PARIS!!! Our group had the amazing opportunity to go to Paris this last week. It was so much fun because we got to see countless wonders and famous places. Paris also holds exquisite art...we spent much of our time at museums and for our art class, we sketched some sculptures. We got around by using the Metro, which is kinda like a subway system...however, it was very dirty and stinky - I guess that comes with a city. I have grown a bigger appreciation for London and the cleaner tube system lol :)



































Our first excursion in Paris was to Montmartre where we visited the Basilica of Sacre Couer. It stood atop a huge hill overlooking the city. We even climbed like 300 spiraling stairs (the first of many stairs to come lol) to the top of the dome and had an amazing view. In the view was my first glimpe of the Eiffel Tower...I couldn't believe I was actually in Paris. So cool!


















































The Eiffel Tower!!! We chose our first night in Paris to climb the 700 stairs up the Eiffel Tower. The very top is closed during the week, but we still got pretty high up and were able to do it at sunset. Then has it got darker, the Eiffel Tower lit up and we were even on it when they turned
on the glittering lights. So pretty!!!












Of course the Louvre was a must among the many other museums we went to. I saw beautiful art. The Italian paintings were my favorite...so much detail and color! I saw the Mona Lisa, Madonna on the Rocks, Aphrodite, Winged Freedom statue, and Napoleon III's decked out apartment! I loved it, but it was very easy to get lost in the massive building.




Here is me in the Hall of Mirrors where Louis IV used to walk down when he lived at Versaille!! The palace was so amazing....Louis lived quite the rich life with rooms encrested in gold, silver, red velvet, and beautiful paintings. The gardens looked amazing from the window, but it was way to cold to walk around in them. I'm sure it would be fun to do in the spring. At the end of our visit there, we went in the chapel and heard amazing singing...it seriously sounded like angels. Turns out it was a choir made up of kids from age 5 to 12!! It was amazing...I couldn't believe such magical sound could come out of such young kids!

The other pic is a nice shot of us jumping off chairs in the middle of Luxembourg gardens. Yay for Paris!


























Notre Dame!! We of course climbed the many stairs of this sweet building too! Loved the gargoyles and climing to the big bell :

Here is the Arc de Triomphe, which Napoleon built for his victorious army to march through. We climbed to the top of this as well. It is in the middle of like 12 different cross roads. One of the roads is Avenue des Champs-Elysees - one of the most famous roads in the world. It is a very broad street with lots of fun shopping on it and where we ate our first Paris crepe!

The last few pics are just some random ones from the many I have. The stained glass one is from Sainte Chapelle - very famous for being one of the most comprehensive collections of stained glass of the 13th century period. The next pic is of Napoleon's burial sight - a whole palace to him and others close to him. Then there is a pic of Van Gogh I think...I saw a lot of art lol. And then of course we had to get a pic of one of the many spiral staircases we climbed up!