Day 29

I feel like I have so much to do to get ready to leave by tomorrow. I don't really have that much stuff because I did it all yesterday. I printed out all the stuff I need today and I found an awesome map store by the Arc de Triomphe that I went to this morning.

We had Art History in the Louvre today. It was interesting, but it was also sooooo long. We were in the Louvre from 12h30-16h30. We only talked about 25 pieces too. That is just way to much time to be spent on each painting/sculpture. I really did enjoy the art work though.

I saw the Mona Lisa for the first time today. I walked into a room and there it was all the way across the hall, but I could see it. I smiled so big to myself! Just another one of those "Oh my gosh, I live in Paris" moments. I love those. They make me grateful and happy.

I am now at home and am going to have dinner with my family in about an hour and then I will hopefully be going to bed early. Our train leaves at 7h45 in the morning, so I want to be well rested, because we have a big three days ahead of us.

I am going to put up pictures of a lot of the stuff I saw today. I just want to remember what I see and when, so they might be slightly boring.

Le Louvre

Cour Puget

I thought this detail was incredible! How can that be marble?

Springtime Vase by Verbeckt

Vertumne and Pomone by Lemoyne

This one is great close up. I wish I had got a picture of the faces more. There is the guy who surprises the girl and she pretends to be offended and pushes him away, but her face is not hiding the fact that she really wants him around. I think it is funny, because it is like a classic fair tale. Guy desperately wants girl, but girl has to pretend to play hard to get, even though she wants him too. Love it!

Captif by Van Den Bogaert

Virgin and Child by Donatello

Madonna and Child by Cimabue

Coronation fo the Virgin by Fra Angelico

The Madonna and Shild with Saint Freiano and Augustin by Filippo Lippi

Hall in the Denon section

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by Leonardo da Vinci

Okay I love this one. Bernie talked about another da Vinci smile in this one. He had some ideas on what he thought all of it meant, but I have my ideas too. I learned that Leonardo studied the mother child relationship and how they interact. I think it makes his paintings so much more realistic and relatable. Here is Saint Anne(the mother of Mary) with Mary on her lap(showing their mother-child relationship) and then Mary is reaching for the Christ child.

To me Mary's smile is that one that every mother knows. It is when your child is doing something that is cute or funny, but it is something he shouldn't really be doing, so you have to put on your straight face and tell him, "No, no that's not nice" even though you laugh to yourself about it. Anne's face is one of a grandmother and it says so much! It says, "See what I had to do-pay back," but it is also one of the joy of seeing a grandchild and I imagine watching your own child parent. It is amazing to me how da Vinci could paint something that I could relate to centuries later. This is where art came alive today.

First glimpse at the Mona Lisa-we are going to come back one time in the morning right when the museum opens and there wouldn't be that many people.

The Wedding Feast at Cana by Veronese

There were things I liked about this picture and things I didn't like as well. First it is huge! I have such appreciation for how long something like this would have taken. There is also so much detail. I guess it was part of the times to put Christ in the center, but I don't like that because I don't feel it is true to the story of the wedding in Cana. If he is turning water into wine then he probably isnt doing it with a halo over his head at the middle of the table.

I do like that besides being in the center of the painting with a halo, he is not the main focus of anyone's attention in the painting. People just seem to go on around him enjoying themselves, talking to one another, or doing what ever else you do at a wedding. I feel that it shows a humility of Christ that I think is very true to Him. I don't think that He would draw attention to himself in this situation and that after the miracle the party would just go on.

Christ Teaching the Doctors by Serodine

Day 28

K I had so much to do last night that I didnt post, so here is a quick summary of Day 28 with a few pics.

Okay first things first...laundry. I actually love the laundromat! I went by myself yesterday and it is a place where I can get stuff done. All I can do is sit there and wait for my clothes to get clean, so I get my homework done. I read my Art History reading and actually found it quite interesting. It is a subject that I know almost nothing about so it feels like something new and is not boring yet.

