Walking Through Paris' History

As part of my French 365 class, we have 16 walks to complete. Each take us around nearly the entire city and we get to see some of the largest museums along with some of the smallest. The architecture of Paris is incredible and these walks allow us to learn more about our surroundings and the history of this city. It's one thing to read about this history/architectural style in a book, and it's another to be able to walk around it, touch the stones, and see it in person. Around every corner is a building centuries older those that surround it. You definitely don't see anything like it in the United States.

1. Le 19 septembre
Promenade 1: Paris in Layers: Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Conciergerie

Je voulais Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle pendant des années et maintenant, finalement, je les ai vues. C'étaient formidables! Elles sont incroyables. J'ai presque pleuré quand je suis entrée dans Sainte-Chapelle. Elle est vraiment incroyable! J'ai commencé mes études de cette cathédrale il y a 5 ans et maintenant, je ne peux pas croire que j'ai été là. Je pensais toujours que j'aimerais Sainte-Chapelle et je le aime, mais après avoir visité l'intérieur de Notre Dame, je suis tombée amoureuse! Je suis dans l'amour. J'aime toutes les choses de cet edifice. Elle est très vieille, mais très très très jolie. Je crois qu'il sois difficile pour les personnes à imaginer la hauteur de l'espace intérieur quand on lit dans un livre. Pour moi, ça c'est vrai. Je ne peux pas dire assez de la beauté de cet edifice. Elle est vraiment belle.

2. Le 25 septembre
Promenade 5: Place de la Concorde

Il faisais froid. Il y avait plu et beaucoup de vent. Mais quand j'ai vu la Place de la Concorde, je suis tombée amoureuse. Je n'ai jamais vu un endroit comme ça. Elle est l'endroit que je préfère à Paris. Elle est très grande et un mélange de les choses nouvelles et vielles. Il y a beaucoup d'histoire ici et je l'aime. Dans cette promenade, j'ai vu aussi beaucoup de bâtiments governementaux et plusiers des magasins qui vendent les vêtements très chers. J'adore cette partie de Paris. Nous sommes allées au Jardin des Tuileries mais parce qu'il faisait froid, nous n'y sommes pas restées longue temps. Il était un peu beau et je pense que j'aimerai à retourner au printemps ou en été.

3. Le 2 octobre
Promenade 12: Time Travel, Tricks, and Treats around Saint-Sulpice
Avec l'exception d'Olivia, j'ai pensé que cette promenade était très ennuyeuse. La Cathédrale de Saint-Sulpice est TRÈS grande et jolie. Mais tout le reste de cette promenade n'était pas bien. Je ne me souvien pas la plupart de la marche. Il était un peu interessant à voir un magasin du XVIIIe siècle, mais juste un peu. Olivia et moi avons parlé beaucoup de français et c'était très amusant. Merci à toi, Olivia.

4. Le 3 octobre
Promenade 3: A Walk in the Park: Montparnasse and the Jardin du Luxembourg
Le temps aujourd'hui était très horrible. Il faisait froid et il y avait plu BEAUCOUP. J'aime la pluie, sauf quand je n'ai pas un parapluie. Mais, il y avait deux choses que j'aimais. J'ai mangé le meilleur macaron. Je ne sais pas le nom de la pâtisserie mais les biscuits étaient très beaux et vraiments delicieux aussi. L'autre chose, j'ai vu beaucoup de magasins qui vendent les papiers speciaux--comme <> ou pour <>. Je ne sais pas pourquoi que j'aime ce type de papier. C'est une chose un peu bizzare à aimer, mais ça va pour moi. Dans le reste de notre tour, j'ai vue un edifice TRÈS GRAND s'appelle Tour de Montparnasse. Je ne l'aimais pas. J'ai pensé qu'il était moche. J'ai aussi visité le Jardin du Luxembourg et une très petite <>. Elle était jolie. Je l'aime bien. Le jardin était un peu déprimant parce qu'il faisait froid. Triste. Malheureusement, je n'y suis pas restée longtemps. Peut-être je retournerai un autre jour.

Un macaron Pistach'in

Multi-colored and flavored macaron

Tour de Montparnasse

So we're supposed to be doing these in french, but apparently these only like 2 of us who are actually doing that. I want to be able to share these experiences with my friends and family who don't speak french so I'm following the lead of the others and I'm going to be posting in english from here on out. I hope you enjoy.



