Parissssss

Day 1:

We arrived to our hotel Wednesday night around 6pm, settled in, and ate dinner. Shortly after dinner we decided to see what this whole Eiffel Tower thing was all about.

I mean, I guess it's pretty legit...

Sooooo clooooseee

I touched the Eiffel Tower. MWHAHA

We then proceeded to go to the top of the tower and see the city of Paris at night.

Some of the city.

Arc de Triomphe.

How far America is from the Eiffel Tower.

Day 2:

We ventured to the Opera to learn some of Paris' history over the years.

Fine Arts school near by.

After touring the meseum we headed to the Jewish district of Paris and had the vegetarian dish of falafels. They were pretty good, but I don't know if I would get it again. After lunch we had free time for the rest of the day. Morgan, Joe, Brady and I decided to head in the direction of this "church looking thing" according to Joe. However when we actually got there it was just a tower. However later we learned that it was once the church of Saint Jacques but was torn down a while back. After that we decided to go see a church that was still standing, the Notre Dame. I got some great pictures, but when I went to upload my photos for this day my camera somehow deleted them all. It wasn't too much of a big deal because we went back to the Notre Dame on Sunday for Mass.

Day 3:

Friday consisted of the group meeting up at the Louvre. Some of us got there a little early and were able to take some nice pictures.

We've mastered asking French people to take our picture.

Of course I had to touch the tip of the pyramid.

Num Nums.

While we were in the Louvre we went to see some painting called the Mona Lisa. Apparently it's pretty famous or something. Apparently no matter what angle you look at the painting, she's always looking at you. What a creeper.

CREEEEEPERRRRR.

After the Louvre we headed to the Arch de la Defense. It lines up with the Arc de Triomphe. So we got more pictures of the city.

Arch de la Defense.

View of the Arc de Triomphe from the Arch de la Defense

From there we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, once we were there we participated in a ceremony dealing with the Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It was really a great experience.
 

Daytime shot.

Underneath the Arc

Eternal Flame and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Sunset shot.

Nighttime shot.

Day 4:

Saturday some of us got up early and headed to a giant flea market. It was pretty cool, but now I may have to worry about my luggage weight on my trip back to the US. After this we met up with the group and Gerry and went to Montmartre, here we saw the Sacre Coeur.

Day 5: 

Sunday we went to Mass at the Notre Dame. It's pretty crazy to say that I attended an international mass at the Notre Dame. Definitely something that I will remember.

Reach High. Go Far.

After Mass we headed to lunch where we all got some coucous. Once again it was a really unique dish.

We then departed together and went to the Musee D'Orsay. It was once a train station but now holds some pretty famous pieces of artwork. Sadly no pictures were allowed.

Musee D'Orsay

After this we met up with Francie's family and headed to the Eiffel Tower together. Once again our childish antics got the best of us.

Me touching the Eiffel Tower again.

Francie's sister, Samantha, touching the Eiffel Tower.

I decided to get creative with my camera.

Yay for technology.

Day 6:

This was our last full day in Paris as a group. Francie, Rachel and I headed out to search for our museums assigned to us for class. Francie had the Cluny Musee, Rachel's museum was closed, and my museum was the Musee National de la Marine. We had a great time especially  because we took a couple of pit stops at the Eiffel Tower and an Aquarium.To cap the day off Francie, Rachel, Francie's family, and I headed over to Rue de Bac and saw the Church of the Miraculous Medal. It really was a beautiful place.

Cluny Museum

Another view of the Eiffel Tower.

FISH!

WAVY THINGS!

Musee National de la Marine

Plaque in the front.

Altar

Saint Catherine

Day 7:

Today Jen, Alicia, Morgan, Brady, Rachel, and I have been sitting around all day recuperating from the past week. Our flight for Greece leaves at 6am, so we're just bumming around all day until then. Next time I do a blog, I will hopefully be in Greece!

