always bring a jacket.

18/5/16 18:15

Saturday
As a class we went to Fontainebleau which was like a summer home version of Versailles if that makes sense. It was a lot less crowded and a lot less gaudy and all in all I liked it more. Even though the gardens are not as extensive and ornate, they are still very beautiful in a more simple way. We took an embarrassing amount of pictures, but hey it paid off because we got at least like 1.5 cute ones out of the (large number I don't want to admit) we took.

Sunday
churchhhhh woot woot youpi. Then we explored the Jewish quarter a little more and I got my fist falafel and some boba. It was a good day. Then I headed home and I have no recollection of what the heck I did.

Monday
We did walk #15 "Saint-Ouen's Labyrinth: Navigating the World's Largest Flea Market" which was cool and there were lots of cute little shops, including some with stacks on stacks of bongs. quality. then we headed back over to the marais and Claire and I went thrift shopping and got some quality black leather jackets! am I a native yet!?!? lol then we had FHE and watched a 40 minute long video and I was sitting on the arm of a chair the whole time and my butt totally feel asleep, but hey at least I didn't actually fall asleep like a couple of the people there. Then we headed home for dinner with our host family which was a crepe party! yay! pro-tip: for the best crepes just put sugar and lemon juice on it.

Tuesday (yesterday)
We did walk #11 "Lutetia Pulchra Est: Musée National du Moyen Âge, Sorbonne, Pantheon, Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, Arènes de Lutèce" and the weather was actually really nice so it was very pleasant. On our walk we ran into a girl from our ward and she came along with us for the rest of the walk so that was really nice because she's been living here longer and was able to teach us some words and help us learn more "slang". The parthenon was a crypt-like thing and I can now say that I have seen where Victor Hugo and Marie Curie are buried. Swag. Then we ended up on Arènes de Lutèce which was an ancient Roman arena where animals and humans fought each other. Instead of watching that at the arena, we got to see lots of little school children flirt and play soccer. Supes interesting.

Today!
Walk #16 "Montmartre: Saint Denis and other legends". A little background: today the weather report said that it was going to be nice outside so I wore sandals, and didn't bring a jacket or an umbrella. Rookie mistake. Anyways, for the first couple hours it was actually a really nice day. And that is where we shall begin our story. We headed over to Montmartre and then took a bus (huge props to the driver, those roads are cray) to where we had lunch and then we headed up to Sacre-Cœur where we climbed to the top (300 stairs, so ya know, another leg day) and the view was absolutely stunning. besides the Eiffel Tower, the Basilica is the highest point in paris, so yeah, that was swaggy. Had a nice Beyonce dance party at the top. Then after we got out it started raining. And then as we continued the walk, it started REALLY raining. So that was fun. (see below for pic of me loving the weather!!!!) Anywho, despite the rain and getting soaked and absolutely freezing most of the day, it was a quality day. There are worse places to get soaked I suppose. And oh yeah we also saw Van Gogh's house and Moulin Rouge so that was cool.

if u look closely u can see me and friends

before the guard told us to get out

$wanz

look at me like this lion (or dragon??) looks at the smaller version of itself

biiiiigggggg

wow s'cute

basic 

af

mom and dad: dont read what those shorts say!

parthenon

wall of love

my first croque-monseiur 

friends and sacre-cœur

viewz

!!!

me @ the stupid rain

Dear Picasso, WHAT R U DOING?

23:05 13/5/16

Today has been swell. We did walk #8 "Marais 2: The Jewish Quarter and Musée Picasso" which was actually only a block or two away from where we have class so that was convenient. We stopped at Magnum Paris and it totally made me think of my grandma who is totally rad. Sorry that I didn't buy anything, but don't worry I'll go back sometime before I leave to get something. Pretty much it was a "customize-your-own" ice cream bar type of place and they all looked friggen delicious. Walking through the Jewish Quarter was really cool and if you like falafels, it is definitely the place for you! We stopped at "Archives Nationale" which was like a mini version of Versailles. Except there were tourists everywhere. So we definitely really liked it. Then we scurried on over to "Musée Cognacq-Jay" which was a fancy house/art museum. Très chic. Then we had the immense pleasure of going to Musée Picasso. Can you sense the sarcasm in my voice? Don't get me wrong, art is super cool and I love having to ability to see chef d'oeuvres up close and personal, but seriously...what the heck Picasso? Maybe I'm missing some deeper meaning but I just really did not get any of the art/why people find it so amazing. Like one room in particular had a bunch of people in it around a painting so I assumed that it would be something absolutely amazing...and then I rounded a corner and saw that it was literally just some goats on a hill. anyways, on a more exciting note, I GOT BOBA YAY. and then I came home and worked on my essay that was due tonight because oh yeah.. I'm still in school? Easy to forget sometimes when I'm out and enjoying this city haha. And now I am comfortably in my pajamas ready to watch a lil netflix and then hit the hay. Night night. Sweet dreams.