5. Le 5 octobre
Promenade 16: Montmartre Walk
This was the best day I've had here so far. It just kept getting better and better. The area surrounding Montmartre was so fun and lively--filled with tourists and young people. The steps of the cathedral house all kinds of tricks, trinkets, and talents. We were lucky to catch a guy with a little amp and an acoustic guitar. He was fantastic. Played original songs and covers that you'd never expect. We didn't want to leave. We all pitched in and bought his CD and so far it's the purchase I'm most excited about. We hung out and watched him for close to, if not a bit longer than 30 minutes. After that, we found ourselves in another major tourist trap -- a street lined with beautiful shops and artists' canvases without stop. I definitely want to return and probably spend a lot of money on overpriced stuff. Next we made our way down some beautifully old streets and we eventually came van Gogh's old house. I can't stand his work, but it's still pretty cool to be able to see where he lived and experience a little of the inspiration he found in the area. We moved a little further down and found ourselves in front of Moulin Rouge. Before this experience is over, I'm going to a show there. This is where our official walk ended so we crossed the street and at the entrance to the metro was a stand with....COTTON CANDY! Only my most favorite thing on the planet. Best. Day. Ever. We planned a group dinner for a couple hours after our walk so we had a bit of time to spare. Why not just pop on over to the Louvre for a few minutes. Who does that?! Bored? Louvre...okay. Why not?! Haha So cool. Jacques-Louis David is one of my most favorite artist. I had been dying to see his work since I realized I'd actually have the opportunity so we headed that direction and just sat in front of his pieces for several minutes. I still can't believe I've seen a David in person. They are so incredible. HE is so incredible! Bester. Day. Ever. We hung out there for a while, stopped by the Islam art exhibit and then headed to dinner. We found a little chinese/japanese place and had decent food and good company. So far, for me this has been the most fun and most memorable day we've had here so far.

Why hello Nicole Kidman.

(Picture courtesy of either Heather Virgo or Caitlyn Pearson...can't remember. Love them both.)

6. Le 9 octobre
Promenade 11: Lutetia Pulchra Est: Musée National du Moyen Âge, Sorbonne, Pantheon, Saint-Etienne-du-Mont, Arènes de Lutèce
I think I was most excited for this walk because I did my prep class report on the Latin Quarter. I was familiar with a lot of the things we saw and even some of the history behind these buildings/monuments. Being hugely interested in roman history, I think my favorite part was the Arènes de Lutèce. It's crazy to think about all the history that are in these stones. This place is older than anything I can even imagine. I really can't even wrap my head around it. The best part of this walk is just thinking/imagining all the things that happened in these places. These places have seen and experienced so much and I'm very appreciative that I have been given the opportunity to experience just a piece of it as well.

7. Le 11 octobre
Promenade 14: Eighteenth-Century Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Musée Jacquemart-André, Musée Nissim de Camando Museums, Parc Monceau
This was a pretty miserable day. No umbrella and no letting up on the rain. I've visited so many museums and seen so much art it starts to blend and mesh together. I forget what I saw where and when I saw it. I think the most memorable part of this walk was the park. Though it was dreary and cold, it was still beautiful. Huge trees, old and new, grass a beautiful green color that Utah has never seen, people strolling under umbrellas, and charming bridges that span lovely ponds. I loved this park and I would love to come back on a beautifully sunny day. Sad part is that it might have to be on another trip to France later in life. I don't know how many sunny days we have left here on our expedition.

8. Le 16 octobre
Promenade 18:

9. Le 17 octobre

Promenade 17: Small Buildings Need Not Apply: La Défense

This was quite possibly the shortest walk I've been on so far and maybe the most boring...at first. This walk is mostly just weird buildings. We saw some modern art (Moretti Tower) which I hated and buildings that looked like they belonged on a "futuristic" movie set of 1970. Though some of the buildings looked somewhat modern most looked like they were trying too hard to be different/cool and new. I found them just..ugly. The view at the beginning of the walk is pretty cool though. Directly behind you is the Arc de Triomphe in all it's decorative, old, beauty and straight ahead is the Grand Arc and the other buildings of the future with their steel and glass constructions, funky colors, and "interesting" space age shapes. As we walked through the square all I remember thinking was how tacky these buildings looked. They seemed fake and unnatural. Like they were trying too hard to be inventive. As I looked around I just kept getting the feeling that nothing was real, but made to look that way--as if I was on a movie set or something. The walk did end on a positive note -- aka me finally going shopping and buying not one hooded sweater, but two. This was my first "shopping spree" of France and I definitely walked away a happy camper. 

10. Le 23 octobre 

Promenade 15: Saint-Ouen's Labyrinth: Navigating the World's Largest Flea Market

When we first got to the flea market, instantly we thought, well this isn't a flea market and it's definitely NOT the world's largest. For every item for purchase, there was about 10 different vendors to chose to buy it from AND none of it was the old "junk" that one expects to find at a flea market. There were booths and booths full of new shoes, "leather" jackets and "designer" purses, jeans, and watches. Everything was in bulk and everything had a perfect little box. Only after reading the map did we realize while headed the right direction, we hadn't reached the actual flea market yet. When we did, wow. Could definitely now agree with the "world's largest" title. It was crazy. There is absolutely NO way you could see everything. I'm sure you could spent every day for months here and not even make a dent in the number of shops there were to visit. While they did still have the bulk jeans and shoes there were also typical flea market stores mixed with a combo of junk and treasures. I told everyone that if I was in need of antique furniture, that would have been the way to go. Everything reminded me so much of the stuff we had just seen at Napoleon's Fontainbleau. And while that place is way too over the top for every day living, many of the pieces could have fit into modern day home. I told Ryan that he'd have to return when it was time to furnish his home. Sadly I didn't find anything I absolutely had to have, but perhaps if the weather had been better, I would have tried a little harder and spent a little more time browsing.

