Goodbye Paris!

I'm a little behind so I'll combine yesterday and today in one blog. Yesterday was pretty darn sweet. Besides the fact that I finally had my own clothes to change into, we all over slept and spread out doing different stuff. Brenna and Coleen went to the Champse le Sey to go shopping, my sisters and I went to the Arc de Triumph, Barbie Nana Beth and mom got on a "hop on hop off" tour bus that drove them around town to different sights and museums. We all met on Pier 7 for a lunch cruise on the Sein. I think that was a high light for all of us. Ill write more later...need some sleep. More about funky round abouts! Stay tuned

I am sorry. I had a really bad head ache andI fell asleep last night in the middle of blogging, woke up and realized I hadn't posted it. SO! Lunch tour was awesome, we all dressed up, ate fancy food, I played historian since we couldn't understand the tour guide over the pa system, there was a lovely violinist and piano player playing live music. It was awesome! Then we split up again with the intention of meeting together just after 9 at the highest point in Paris, Sacre Coure. Morris girls went back to Arc de Triumph to climb to the top (very breezy, awesome views, evie needed a nap) then we went back to the hotel. Mom, Nana, and Beth continued to do the hop on hop off tours. Tawni, Coleen, and Brenna continued to shop. Everyone but mom and nana ended up at the hotel before leaving for "soccer cracker". Barbie wanted to stay home and keep Evie. Mom and Nana had decided to hit the Louvre one more time 6-9 and meet is at the church. Coleen bought cheese and baggets. I bought wine tomatoes and straw berries and the rest of us set off for the Bastille. There are many stairs to get to the top! It was fun and felt never ending but the top was amazing and the view was surreal. There was a consert going on outside and they were holding a mass inside so we sat on the steps eating our dinner while partaking in both worlds. It was beautiful. On the way back we had planned on stopping to see Moulan Rouge but in the subway this guy tried to take my phone out of my hand and then proceeded to kick a vending machine till it gave up all its euro. Everyone in the station was nervous and upset. We left for home instead. Margaret and I broke off from the group to watch the Eiffle tower sparkle. That was worth coming to Paris for. Then we walked home and had an Irish Coffee before going up to bed. It was fun to watch the little restaurant next door close up shop. They have 7-9 people close. Everything, tables chairs and benches get stuffed inside the little shop and then they sweep the street! They are so efficiant and so fast. I had already packed so I was ready for the next mornings departure...I'm going to take a nap and then I will tell you more ;-)

Giverny and Versialles

What an overwhelming day. I'm exhausted. Its midnight AGAIN and I can hardly process all the stuff I saw and the stories I heard. I learned more about Monet than I have ever learned in an art history class room. (Probably a good thing. I didn't need any more amo to use against my teachers) Dude! He painted pure colors. He didn't mix them on his pallet. He also didn't care to learn the names of his flowers. All he cared about was their color. They were his pallet! There is 7 minutes between changes in light so working fast and on many paintings at once is a good thing. His water lily pond series numbered in the 200's! Oh and he loved cooking. What is not to like about a painter who loves to garden and cook! There is something to say about immersion being the best way to learn something. Actually experiencing the places he saw and painted...awe inspiring! Oh! And our tour guide was exceptional and hilarious! And our skillful driver scared the living day lights out of the Austrailian couple as he weaved our double decker bus in and out of these tiny 1/2 lane wide villages chasing their little cars onto sidewalks or to stop dead in their tracks only to reverse all the way thru town to the nearest side street! There were houses built into the smooth white stone cliffs because originally if you didn't have a man made roof in France then you didn't have to pay taxes. The Sein Vally was beautiful and the poppies and bachelor buttons were in full bloom. Then to top it off the Palace of Versialles! It only took 49 years to build it but it made me feel so small and insignificant! Louis XIV aka the sun king definitely had an appreciation for Roman mythology, Etiquette, and of course himself. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer! Amazing! That alone was enough to give a person a month to study and explore to scratch the surface and we only had 3 hours! We didn't even hardly touch the 2000 acres of gardens, lakes, and Marie Anntionetts little village! It was grand and my feet were sore. Upon returning to the hotel aunt Coleen realized someone had swiped the wallet from her zipped purse and re zipped it! Money, cards, drivers license gone. Not only are we two drivers down now (since I left mine at home not thinking correctly) we were hungry tired and pissed. We went to the corner cafe and had dinner. That definitely helped. A little wine, bread and cheese and good food including creme brule and the best Irish coffee I have EVER had served by the cutest french guy I have seen so far. Kara says I can't take him home cause he makes this annoying rooster sound. Back at the hotel my bag still had not arrived. We went up to our room to get ready to head to the Eiffle Tower to see it sparkle in the hour and our phone rang. My bag had FINALLY arrived! I was so excited tired and decided to stay home with Evie and go to bed. I had planned on going to Sacur Coure early tomorrow before the sun rose but I think I will let Paris wake me up instead (or Evie which ever comes first!) Maybe the next morning right before we leave...

We made it to Paris!

That's the gist of it. All of us are here and I'm the only one who's bag got lost. Hopefully it will show up tomorrow evening. For now I'm borrowing clothes. The gentleman who helped me process my lost luggage has met Larry Kroon at a convention. I must say this world gets smaller and smaller. All day I kept looking around expecting to see someone I knew after that! Margaret and I went on quite the adventure while most everybody took a nap. We walked non stop for hours! Saw the outside of almost every museum/monument and had crepes with nutella and our first cafe and bought 2 paintings from this guy who was painting near the Sein and learned the metro system in 7 hours. My feet were bleeding by the time we rejoined the group under the Eiffle tower for wine and pizza. (My walking shoes and everything else is in the lost bag) now its late. My roommates Evie and Kara are crashed out as I should be. Early morning to Guverny and Versilles! (Please ignore misspelled words) Good night!

Happy Birthday Jen!

Reminiscent of A Lavender Field

As I lay here, mind spinning, I'm wondering what all needs to get done before I head out on Tuesday. My check list is getting longer instead of shorter and my free time committed to packing and planning is getting much much shorter! I did finally get around to changing my address today. (A week late, oh well) I got a chance to talk to my Alaska family which was definitely a perk for me. It almost feels real! Work is picking up and details are slowly getting nailed down. I'm taking too many pictures to process so I'm not sure what to do with them all. Dragon boat races, Angel's Rest hike, moving, etc. I did post some lavender to remind myself that in a very short future I will be transported from the lovely lavender in front of my aunts house to the fields of lavender in the hills of Provance France. I can't wait!