@grandma

cool wall art made of lots of tiny faces

anothah one!

look back at it? we tried, i failed

princess' rooms always have the best lighting

creppy af

attempt to recreate creepy af

kewl?

boobs or olives?

HOW IS THIS ART I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I LOVE FRANCE AND I LOVE BEING MORMON

19:45 12/5/16

Monday

After class we did walk #10: «Playing Hooky in Le Quartier Latin». We started at Fontaine Saint-Michel and walked along the streets which were full of little shops and restaurants. One thing to warn you about: most of the restaurants will have a person standing at the door and if you stop for a second to check the menu, they will try their hardest to convince you to eat there. Anyways, we stopped at l'église Saint-Séverin which was beautiful (like every other church we've been to this trip. Seriously. So many churches) We stopped for lunch and I got steak-frites!!! I don't think you understand how cool it was to see that in real life after having it on like every vocab list ever since freshman year high school French. Ok maybe I exaggerated a little but still, it was a cool "coming-full-circle" type of moment. After that we finished the walk by strolling along the seine and Pont Neuf (@ my freshman year Paris project). There were lots of bouquinistes and I got all my souvenir shopping done #yay. After the walk we went to Shakespeare and Co. and sat in the park to get our homework done. After, we went home to regroup before heading back out for FHE that night which was a really cool experience. After that we left early to have dinner with our host mom which was delicious (comme d'habitude)

Tuesday

Walk #4 «Of Art, War, and World's Fairs: Les Invalides, Musée Rodin, La Tour Eiffel».  We started over at Champs-Elysées and walked past the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais and then headed over to Esplanade des Invalides where we got Domino's pizza for lunch. Classy. I know. Then we went inside Invalides and saw Napoleans tomb. When we got out we saw lots of people and smoke in the street so of course we went to see what was going on. Turned out to be a manifestation and around that time it started raining. Yaya. We headed into the army museum at Hôtel des Invalides which was also really cool to see more modern stuff in a museum. Next on the list was Musée Rodin which was actually a really cool (and small) museum with beautiful gardens that would've been even cooler if it wasn't pouring. After we met up with some people visiting from Utah and we went up to Sacre-Cœur which was gorgeous and I got soaked. Then later we all met up again to watch the lights at the Eiffel-Tower and rent bikes. PSA: if you have not biked along the seine and through the Latin quarter at night, you have not been doing life correctly. By far one of my favorite nights to date.

Wednesday

We had class at the BYU apartment and then headed over together to go into Petit Palais which is now a museum and had a lot of 16th and 17th century art which is what we're studying right now so that was cool. After that I took a nap. Very nice and very needed.

Thursday (aujourd'hui!!!)