(Picture stolen from Caitlyn Pearson. Thanks lady.)

11. Le 30 octobre
Promenade 6: Marcher le nez au vent: Sights and Smells around the Madeleine
This walk was fun for many reasons. First, the Madeline church is amazing. I saw it and immediately loved it. I am obsessed with Ancient Greek and Roman architecture and this reminds me so much of the Parthenon. It was fantastic and enormous. Sure it looks big from far away, but sometimes I can't really image the size of these buildings until I am right up next to it. This building was very neoclassicalesque outside, but almost baroque on the inside. Lots of gilding and light reflecting off every surface. It was amazing. There was also a statue of Jeanne d'Arc which was cool and sad. We miss Doc H quite a bit and seeing her always reminds us of him. Thanks to him, I will forever know almost every detail of Jeanne d'Arc's life. Lucky me. *winky face. Second, after exploring the Madeline, I stopped at Ladurée which is obviously amazing. I am so excited to bring my family back some of these amazing macaron. Hopefully they make it to my family. I might just end up eating them on the train. Third, the smells right along side the Madeline. Oh geez. Flowers, flowers, and more flowers. And soaps and perfume stores. I didn't buy anything then, but before I leave I might have to return for something wonderfully parfumed. Really the most memorable thing about this walk was obviously the church. I've passed it a few times and never went it, but I'm so glad I finally did. I love this church. It really is so beautiful. It's soooooo different than the other major churches/cathedrals in Paris (i.e. Saint-Chapelle et Notre Dame), but it's still really cool.

12. Le 1 novembre
Promenade 7: Marais Walk 1
I absolutely love how the history of Paris is written all over the city. Every building, every street, and every sidewalk is marked with any number of different parts of the city's past. I think my favorite part of this walk was seeing the old Roman wall. Can you image seeing something that is over a thousand years old? It is very likely that we don't even see rocks on a daily basis that are that old. These Parisians have it so good. They get to really know their history because all they have to do is walk around their city and they see it everywhere. I really am so jealous that they live so close to all of this "stuff". It's also very cool to get to know more of the area that we walk in every day. Our school is in this area and it's cool to see parts of the "neighborhood" that we don't get to see on a regular basis/won't get to really know. Another walk on another cold day. These walks are really interesting and so far I've learned so much about the city and it's history, but it really is very difficult to get into them when it's freezing and windy outside. Hopefully it warms up a bit so I get the rest of my walks completed without becoming a walking popsicle. We'll see. Wish me luck!

13. Le 16 novembre
Promenade 9: Follow the Money: Palais Royal, Bourse, Covered Passages.
Honestly this walk was not all that entertaining...that could have been because it was freezing though. We kind of moved from place to place trying to keep warm. The park outside the Comédie Française was really pretty though. With the tree lined passages ways and the falling and changing colored leaves, it was beautiful. Oh and the fountain in the middle. Lovely. I know absolutely nothing about economy or stock markety stuff, but it was really funny how much Olivia freaked out when we walked by the "French wall street". She was quite excited and maybe just a bit too giddy. The covered passages ways were also really cool. It's amazing how many stores they could cram into each one. I'm not sure what kinds of stores were in there a long time ago, but now it just seemed like food places. I guess that's nice if you're not sure what you want to eat...go there and you have almost everything you can imagine at your disposal. I did see an Indian place I might have to make a return trip for. I'm horrible with directions so we'll have to wait and see if I ever actually make it back without getting lost.

14. Le 18 novembre

Promenade 21: Get Lost! The "Anti-Walk" Walk

This walk was kind of had by accident, but I'm glad it happened the way it did. There was an accident on the tracks a few stops away from my house and so the trains all stopped and forced everyone off the trains. Since I live out of the city, I had to find my way home. It's pretty amazing that I even made it home...and within a responsible time frame. I am horrible with directions when I have them, and here I had none. I just picked and path and hoped it was the right one. I saw beautiful things. Old buildings mixed with new ones. Views of the Seine that I've never seen before. An actual freeway which is another thing I have never seen in Paris. And the best part...a circus. Carine and I have both seen posters for it and we're expressed our desires to go and now, thanks to me :), we know exactly where it is. I made it home safely and I got to see things I never would have otherwise. Thank you train for stopping and forcing me to find my own way home. The news is speculating that someone jumped in front of the train. I hope that's not true, but I sure am thankful that the train stopped when it did.