Pre-Paris

Well we depart for Paris in the morning!!! It's definitely a long awaited trip. We're going to be very busy the whole time there, so if there aren't too many blog posts, don't worry. I'll try my best to update within a reasonable amount time. Not too much has happened here since my last update. OH!...except that Francie and I got haircuts! It was a steep price, but definitely an experience.

 After we leave Paris next Wednesday, a group of us are off to Athens, Greece and Rome, Italy for Spring Break!! So no school for the next three weeks!! MWHAHAHA

My life from the past three weeks....

So obviously it's been like three weeks since I last updated. My apologies. I've been quite busy, and once again I had computer troubles. But now all is fixed. So be prepared for one of the longest blog posts you will ever read.....

Carcassonne 

The city of Carcassonne.

After getting dropped off from the bus, we trekked around the outskirts of the castle. We were able to see various architecture structures and of course great views of the surrounding area. Once we entered the city, we toured the Basilica of Saint Nazaire and Celsus, and once again it was an amazing site. 

Front of the Basilica.

From there we then ate a wonderful lunch of Margarita Pizza. I can't wait until I'm in Italy and can eat Margarita pizza alllllll the time.

Yum.

After Carcassonne, the group made our way to the Abbaye de Fontfroide. Here we saw the estate, and some pretty amazing stained glass windows. 

The courtyard.

We then made our way to Narbonne for the night. We had rest of the day to ourselves, as well as dinner. Francie, Jen, Alicia, Rachel, Morgan, Brady, John, and I made our way to a nice restaurant, and the best part was that they had Heniz Ketchup!!

My addiction continues.....

Barcelona: Day 1

The next morning we hit the road again for Barcelona, Spain. And let me tell you now, it was one of the best times of my life. When we first arrived, it was a bit rainy, but that didn't put a damper on us. One of the first things Francie and I wanted to do, was of course, SHOP.

Some of the girls.

After terrorizing the local shops, we went to Espai Gaudi's La Pedrera. It was only one of Gaudi's famous creations, as you will see more later from him in this trip.

The center of the building, it has no roof.

Uhh, so that's me.

After touring the rest of La Pedrera, we experienced our first time on the Metro in Barcelona. Surprisingly we made it to our intended destination: The Port of Barcelona. Here we were able to touch the Mediterranean for the first time in all of our lives!

The Port of Barcelona building. 

WOOOOOOO!!!

After experiencing the Mediterranean we all decided some dinner would be good. We then headed to our new favorite restaurant, Tapa Tapa.

The Menu

Barcelona: Day 2

We started the day off by visiting another one of Gaudi's creations: The Sagrada Familia. It truly is one of the most spectacular buildings I've ever seen. And it's not even finished! Construction began in 1882 and is predicted to be finished in 2025. I hope that I can go back once it's complete and see the finished product.

Outside View.

Altar View.

Ceiling View.

One of the many stained glass windows.

We ended the day visiting the Pablo Picaso Museum, sadly no pictures were allowed. However I did have some of the best juice ever while I was there.

Who would think peach juice would taste so good?!

 Later that night we went to a Flamenco show, and it was crazy! I didn't know that people could move that fast!

Barcelona: Day 3 

Another early morning to visit the Joan Miro Foundation Museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I did get a couple of nice shots of the city below.

From there we took yet another long hike to Parc Guell. It was pretty cool.

Entrance of the Parc.

 For the rest of the day we decided that we would spend a day at the beach. While it was a lot of fun, the water was extremely cold!!! But it was a great experience!

Ohhh just sitting on some rocks.

MWHAHAHA

<3

That pretty much sums up Barcelona. The other couple weeks, we've all just been bumming around and studying hardcore for anatomy. Well at least attempting to study for anatomy...

Fail.

Well that's my past few weeks in a nutshell. Now we're all getting ready for our trip to Paris and Spring Break!! Hopefully I'll update sometime before next year.....