day of only french). Then pointed out the Demurs for me. I went over to them and tried to explain who I was. They seemed to not hear me/ not understand – totally rejecte I went back to my seet b/c the meeting was starting. As the Sacrament was passed I prayed that if they were the right people/ if sister Reviore was there – that my lack of ability to communicate would not hinder me finding them and that I could find them. Just as the first talk began a woman walked back to me, squatted down and said (in really excited french) you are MaryAnn’s daughter ? YES !! I said- and we arranged to meet after the meeting. MIRACLE ? i think yes ! After Church we were given flowers for mothers day – which was also a miracle b/c now we can give them to claude and don’t have to break the sabbath to get her a gift. Then I went and found the Dumers and tried to help them find my mom on face book. I talked to them about why I was there, the fact that I lived in France when I was little, and the sad truth that sister Revoire is not longer active. It was super fun in a kind of akward way (b/c I didn’t really know who they were and they didn’t know me but we bonded over loving MaryAnn Homer.

Well, then our little group headed out walking back to the train station. We had a fun time just talking and laughing and then on the train had a great conversation about dating/dating stories (super hilarious – but important at the same time) we shared our thoughts about what is important and what is twisted through movies/poor perseptions etc. Then I came home ate a whole bunch and have been trying desperately (sitting along the banks of the seine – so don’t feel too bad) to catch up on this blog.

Finally I would just like to say in regard to my week of french – WOW IT WAS HARD ! It was hard on my brain which was constantly trying to think of how to say things. It was hard on my mouth constantly trying to prounounce odd sounds. It was hard on my personaltiy not to have the ability to portray those things I wanted to and feeling traped by the language barrier. It was hard socially because when everyone else jokes and laughs in English you just feel like a retard studdering your way though french. AND YET- it was worth it. Not because I received the gift of tounges and no longer have to practice my french – NO I AM A LONG way from being fluent. But- because of what it taught me – 1. That I can do hard things – when I stick my mind to something – BAM- Done. 2. Sympathy for those who feel for what ever reason isolated, misunderstood, or even just tierd. 3. That when we work hard/sacrifice the Lord doesn’t just make it easy (like I had kind of hoped for an make us automatically fluent) but rather he gives us the strength to make it through so that we can learn the important lessons there to be had. What a wonderful experience !