15. Le 23 novembre
Promenade 19: Parisian Necropolis: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise
This walk was cool, but honestly way too long and pretty difficult to navigate. The cemetery is ENORMOUS, but it doesn't feel like that when you're walking around in it. It really seemed like we were in our own tiny village. Many of the grave markers look like miniature houses which is both cool and semi creepy. We also noticed something that we thought was very strange...many of the doors to these little houses were open. Many of them looked broken, but I'm assuming it's because many of them were a few hundred years old. Also, WHY are people so obsessed with Jim Morrison's grave? We met some very strange drifters (who claimed Jersey as their home state) who sat at his grave site singing and playing the harmonica until long after we left. What else is there to do at a grave site after about 10 minutes? I LOVE Géricault, but I still only managed to "hang out" at his grave for about 60 seconds. If he was there, and we could have had a conversation yes, I would have stayed longer, but truth is, it's just a bunch of marble with someone's name printed on it. Being "in the presence" of soooo many very influential people was pretty cool though. I think we were all quite surprised by how many asian grave markers there were, but also how many newer ones. There were graves from this year there. I think we were all under the impression that it was mostly a cemetery for the bodies of long ago. This really was the coolest cemetery I've ever been to or even seen. I've seen pictures of the ones in places like Louisiana, where everything is above ground, but these grave markers take grave marking to a whole other level. Everything was so decorated. I couldn't stop thinking about how cool it would be if we had cemeteries like that in America. Since I've been in France one of the things I've always noticed is how cool their cemeteries are. I've seen several during our many travels and they're always very cool looking. They're so compact compared to the ones in America. I guess that's just fitting, considering everything about Paris is more compact than anything in the states. New York City isn't even as compact as Paris is. Anyway it was just really cool to be able to see a combination of many different cultures and cultural beliefs regarding the treatment of the dead all in one place. 

Le jardin et la maison de Monet.

Le 27 septembre

Dans the même visite de Normandie, notre premier arrête était où nous sommes allés à Giverny aux jardins de Monet. C'étaient très jolis. D'habitude, je n'aime pas de peinture de Monet, mais je comprends comment et pourquoi il inspirais par touts les mouvements, les lumières, et toutes les couleurs. C'était très beau, tranquille, magnifique. Je l'aimé.

Is it still a rhino if there's only one horn...?

(All pictures stolen from Sydney Hughes. Love her and her wonderful camera skills and her loving nature and her hopefully not caring that I stole these from her facebook and her willingness to take pictures so that I don't have to.)

Normandie. du 27 septembre au 29 septembre

Hier soir, nous sommes retournés de Normandie. Elle était incroyable. Je ne peux pas le décrire. Alors, je sais que je devrais écrire cet <

> en français mais, j'espère que mon prof sera compréhensif. Je veux décrire mes émotions complètement et plus importante, je veux partager cette expérience avec ma famille et mes amis.

Je l'ai écrit le 29 septembre 2012
This has been one of the most peaceful and overwhelming experiences I think I've ever had. I've never been a really emotional person, but as I get older I've noticed I'm getting more and more sappy by the day. I don't know how I feel about it yet. : )

Yesterday was incredible. We started at Gold beach where we saw the pieces of the concrete bridges that allowed the military to get tanks and other vehicles on to the beach. When we first got there, the tide was in so far--possibly the smallest “beach” I've ever seen--but after about an hour (and lunch) I was able to walk out (I think I was the only one in our group to do this) and touch one of these massive pieces. They were broken down, covered in seaweed, but I'm grateful to whomever decided to leave them after the war. Being able to see and touch things from our past makes it all so much more real/easier to understand.

Next – on to see the “pill boxes”. I knew this trip was going to be an emotional one, but honestly I wasn't as sad at Gold beach as I expected to be. The pill boxes definitely changed that. These cannon machine bunker things made everything even more real. These cannons look out over the ocean and can hit a target 1-5 miles away. Doc H said around 5 miles, but then I thought I heard someone say only a mile...I have no idea. Regardless...it's just so crazy to think about the damage those things caused.

Next – Normandy cemetery. I couldn't really visualize 9,000 graves until we walked around a corner and saw all the white crosses perfectly aligned, going on for what seemed like forever. One of the hardest things about seeing that many graves is knowing that they only represent 1/3 of the ones that could have/should have been there. I almost teared immediately, but not wanting anyone to see my tears, I held it in. It was such a somber environment that we all naturally just walked away from the group and it felt like we all had the cemetery to ourselves. I don't think I saw another person from my group for about an hour or so. Each cross is carved with the name, hometown, and date of death for each soldier. On the back at the very bottom of the grave marker is their dog tag number. My favorite ones were the ones with no name. I can't remember the exact quote but it says something like “here in glory lies a comrade known but to god”. Seeing those definitely tugged at my heart. The ones that really got to me though were those with the rank of PFC. That was my rank in the Guard and I was only 17. I was still a baby then. I don't think I really realized how young most of those soldiers were until I saw that rank. That was really hard to take and I definitely lost it. I've never been a particularly patriotic person, but you can't go there and not feel so much pride and respect for all the people who willingly sacrificed themselves to help others--almost entirely for people they didn't even know. I don't know how much time we spent there, but it wasn't enough and was way too much all at the same time. I definitely got my emotional butt kicked yesterday.

