France

Paris, France

We are now 8 hours ahead in time of the USA!!! Our sleeping schedules are completely off! (It doesn't help that we stay up all night, anyway). Everytime we travel somewhere on the bus, everyone sleeps. Today as we were touring Paris, I think nearly everyone fell asleep.

We saw the Eiffel Tower!!! It is so crazy that we are right by THE Eiffel Tower!!! It is 1, 000 feet tall and SO cool! Mom and I took a cute picture of us sitting back to back in front of it. She loves the picture! We als otourned the Louver Museum. Everything is so big and amazing. All of the painting in there were huge and there was a big glass pyramid. We saw an acient library and tons of statues. Today for lunch, everyone split up again, and my litte "group" at Chinese. =)

We were going to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower tonight, but one of the elevators were down, and there wasn't a guarentee that we'd get up because it was a 4 hour wait anyway. So...we decided to take a river boat ride that went right by the Eiffel Tower. We left before dark, but when we returned, the tower was all lit up in blue and was sparkling. The reflection in the water was beautiful and it was AWESOME!!!!

Up until this point, I was assigned to room with Kenzie and Teasha. Our new rooms only have 2 beds, so Mr. Davis figured I was flexible and put me in a room with Sarah, a girl from Tennessee!! I was really excited because I figured I'd take this as a mission learning experience. We got acquainted pretty quickly and took some fun pictures of us jumping on the bed. =) Then she wanted to go visit Andy Goodrich up in his room...haha, so I walked up with her. He was lying on his bed with his shirt off, and everyone else had left his room. She started talking to him, and I told her I'd be back in a minute. I went down to Kyle and Ryan's room and we said night prayer again. I stayed and talked for a while and then I went up to check on Sarah. Andy's roommates were back, sitting on the floor, and she was lying on the bed with shirtless Andy. We left and went back to our oom and after a few minutes, she was hungry. She wanted me to walk with her down the street a few blocks to the store. It was flipping 2 in the morning in PARIS!!!...I was NOT going out there! I had a bad feeling! I told her we should get a few boys to go so that we'd be safe. So she went up to Andy's room and she talked him and the other boys into going. That's when I said that I'd stay behind at the motel and make sure they made it back. I said that if they weren't back in half an hour, I'd have people go look for them. They laughed if off and titped downstairs and out the doors. I went into my mom and Rhonda Tolbert's room (they were still up). I left a note on our room door saying where I was, and in about 20 minutes, I heard a little knock at the door. When I opened it, Sarah's face was sheet white and she was shivering. I told my mom goodnight and we went back to our room.

When the door was shut, Sarah jumped on a bed and started telling me about what had happened. they had gotten a few blocks out and some men were standing on the side of the street by a graffiti van. One grabbed her hand and asked where they were going. She stopped to talk to them!!! AH!!! Andy put his arm around her and kept walking. After a minute, he looked back and realized taht they were being followed. The men had gotten in the van and were driving behind them! They started walking faster and faster, heading back to the motel. Our motel was in a weird spot and the only way in is up this little alley. They got up to the doors, and they were locked!! So they started banging on them and the manager opened them just in time. They slammed the doors shut and locked them. WOW!!! One adventure was all it took to find some nasty guys on the street! Scary! While she was in the bathroom, I tiptoed up to Andy's room and thanked him for taking care of her. He gained a lot of respect from me that night because he protected Sarah.

The next day was full of awesome things again. Ryan and I had left the group and walked ahead in the Louvre Museum. We got lost...haha, it is HUGE!!!! There were hundreds and hundreds of paintings on the wall and statues. Lots of naked statues...I tried to look at the paintings where the artists appreciated clothing. haha. You always hear about the Mona Lisa. After walking through that museum, full of massive paintings all over the wall, the Mona Lisa seemed a little less impressive. We found the tiny little painting on a wall, surrounded by a big group of admirerers. Nonethless, it was cool to see just because it is so well known.

At about 7 pm, we headed for the Eiffel Tower again. This time, the elevators were fixed and we stood in line for about 2 1/2 hours. It was starting to get dark, and I was really excited to see Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower! We got to the top and it was AMAZING. So gorgeous!!! We rode in 2 see through elevators up to the very top. Going up made my stomach jump a little bit, but I loved it. We got to the top and spent about 20 minutes up there. We took lots of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed it.

We went to the Versaille Palace and it was BEAUTIFUL. It was absolutely huge and just amazing. We toured through and saw the enormous bedrooms, chambers, hallways, and everything else. The architecture was incredibly detailed. The palace was dripping in gold accents and fine design. It is amazing to think that people really lived like that! We walked through the Hall of Mirrors, which was also very neat. The hall was fairly empty, aside from the sparkling chandeliers, wall full of mirrors, and a few others accents. The hall was larger than a school hallway and was several hundred feet long.

We also passed by Arche de Triomph. It is an interesting location, right in the middle of a huge traffic area. The arch is one of the most famous monuments in France. It honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary War. It is about 50 meters tall.

It is so much fun to be with friends and tour Europe! It is hard to believe how far away from home we are...just in the other hemisphere! We get a few opportunities to call home and email. We have to find these little cafe shops to use the internet, and time is limited because you are charged by the minute.

It is funny to watch everyone walk on the streets in the crowds. You can totally tell who the tourists are. Especially the ones in our group, because they all have a tight hold on their belongings. My mom holds her purse in the front of her (like she is supposed to) and keeps her arm tucked tightly over the top. Her whole upper body circles around that precious purse. It is just kind of funny to see my nice, sweet, innocent little mother out in the big, scary city of Paris. =)

We also went inside of the Notre Dam Cathedral. It is a Gothic, Catholic cathedral and the design is amazing. It is one of the best examples of French Gothic artchitecture. This is what the Hunchback of Notre Dam was themed after! It also houses the official chair of the Archbishop of Paris!

It is just so amazing to see the architectual differences of buildings here! They are so old and elegant!
We also had our first taste of Gelato! It is known as the best ice cream in the world. They had PISTACHIO gelato, and surprisingly, it was really, really good!

It is also interesting to watch the people in France. Most speak fluent English, as a second language. It makes me think that America is behind the times. Few people speak more than one language. I love listening to people argue on the streets in their heavy French accents. BONJOUR!!!