Next we had devotional at 13h. We took the bus into the city. Nothing to say on devotional. I slightly think it is a waste of time, especially since its the only scheduled thing of the whole day. We found out on Monday night that our trip this weekend was canceled so we decided are going to go somewhere else.

A group of eight of us finally decided that we are going to Southern France. We are going to Nice for two nights with a day trip to Monaco and one night in Marseille. Thats why I was so busy last night. I had to figure out how to get there, how to get around what we are there, what there actually is to see in those three places, and where we were going to say. It is really me and one other girl (Emily) who planned it for everyone. No one seems to be able to take initiative and find anything out for themselves.

I think it is funny because Emily is the only girl older than me and as the oldest girls, we view traveling a lot differently from everyone else. Since we had to make a last minute decision most of the girls were in a panic. One even decided that she couldn't do it so last minute. Half of the girls said they wanted to talk to their moms first. I was slightly laughing at them. I'm not a spontaneous type of person, but if we have the chance to go anywhere-I'm going to take it.

On our way home I had one of those lovely experiences in the metro. It was crowded and everyone was really close. I was standing somewhere in the middle. Then someone was standing behind me. I didnt think much of it at first, but then he decided he wanted to be closer (and yes, I could tell it was a he). Totally creepy! What kind of guy finds pleasure in that? I moved and Ally, me and a nice old lady on the metro had a good chuckle about it. Creeper!

We had dinner with the family and then the work began. I started to figure out how this trip was going to work, and I must say I did well. I found out all the big places that we should see in all three cities we are going to. I got addresses, bus lines, metro lines, maps, and lots more. I made an itinerary for the trip in an order that seems to make the most sense location wise. (Side note: I LOVE GoogleMaps)

So I was up until two and then after I studied my scriptures, said my prayers and turned out the light, I realized I hadn't done my blog. By that point...I didnt really care.

A full out orchestra in the metro

The creperie that we had afternoon snack at. I had an apple and maple syrup. It was good, but nothing like just a plain nutella one. I don't think you can beat that.

Église Notre-Dame-des-Champs

Day 27

Mondays are are busiest days. It is just so rough here in Paris! Class starts at 13h. I know you are all thinking how is it even possible to get up for that class! I somehow manage. Religion is first. I had a presentation today in my class on the Ballif family and their contribution to the church in the French speaking world. I think it went pretty well. Half the class was just a movie about the church in Belgium and Switzerland. We got out half an hour early.

Sutton and I walked the streets looking for a cheap lunch. We bought cheese and a baguette. It only ended up being like three euros together. Cheapest meal I have eaten here for sure. Civilization class was next. That is really just a joke. Its a three credit class that meets once a week for about an hour and then we just eat food for the next two hours. Our teacher/director is so disorganized that there isn't much going on in that class.

The best part of the day is Family Home Evening at the institute building with all the young adults in the ward and the missionaries. I talk to Michael almost the whole time. I try to at least. Occasionally I feel like he should probably be listening to the lesson given. Kidding-we talk after, but it is nice to catch up with him.

Its funny because this day seems like it is absolutely nothing when I write it out like this, but it really is our busiest day-at least our most structured.

This tall guy is Spencer. He is one of the guys on our trip and he is so fun to be around! He reminds me of Cam a little bit. Here he is yelling(just playing around) at this poor guy who speaks absolutely no English. They weren't winning. He had the room in laughter.

Here is Michael and his new companion Elder Johnson. Elder Johnson split his forehead open in two hand touch football today. They spent the last half of the day at the hospital. He is doing fine though. He's a great kid. We really like him.

Day 26

Well Nuit Blanche was a flop. We went out but nothing big was open at all. There were a lot of people around, but we could never really figure out what they were all doing. It just seemed like people were walking around. After a few hours, we headed back home.

That was an adventure in itself. The first metro we had to get on was so full! There were six of us girls and I told everyone to grab their roommate and make sure you get on this metro. So we squeezed in. The pushing from the back certainly helps to get you on. Getting off becomes a problem, but we made it. There were quite a few sketch people and we were glad that all of us were together.