Favorite.


Next – Point du Hoc which is where the land has been preserved and looks exactly as it did during WWII. Seeing this after visiting the pill boxes was incredible because we really got to see the damage those cannons did. I don't know that there was a single flat spot of earth in the entire area. The craters were at least 2-3 people deep and probably 4-5 wide and EVERYWHERE. It was a pretty devastating place. The last place we visited was Omaha beach. The tide was out when we arrived and the shoreline was at least half a mile from the place highest on the beach where the water hits. I have never seen a beach so far receded. It was a little crazy. And I guess by a little, I really mean a lottle.

I have never been so overwhelmed by my emotions. Even though we were mostly on our own in the cemetery, I think most, if not all, of us were experiencing the same emotions and thinking about the same things. We were able to experience this in our own ways, but we were still part of an incredible group. I've only known these kids a few weeks, but already I feel like I know them better and I'm closer with them than I am with some of my friends at home.

Vous êtes les meilleurs amis. Merci à vous.
Merci à Annie pour les photos.

Notre premier voyage ensemble

Bonjour tout le monde! Je ne peux pas le croire, mais c'est vrai. Je suis à Paris! C'est official que j'habite à Paris depuis deux semaines, mais je suis en France depuis trois semaines. Trois semaines! Je suis presque un tiers fini avec ce voyage. C'est fou! En ma classe française 365, mon prof nous demande que nous gardons un journal personnel et parce que je veux partager mes experiences avec vous, j'ai décidé à ecrire ici. J'ai prévu faire des vidéos (avec mes pensées) à practiquer mon français, mais c'est difficile et je pense que j'ai changé mon esprit. Mais je ne sais pas, peut-être un peu tard je le chargerai encore.

Alors....


Heureusement pour moi, j'ai eu beaucoup d'autres personnes que j'ai connu sur mon vol. Il y avait Sydney, Alicia, Olivia, et mon prof Doctor H et sa femme Jennie. Je n'étais pas seul et c'étais parfait! Je suis très timide et je pense que si j'étais seul, je pourrais perdue pour toujours. Quand nous sommes arrivés, nous avons connu les autres membres des notre groupe à l'hôtel. Nous nous sommes promenés dans les rues et j'ai vu la Tour Eiffel pour la première fois. C'étais incroyable. Je n'ai jamais pensé que je veuille le voir. Elle est très très très jolie. Après ça, nous avons fait une promenade et nous avons mangé le diner. Mon premier diner en France. Nous avons essayé à dormir, mais pour moi, le dormir n'ai pas venu. Triste. Nous sommes restés à Paris juste deux nuit et puis nous sommes parti pour un séjour dans le sud du France.

Il y a beaucoup de fautes et je suis désolée, mais j'essaie.

Le premier jour de notre voyage au sud du France:
le 8 septembre – Lyon
Nous avons pris le train à Lyon qui est un tour de deux heures. C'était mon premier tour par un train. J'ai lit, j'ai ecrit, j'ai regardé les autres, et j'ai écouté à la musique. J'ai essayé de ne pas avoir peur; c'étais impossible. À Lyon, nous sommes allés au Musée Gallo-Romaine. Nous avons vu les choses que j'aime. J'adore l'art romaine. Les mosaïques étaient très belle. Je ne comprends pas le temps ou le talent que une personne dois avoir à faire l'art comme ça. C'est vraiment incroyable. L'experience est très differente quand vous lisez de cet art dans un livre et quand vous le voyez vous-même. Nous avons vu les pierres du XIIe siècle. Nous n'avons pas les choses/l'art comme ça en Amérique. Ici, nous avons aussi vu et touché un vieil amphithéâtre romaine. J'aime penser de toutes les choses/les histoires qui se passer ici. C'est triste, mais très interesant aussi. J'aime apprendre l'histoire du monde, surtout l'histoire des Romaines. Ils ont influencé tant du monde et nous pouvons voir leur influence encore aujourd'hui. Ils ont eu beacoup de pouvoir et j'aime que je peux voir leur art et leur histoire autour de presque chaque coin je me tourne. De là, nous avons pris un bus à Le Puy en Velay. Nous avons eu le même bus et le même conducteur pendant 8 jours. Nous aimions notre conducteur et il nous manque déjà.

Le deuxième jour:
Le 9 septembre – Le Puy en Velay
C'étais une ville magnifique. Notre prof nous dit que nous allions pour une promenade "just a stroll". Il a oublié à nous dire que sur cette promenade il y avait plus de 300 escaliers!! Oui nous avons vu deux belles cathédrales, mais c'était très très très difficile. J'ai cru que j'allais mourir. C'est une bonne chose que c'était vraiment superb. Je suis heureuse d'avoir participé. Je ne peux pas décrire la vue. Elle était plus que belle. Au diner, j'ai mangé mon premier escargot. Je l'aime bien. Il avait le goût d'ail et le beurre. Il était très different que je m'attendais. Ce soir, je n'ai pas dormi beaucoup parce que nous avons eu reveiller à 5h15 le prochain matin.

