Paris

So I'm here in Paris... finalement! It is wonderful after all my travels to return to a place I am more familiar with :) During the last couple weeks we traveled all together to Florence and saw the Uffizi and some amazing pieces of italian art, and then we split up for free travel. I went with a group of five, Jennifer, JoAnna, John, Andi and I all went to Dublin for a couple days, then to London and our last journey took us to Barcelona. Dublin was beautiful with half-penny bridge and a famous prison to visit... London was fabulous- we saw Wicked, saw Big Ben, and rode the Tube everywhere including right to King's Cross to see platform 9 & 3/4 !!! Then Barcelona was restful with a nice beach, warmer weather and sunny skies... Jennifer and I even explored the museum there-- with a grand entrance with hundreds of stairs and fountains... and inside were even grander finds. After all the english speaking countries being in Spain challenged us because none of us spoke spanish... now in France again I find I feel so much more comfortable speaking in French and I understand much more of what people around me are talking about :) Today seeing the Louvre for the first time was fantastic... thinking back on it, I just saw so many famous paintings and sculptures I've heard about all of my life.. all in the short time of 4 hours... I can't wait to see what other marvelous adventures I will have here in Paris-- so much is planned for these last weeks here :)

Nature, Art and War

So we have ventured to various places these last few weeks admiring art and nature.. and even government... Here are a few highlights:

This was taken during an exploration of a park in Reims after school :) Jennifer Grimm and I found a playground, gazebo and even a few friendly ducks!

The group went to Le Musee de la Reddition and learned how close we live to the ending of WWII! There were parades right off our street and the papers to end the war were signed just down the road! The room where they sat to sign the papers is covered in maps and charts and has a plastic bubble for visitors to come into the historical room without aging it more.


We went to see Laon, which is a beautiful city on a hill... it was amazing just walking around the cobblestone streets, there weren't many tourists, it is one of the undiscovered treasures of France I think :)



We also enjoyed Strasbourg, the Venice of France with it's beautiful willows, water and architecture. While there we also enjoyed a tour of the European Union and saw several speeches on various issues, from the Israeli- Palestinian conflict to Yorkshire being the official home of Rhubarb...



A small group of us including JoAnna, Andi, John, Jennifer and I all went to Normandy for a two day weekend. It was amazing walking on Omaha beach and seeing Pointe du Hoc.



After a lovely evening at a hostel we were given a ride right to Mont St Michel. It was beautiful... and a lot of exercise.. we climbed up and down and explored all around the little island all day. We especially enjoyed a Saturday Afternoon mass with the beautiful voices of the nuns and the monks in a little chapel under the cathedral.

Museums and Treasures!

These were some kingly treasures... we saw these at Palais du Tau, which is conveniently located next to the cathedrale and contains not only treasures of the king, but also the original statues from the cathedrale.




So we went to Brussels and saw the Real Marat by David :) So cool, to see it up so close and read the letter stained with blood. Anyways, this museum was really cool, with statues by Rodin and other neat treasures.



Brussels was really beautiful as well, the architecture of the buildings was gorgeous... even as the wind blew cold and sharp as we walked around the town.


... and then beautiful Liege with an amazing cathedral.. and an even more amazing church of Christ that we visited :)