We got home late (or should I say early) so Ally and I slept most of the day. I got up around 13h and started some homework. I had a presentation tomorrow in my religion class. Usually I don't do my homework on Sunday and I realized that as I stared today. I guess I just haven't really realized that life in Paris is still life and I need to figure out what I want to do and not do and plan ahead.

I watched more conference and loved it. I put on Priesthood session while I did part of my presentation. I tried to watch Sunday morning live, but fell asleep about half hour into it. I'm watching it again now. Sunday afternoon will be on at 22h. It's weird having them on super late!

I can't believe how amazing this conference has been. I don't know if I am listening better than normal, or if I was more prepared for it, but I have gotten so much out of this conference. I feel uplifted and inspired. I can already see an increase of the Spirit in my life over the last day as I listen and apply the teachings I have learned.

Most of the pics are not very good quality but here's the night:

Hotel de Ville

Notre Dame

The metro

Us on the metro

Ally and I on the metro-we got close quickly lol

Day 25

Today was a short day. I slept in and the Ally and I headed out to meet the group. We went to Angelina's for a snack at 2:30ish. They have the most amazing hot chocolate ever. Anyone who has been there will testify. It was so amazing. Expensive, but worth it. It will not be a place I go regularly, but it will be a 'bring Dad here' place and a 'last week of the trip place to say goodbye to Paris' place.

I headed home so that I could live stream conference on my computer. I'm so happy that I made it a priority to be home and watch it, even though I am in Paris. It was such an amazing session. I don't know if it was any different than normal for anyone else, but it was for me.

First off it made me homesick. I'm not quiet sure why. Maybe it just reminds me of how we would all roll out of bed and watch it together at home when I was little. I remember being in pajama's and my down comforter through almost all of conference weekends growing up. Dad, Cam and I dozing off and Mom and Mook listening attentively. Haha Okay not always, but thats how it normally seems.

I cant waited to watch the rest of conference during the weekend. Tonight is a special night in Paris because it is Nuit Blanche- White Night. All the museums and clubs stay open all night. So we are about to head out to the Louvre for a few hours. We will see how it goes!

Me with my eclair and hot chocolate

Look at that whipped cream!

Day 24

Started out the day with a wake-up call from my dad! He called the cell phone and I got up to Skype with him. We chatted for a little over an hour and it was so nice to be able to talk to him and catch up!

I caught up with Ally and four other people from the group and took my first visit to the Louvre! I was actually surprised by how much I liked it. I'm not really an art person, but there are so many different kinds of art in the Louvre, that I never got bored. I knew it was huge, but I didn't realize that it was that huge. Trying to find an exit took a ridiculous amount of time. I decided that by the time I go home I want to have seen every part of the Louvre, and I don't think it will be a problem. That will be amazing to be able to do. I'm so blessed to be here and have so much time to see everything!

We did a few sections today, but the one that I liked the best was Napoleon's apartment. It was grand and elegant, and it made me want to live back in the day. We all had our 'We love Jane Austin and anything else old' moment, and then we went back to loving modern technology and privileges.

After the Louvre a few of us walked around Tuileries for awhile, even though it was raining. We headed up to the Montmarte district for a guided tour that some of the group wanted to do. I'm not sure it was worth it, but I don't regret doing it. So I guess it was good to be able to walk around; however, it was raining. My shoes, socks and pants were soaked.

I got to see Sacre Coeur for the first time and it was amazing! It might be my new favorite cathedral. I hated and loved that you couldn't take pictures. I liked it because it made it more of a church. I hated it because I want to be able to remember it forever and pictures are the only way that that is going to happen for me. But I will definitely be going back to get tons of pictures of the outside.

Welcome to the Louvre

Napoleon's Apartment

Me, Ally, Roxanne, Sutton and Martha

We talked about this picture forever-trying to analyze it and stuff. We were proud hehe

Me and the princess bed!

The dungeon

I liked the H's on the ceiling

Tour of the Montmartre district

And here is the sad place where my camera died.