Le troisième jour:
Le 10 septembre – Mass. Pilgrimmage. Saugues.
Ce matin était horrible! Nous avons eu partir l'hôtel à 6h30. Et puis nous commençions marcher au un grand cathédrale de Sainte James. Le cathédrale était magnifique mais, notre voyage n'était pas. Nous nous sommes montés plus d'escaliers et après ne dormons pas, ils étaient très difficile. Nous sommes allés au messe et j'ai pensé c'était vraiment interessant. Maintenant, je veux aller au messe en anglais et peut-être je pourrais comprendre plus. Je suis heureuse d'avoir cette experience. Alors même que je ne suis pas catholique je me suis senti bon à être avec les autres personnes qui croient les choses presque que moi. C'était interessant. Après nous sommes descendus les “petits” escaliers, nous sommes montés une grande colline et les autres plus petits collines aussi. Nous avons fait une randonnée pendent 5 miles à Montbonnet. Je l'ai détesté!!!!!!!!!! Sur le bus à Saugues pour le petit déjeuner. Nous avons mangé à Saugues où nous avons mangé plus d'escargot. Le repas était très bizzare et nous n'avons pas mangé beaucoup. Nous avons pris le bus à Sénergues.

Le quatrième jour:
Le 11 septembre – Joyeux anniversaire à mes parents! – Conques
De Sénergues, nous avons marché à une petite ville qui s'appelle Conques. Notre randonnée était seul 5 miles et plus facile que la randonnée hier. Elle était très belle aussi. Quand nous sommes arrivés à Conques, nous avons visité une belle cathédrale. Conques était très très très jolie! Je l'ai aimé. J'ai étudié beaucoup de cathédrales comme elle et j'en ai finalement vu un. C'est formidable! Je suis jalouse du talent des personnes qui font les sculptures pour ces cathédrales. Quelques des détailes sont très petits et très jolis.

Le cinqième jour:
Le 12 septembre – Pech Merle. Canoë.
Aujord'hui nous avons visité l'art très vieux. Plus que 25,000 ans. La grotte était plus que beau. Je ne pourrais pas croire que je voyais l'art vrai! Il y avait beacoup de choses à voir! Beaucoup de couleres juste à l'intérieur de la grotte. C'était super. Je ne sais pas comment le décrire. C'était un peu accablant. J'ai étudié cet art beaucoup de temps dans mes livres et maintenant, je l'étudiais là...à l'intérieur de la grotte. Après ça, nous sommes allés au canoë. J'ai eu le meilleur partenaire. Nous sommes canoë pendant 3 heures—c'était un longtemps, mais c'était très amusant.

Le sixième jour:
Le 13 septembre – Lascaux II
Aujourd'hui nous avons vu plus d'art des personnes très vieux. Vers 17,000 ans. Parce que l'art ici est très fragile nous ne pourrions pas voir l'art vrai mais, nous sommes entrés dans la grotte qui était copié. Cette choses promet le public à voir l'art préhistorique. Il me suis senti comme la grotte vrai. Cet art était très très très beau. Ces réprésentations des animaux étaient très grands et les couleurs étaient brillant. J'aimais cet endroite.

Le septième jour:
Le 14 septembre – Puy du Fou
Aujourd'hui était très longue. Nous sommes allés au parc d'amusement s'appelle Puy du Fou. Il n'y avait pas de manèges mais il y avait beaucoup de spectacle. J'aimais le spectacle avec des gladiateurs. Il y avait beaucoup d'animaux commes les autruches, les oies, les lyons, les canard, les tigres, et plus. C'était amusant. C'était interessant à voir la vie quotidienne du Moyen Âge. Beaucoup de choses étaient differentes mais quelques choses étaient les mêmes choses que je fais. À la nuit, il avait froid. Très froid et je le détesté.

Le huitième jour:
Le 15 septembre – Château d'Angers. La Tapisserie de l'Apocalypse. Paris
C'est super que nous pouvons voir les choses qui est très vieille comme cette tapisserie. Parce que cet art montre les choses du livre Révélations il était un peu bizzare, mais c'était cool à voir comment ces personnes ont choisi le peindre. Le château était très grand et beau. J'espère que nous avons eu les choses/edifices comme ça en Amérique. C'est triste.

Le neuvième jour:
Le 16 septembre – Church à Paris. Notre nouvelle famille.
Je perdais pendant “sacrament meeting” mais j'ai pris la prochaine classe en anglaise. J'ai compris toutes et je l'aimé. C'était parfait. Nous avons mangé le déjeuner chez notre prof et puis nous avons separé pour nos maisons. Il était très triste. Nous étions heureux et hâte à rencontrer notre famille, mais nous ne sommes pas un groupe encore. Quand nous (Carine et moi) sommes arrivées à la maison notre famille, nous avons pris un sieste toute suite. C'était parfait. Après, nous avons connu la famille et nous avons mangé le diner. Notre mère est cusinier formidable. Nous nous sommes couchée tôt!


