Parlez Vous Anglais?

If I can give one piece of advice, it would be this: Do not start your month long journey in a city where you don't know the language whatsoever. It really just doesn't get you off on the right foot.

Outside Notre Dame

I started my journey at about 9 am, way too early for my liking. But Ed was nice enough to take me to the train station to see me off, but I didn´t realize how hard it would be to say goodbye to him. I cried like a little baby and I will only be gone for one month. I don't even want to know what it is going to be like when I actually have to go home.

Getting to Paris was a breeze, it was once we actually got there that I realized I was in a little over my head. It took us over an hour in the train station to get money changed, find luggage lockers, but tickets, and figure out where we were headed.It was a bit of a nightmare but we made it and thats all that matters.

Our first stop in Paris was Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris. It was a really beautiful place but I could honestly not believe how many people were there.It was kind of like just a big tourist place and they forgot that it was a place of worship and they needced to be respectful.  It was really a shame.

It as pouring rain when we left Notre Dame so we ducked into the first restaurant we saw.  I had my first taste of French crepes and they were SO delicious.

Walking across one of the many bridges in Paris

Luckily, the rain let up for a bit so we could walk down the river towards the Eiffel Tower.  Looking back at it now, I cant believe we walked that far - it was a long ways! But we knew that if we stayed along the Seine River and kept our eyes on the prize, we would be okay.  We ended up passing some really big landmarks along the way like Pont Neuf, Musee dOrsay, and Invalides.

The Eiffel Tower at night

We made it just in time to see the sunset and the lights come up on the Eiffel Tower.  Seeing that alone made all the trouble before totally worth it.  I couldnt actually believe my eyes.  There I was - standing at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower in Paris watching it light up the sky- amazing.

So great to spend time with my oldest friend

I was so relieved when we got to my friend Beths apartment in Versailles the first night.  It was so great to see such a familiar face after a long day of traveling.  Beth has been studying in France for the entire school year so it was really nice of her to take a break from all her archetecture work to show us around Paris the second day we were there.

From the top of the Eiffel Tower

We loved the Eiffel Tower so much at night that we decided to go back during the day.  But this time we climbed all 669 steps to the second level to get some amazing views of Paris.  I absolutely loved getting to see all of Paris from up there and learn about some of the best places in the city.

Outside the Louvre

We had some lunch out by the Musee dOrsay before heading over to the Musee du Louvre.  The walk to the Louvre was really pretty.  Inside, it holds some of the most famous pieces of art in the world, including the Monna Lisa.  Some of the pieces we saw there were just so great that it didnt even seem real.

Arc de Triomphe

The rest of the afternoon is Paris was spent at the Place de la Concorde, getting some macaroons, and visitng the Arc de Triomphe.

Hot apple, caramel, and vanilla ice cream crepes. YUMMM

We had another go at French crepes for dinner that night and this time they were even better than before.  I had one with sausage and cheese for my main meal and then one with warm apples, caramel, and vanilla ice cream for dessert.  It was a little bit of a doozy trying to order in French but compared to these really funny American guys that were also there, we were doing just fine.

The gardens of the Chateau de Versailles

The weather finally decided to cooperate with us on our last full day so we decided to stay in Versailles and explore the beautiful city.  For some reason, everything closes on Mondays there so we couldn go inside the chateau.  Luckily, the gardens were still open so we walked around for hours admiring the immaculate plants, trees, and fountains while soaking up the sun.  We also had some tasty baguettes and took our hand at rowing with the boat that we rented to travel the canal.

Rowing along the grand canal in Versailles

It was a nice relaxing day followed by dinner back at Beths and hanging out with her and her roommates for the rest of the night.

Paris and Versailles were really great places but I am so thankful that l that Beth was there.  I really couldnt ahve done it without her.

We are now off the Spain- first stop, San Sebastián on the west coast near the French border.  Hopefully knowingSpanish quite well should make this country a little easier to manage.

Please keep praying for my safety on all of these trips.  It really means so much to me to have so many people wishing me well. I will update again when I can!

L`amour