This morning after class we did walk #6: «Marcher le nez au vent: sights and smells around the Madeleine». It was a really cool walk. We went into two churches (surprise surprise) but they were both really cool. One was inside a Parthenon looking building and the inside kinda matched that as well. Afterwards we went to a museum of perfume. So sick. Of course I bought one (it was actually really cheap. Like same price as Bath & Body Works. But like actually smells really good) after taking a tour through the museum (which was actually super interesting and one of my favorite museums so far) we headed over to Musée d'Orsay for a tour with our group. So. Cool. I love art. Especially when a very smart person is explaining everything to you. Right after the tour we hopped on the RER to Versailles and I am still sitting on the train rn lol. Why are we going to Versailles you ask? BECAUSE UCHTDORF IS SPEAKING THERE TONIGHT. can you tell I'm excited? Along with being excited; I'm also late. But that's okay. Mormon standard time right? That's all for now but I'll finish up tonight when I get home (hopefully lol)
One last thing: I LOVE PARIS AND ITS ALREADY BEEN 3 WEEKS AND TIME IS GOING BY TOO FAST AND IT MAKES ME SCARED AND SAD BECAUSE I DON'T EVER WANT THIS TRIP TO END. Ok tantrum over we can all go back to being responsible adults now. Â bientôt.
23:54 12/5/16
Update: we got on the wrong train hahahahahah my life. we ended up on the opposite side of the city of Versailles so we walked fast/jogged/ran to the Palais des Congrès and made it in time to see Uchtdorf speak!!! and it was so good!!! He talked about so many things that I wanted/needed to hear and overall it was an amazing experience. Afterwards we grabbed some (delicious) dinner; you can never go wrong with 5 euro kebabs. yum. afterwards we got on the RER back to Paris and there were like 8 missionaries and 10 of us BYU kids on the train! It was quite amusing. we all went around and said our names ad where we were from and it was cool to see all the connections. Man I love Mormons and missionaries. As we were transferring to the metro a girl came up and asked if we were from BYU and turns out she graduated from there and is now trying to find a job in Paris. Her friend ended up on the same metro as us and her name is Stephanie (!!!!) and as we left we got bises (!!!!our first real ones from a french person!!!) all in all it was a long but utterly amazing day. I love life. Like wow. On that note, imma hit the hay and get some shut eye to catch up. Peace and blessings.

the weeknd

Thursday: Went to Parc Monceau in the morning with my roommate and wow. I think I like it even more that Jardin du Luxembourg. And the fact that its like a 15 min walk from our apartment isn't too shabby either. After that I headed over to L'arc de Triomphe. Warning: mom and dad (aka the only people reading this) don't read this next thing. So being the clueless american tourist I am, I was unaware of the underground tunnel that goes between the metro and L'arc de Triomphe. A little background: the arc is in the middle of a giant roundabout and the only thing I'll say about drivers in Paris: 10000000 times worse than utah drivers. There are literally no lines on the road. Anyways, back to the story of me being clueless af: i assumed that you had to find a break in traffic and then sprint across the roundabout to the center. So I waited. And t never came. Finally I saw a (presumably) american family that looked like they had the same idea as me. So, when they started to sprint across in the middle of traffic? I went with them. hahahahaha one of the more stressful things I've done this past week. But hey: I'm still alive! Anyways the story (kinda) gets better. I was meeting 2 of my friends and they said they were under it but I didn't see them so I called and they told me about the tunnel so I went and found them in line in the tunnel so we could get our tickets (free bc arts card. i'm telling you: its magical) to climb to the top. They asked how the heck I was coming from the direction I came from and i told them and then they proceeded to tell me about the tunnel from the metro and how they were joking about me being able to find them really easily unless I wanted to get run over and run across. Was that story at least kinda funny? no? a waste of your time? ok. maybe it was one of those things you had to be there for. OKAY MOM AND DAD you can start reading this again. After climbing to the top and looking at the view we wandered over towards the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. So beautiful. And it was another beautiful day which made everything even better. We grabbed some dinner and it was prob the worst meal experience we've had (which isn't even that bad its just that everything else is friggen delicious) partly because the people didn't speak french really well and did not understand anything we asked them and partly because it was a complete rip off. Anyways rant over lets move on. The plan was to climb to the top of the tower in time to watch sunset, but our luck was that the top was closed when we went to buy tickets so we sat on the grass and chilled while we waited for the lights to come on. for like 2 hours. because it didn't even start until 10pm bc it doesn't get dark here till like 9:30. weird.

Friday: went to the Louvre with our group on a tour and it was so cool! just 1 question: why is the Mona Lisa so cool. I still really dont understand. Besides that being sightly (lol ok fine, VERY) underwhelming; the rest of the art was really incredible!

Saturday: VERSAILLES. not much to say bc speechless. I will tell you this though: 1) 10/10 would recommend going 2) its absolutely gorgeous 3) if you go you have to walk through all the gardens and over to the Queens Hamlet as well 4) eat at the restaurant thats in the middle of all of the trees and shrubs 5) I hope you ave the same waiter we had bc he was hilarious 6) which brings me to a side note: I don't get why everyone says that french people are rude. Everyone we've met has been super awesome

Warning: pictures don't do any of this justice. gee dangit. guess you will just have to come see everything for yourself.

Parc Monceau

VIEWS -drake

Im really good at taking awkward pictures 

this pic was very hard to take

underwhelming

hall of mirrors 

temple of love