...Et voilà, notre premier voyage ensemble!

Designer in disguise

Planned on mixing it up a bit and donning a zebra suit instead of giraffe this year...but you can't fight quality skin patterns.

I don't know why designers complain about the difficulty of making stuff.
All I needed was about an hour, scissors, and SAFETY PINS SAFETY PINS SAFETY PINS!

I heart Jimmy Stewart

And old movies. And visits from wonderful people. And letters from dear dear friends. And space stuff. And candy from around the world. And crocheting. And flowers.

Ryan came for a week and it was wonderful.
We travelled around the world, visited Mars, ate amazing food and chatted A LOT.

Birthday Breakfast at Grand Flo.

Today I ate breakfast with Tigger, Alice, the Mad Hatter and Ms. Poppins.
Thank you Becca for having a birthday and for letting me look so darn cute.

Hi from Mars!

(Hopefully I don't have to contact anyone anytime soon. I don't think my microphone would be much help.)

Hi Des.
(These are our serious astronaut faces.)
I LOVE/hate Mission Space. It's absolutely terrifyingly awesome. I always psych myself out..thinking it's going to be worse than it actually is. Rides are super crazy though; I think it's incredible how you can trick your brain into thinking you are hurtling thru space, dodging astroids or landing on Mars. I'm so excited for my mother to come out here.



Only 4.5 more days Ryan!!!

Burrito Mania Twenty Ten.

It has come to my attention that I haven't posted in a while. Nothing much has been happening. Sorry guys.
I did tell my mother I had a picture for her..and that was like a week and a half ago so I should probably get around to posting it.

Mommy..I thought you'd appreciate this because of your love of mexican food.
I'm not a HUGE fan of mexican, but this day, a burrito sounded supreme. Unfortunately I didn't know I had ordered a burrito that could feed ALL of Mexico! (I'm hoping my hand helps to show just a little of the size of this thing)
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RIDICULOUS!!!


On not such an awesome note, I'm thinking about moving apartments. I'm having problems with my roommate "Sleeping Beauty". As you might remember from an earlier post, she's 21 and somehow has been married for 2 years. This absolutely BAFFLES me! I don't want to talk bad about her, but her inability to clean up after herself is KILLING me! I can't comprehend the fact that someone would stay married to such a child. Why would you stay with someone who can't even take care of herself??? I tried to confront her about it, but that has just led to us not talking AT ALL for the last week. I used to see her as an adult, but she definitely acts like a child and I'M GOING CRAZY!! I can't handle it much longer. I can move apartments; it costs $50 and the possibility of moving into the exact same situation. Apparently when I signed up to come here, I also took the responsibility of being everyone's mother. NOT AWESOME! I don't think I've ever been this annoyed in my life. I'm going to hold out a bit longer, but I'm honestly not sure how much longer I can last. Maybe it's mean to say, but I absolutely can't stand her. I don't know what I'm going to do. We'll see...

Time for grocery shopping and then maybe an afternoon of "parking".

I actually liked the show.

Why does goulash have to be so wonderful that I completely stuff myself to the point that I'm always uncomfortably full after eating it?!! Grr.
Aside from that, Florida has been treating me alright lately. It's been almost unbearably hot these last few days with only rain for a minute or two. After the 60 seconds of rain, comes the humidity about 10 fold than it was pre-rain. I've actually been training in another location, Auto Plaza, the last couple days and unfortunately there's very little air conditioning. I should only have a handful of shifts there though so cross your fingers that I don't get stuck at Auto Plaza very often. New location means day shifts..at least while training and that has been awesome. I actually have my nights free which hasn't happened since I got here.

Every few months Disney gets a new firework show. We've had Summer Nightastic for over a month now and I've only ever saw it from the parking lot..until yesterday. Most know I'm not a huge fan of fireworks. Yes I think they chemistry of them is amazing. The idea that fireworks actually work is fantastic, but I figure once you've seen one, you've seen them all. I still think that's true, but the show Disney puts on is incredible. So much work and detail. Summer Nightastic is an excellent show.

Anyway, time for grocery shopping and Magic Kingdom.

Just in case you guys have forgotten what I look like...

I give good neck

So I've worked out ONCE since I got here. The heat is disgusting; as is the profuse sweating. I kept saying once I got shorts, I'd work out.
Problem: I kept making excuses for not buying shorts..AND THE OUTLET IS LESS THAN 1.5 MILES AWAY!!!

Well folks, I gave up on the excuses and FINALLY went to the Reebok outlet today! I spent $28 and walked out with new shorts! These shorts make me want to work out. I absolutely LOVE them. I'm sad the pictures don't reflect the true colors because these shorts are superly awesome.

Purple murple. And Pinks.

Oh yeah...and I feel like being real mean to my roommate right now. She left her curling iron on and now my hand is burnt to hell. I had to take a dishrag full of ice to the gym. Boo.
I'm NOT excited...

Roommate Central, USA and silly girl drama.

I have a roommate. I lucked out and made it almost four weeks without one; she arrived this morning. BYU Idaho, married, cute and very nice. She's missing her voice now, but I think it's fun. She's never lived with anyone other than her husband which is also kind of fun and I've never had an actual roommate (other than a sister and the 40 something girls I shared the barracks with) so this should be interesting. I packed WAY too much stuff and we don't have anymore room for food, but once everyone is settled and schedules are adjusted I think everything will be great. Maybe I'll just have to stop buying food and actually save my money. I'll keep you posted on how that's going.

Got screamed at by a co-worker AGAIN yesterday. Pretty bogus, but oh well right? Tis the season for dramatic girls who think they know everything. Apparently change isn't good for all. I just think it's funny that she seriously thinks I'm afraid of her. Girl please. If you threaten me again though...I'm going to the boss and I'll be crossing me fingers that you'll be out of a job. Call me stupid all you want, but threatening me is something I won't put up with.

Nap time.

Typhoon Lagoon sun.

I finally got some sun! I've been here three weeks so far and am just getting some sun. We went to Typhoon Lagoon (a Disney owned water park) and I actually had fun. I HATE water: pools, ocean, bath tubs..pretty much everything, but it was really fun. We stayed for several hours, tried to swim with sharks and sissed out, and ended up with sunburned shoulders. I'm sad the pictures don't show the burn...at least then maybe I'd get some sympathy from the two of you that might actually read this. I have a super awesome bit of pink on my forehead. Half is normal (due to my swoop bangs) and the other slightly pink. It's kind of cute. However...not cute is the gross, once wet, water park hair. Ugh.

Fun filled days off

Worst day ever Tuesday: I strained my ankle..TWICE, got yelled at by a co-worker who thinks he's king, was repeatedly cursed at by some retarded woman, and almost hit several people because they wouldn't get out of the way of my tram. Fairly certain Mr. Universe said, "Hey, Cori has two days off coming up so I think we should pile a whole bunch of crap on her!"
SUPER BOGUS UNIVERSE!

Wednesday was super fun though. I didn't get Korean like I was planning on, and I didn't do any of the shopping that I needed to, but I hung out with some friends pretty much all day. We first hit up Animal Kingdom and Yak & Yeti (super delicious restaurant in Asia), next was Paris, England, Canada and Mexico, and finished the night at Magic Kingdom.
Yesterday was my relaxing and lazy day off. Wednesday was busy and semi productive so I didn't feel so guilty about doing practically nothing. I did feel rather accomplished though; I did my laundry! It's taken three weeks, $7 and two hours, but it's done!

Best part of yesterday had to be the "Disney activities" I was able to participate in. My department held a tour of the Haunted Mansion and I was actually able to go. There were only about 15 of us that could make it..which was perfect. We did a walk thru of the entire ride, saw how everything worked, touched certain things, and then we rode it afterwards. It was super neat. I definitely jumped several times during the walk thru of the graveyard scene. Even with the lights on, things jumping out at you is not awesome.
Also, I think every time Disney gets something new they let the cast preview it. They're bringing back the Electric Parade so last night, at midnight all us cast members lined Main Street and watched the parade. I'm not a huge fan of parades normally, but Disney definitely has it's ways of bringing out that childlike excitement.

I took the cupcake picture for my friend Candice. She's kind of obsessed.



Apparently the "night scene" option on my camera makes everything blurry. I don't love it.

I don't work until 8:45 tonight. That's crazy. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but I definitely need to get out of the house. Hopefully the gym, and then we'll see!

Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!

Okay..first of all..can you believe it's June 1st already? June 1st. Time is going by much too quickly.
But...more importantly, I SAW AN ALLIGATOR AT WORK YESTERDAY! And no..I don't work at the Animal Kingdom where sightings are an every day occurrence. Remember..I work in the parking lot. I saw an alligator IN THE PARKING LOT! I was doing re-park (I have a super sweet light stick and point cars down rows with empty spaces), I turned around to face an oncoming car and saw an alligator crossing the street! So great. I'm still ridiculously excited about it. As soon as I got on a tram, I told everyone riding about it. They didn't seem as excited as I was, but I'm from Utah...we don't have alligators just hanging out in our backyards or our THEME PARKS! Can you imagine an alligator strolling around Lagoon?? No, you can not. Pretty awesome.

Almost as exciting as the alligator, me I'm going out for Korean tomorrow! I'm super duper excited. Epcot, then Korean, then hopefully Magic Kingdom...to spend way too much money. Money I don't have, but gifts need to be bought.


Seriously though..I SAW AN ALLIGATOR..just hanging out!!
Thank you nature..and Florida.