Paris, Round Two

After spring break, we went back to Paris for another nine days. After the mostly nice weather we enjoyed in Rome, Paris greeted us with chilly weather and cloudy days. We made the best of it, though, and on our first full day back, we visited La Défense, one of Paris's major business districts. There is a lot of art to admire, everything from sculptures to statues. Scholmo Salinger, the artist we visited the first time we were in Paris, has numerous works in the area. The Grande Arche, which you can see below, is also located in La Défense. Built in 1989, it is a fairly new monument which was built to be the 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe. In fact, you could see the Arc de Triomphe visible, straight ahead, from the Grande Arche.



Just before you reach the Grande Arche, there is a large fountain... the perfect photo op!



The bright colors contrasted nicely with the dull and overcast day.



But that's not to say signs of better days weren't in sight. Flowers were in bloom and we crossed our fingers for warmer weather.



We also visited with another artist, Slobodan. He showed us artwork he had completed when he lived in Rome. It was really cool to see the familiar sights of Rome as he drew them. He was very welcoming and was happy to host us. I enjoyed our visit with him.



Cat, Ian, and I went to Angelina's, where they have world-famous hot chocolate (delicious) and I snapped this shot of the Eiffel Tower and the pretty pink-and-blue tinged sky on our way back to the metro.



A few of us also went up the Eiffel Tower. We opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator... it was cheaper and we could burn some calories, haha.



It was 668 steps to the second level. To go to the very top, the third level, you must take an elevator. Lyndsay, Owen, and I decided not to go to the top because there was an extremely long line.



But there were incredible views from the first and second levels. I probably took way too many pictures, but there was just so much to capture!



Everywhere you looked, there were famous Paris landmarks. It was cool to see these monuments from above, from the nice vantage point we had within the Eiffel Tower.



There was the Seine...



The Arc de Triomphe...



Paris urban sprawl...



And (barely visible in the distance) the Sacré-Cœur.



As luck would have it, the weather did turn in our favor. We traded cloudy days for sunshine and gorgeous skies. One afternoon, Cat, Leah, and I went to Luxembourg Gardens and it was just beautiful.



This fountain below was one of my favorites.



The Gardens were full of people, many of whom were just sitting, basking in the glow of the sunshine.



If we weren't tea drinkers before we came to France, ALL of us are definitely leaving with at least a newfound appreciation for tea. We all visited a tea emporium and museum one afternoon after touring the Picasso Museum.



There were hundreds of teas lining the walls--it was crazy! I never would have imagined that many different flavors.



The Picasso Museum and the tea emporium were located in the Jewish Quarter, which had a very cool feel to it. There were falafel places everywhere and various aromas floating through the air. Later that day, on our way to the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, Lyndsay, Owen, and I stopped at a nice little park that I hadn't been to before.



Here's the pyramid of the Louvre against a pretty late March sky. :)



And then we began our LONG walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. It took us awhile to make it all the way out there!



But after a pitstop at McDonald's, we finally made it!



We also went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and got a really good view of the Champs-Élysées traffic... there are no visibly-marked lanes, it's crazy! I would not want to be one of those cars, haha.



You could see the Grande Arche from the top...



As well as the Eiffel Tower.



Leah and I also visited Napoleon's tomb at Les Invalides.



Napoleon's son is buried there, as well.



Leah, Matt, and I went to the Sacré-Cœur to wrap up our last day in Paris. The Sacré-Cœur might just be my second-favorite place in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower. I just think it is so striking, especially when you're down at the very bottom of the hill, looking right up at it. Of course, the brilliant blue sky didn't hurt, either.



We said goodbye to Paris and took a train back to Toulouse, then another train to Albi, and a bus back to Ambialet. It was an extremely long travel day, but I was glad to be back at the monastery. We'd been gone for three weeks and it was nice to be back home. :)

Spring Break: Rome

After five days in London, we jetted off to Italy to spend a week in Rome. It was a week well-spent.



Rome was a lot more tropical than I expected. The weather was really nice, except for a cloudy day here and there and a bit of rain.



We rented two apartments, and the apartment I stayed in was literally across the street from the Coliseum. If you went outside our front door, looked to the right, it was there. I thought it was pretty cool. :)



See what I mean? :)



Above is the Coliseum after the sun set, taken on the corner of our street. It was extremely surreal seeing such a symbol of Rome numerous times every day.



Inside the Coliseum. This picture was taken on our last day in Rome... Unfortunately I was playing with my camera one night and somehow pictures of our first day in Rome got deleted. I was kind of disappointed, because the first time we visited the Coliseum, it was a beautiful morning. And our last day in Rome was pretty cloudy and kind of blah. It could be worse, I could have lost ALL my pictures on the last day, right? Right.



View of the Arch of Constantine from the Coliseum.



The Sunday that we were in Rome, we set off to go to mass at St. Peter's. There was just one little problem...



There was a huge marathon that day. And we couldn't cross the street to get to Vatican City. Eventually the number of runners dwindled and we were able to cross, but by that time we had missed the mass we intended to go to, and we didn't want to wait around any longer than we had to attend the next mass.



The Trevi Fountain was so huge I couldn't get it all in one picture! It is truly an exquisite work of art. The place was bursting with people but we were able to find a good spot in the middle of all the action.



And of course we made sure to throw coins into the fountain! Right hand, over left shoulder as specified by tradition. :)



Side view of the fountain. I cannot stress how massive it was. Definitely a lot bigger than I expected.



Next, it was onto the Spanish Steps. There were a lot of people sitting around and enjoying the beautiful day. We went to the top with gelatos in hand and sat down up there, just taking in the view.



After our failed attempt to go to the Vatican on Sunday, we successfully tried again on Monday. Here is a view of St. Peter's from the square. This was an early day; we left around 8am so we could beat the crowd. There were very few people around when we went in compared to when we left.



Pretty scenery in St. Peter's Square. Another gorgeous day. :)



Inside St. Peter's Basilica. It was so pretty and boasted quite an immense presence.



The morning sunlight filtered into the church so beautifully.



We hiked up a bunch of steps to go into the top of the dome. I thought it was pretty cool to get a bird's eye view of the church, but that didn't compare to the amazing view we got from the outside...



This view of Rome and the Tiber River was definitely worth the effort of climbing hundreds of never-ending steps!



Here's a view of St. Peter's Square from above. If you look closely, you can see the humongous line of people waiting to go inside stretching all the way across the square. Good thing we got there early!



Me and some of my European family resting after a tough walk to the top. :)



After we finished up at the Vatican and visited the Vatican Museum to see Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel (where, sadly, no pictures were allowed), we stopped to take a rest next to the river. It was really nice just hanging out, enjoying the scenery, and giving my feet a break. haha. Something that I thought was really cool about Rome was that it seemed like you could literally walk everywhere. We walked from Vatican City all the way back to our apartment and were able to see sights all along the way. We only used the metro about 4 times (and truthfully, the metro system was pretty limited...I think there were only two lines, compared to the 15ish that Paris has), but otherwise we walked everywhere.



So there were cats pretty much everywhere in Rome. When we walked past this sleeping kitty, I just had to get a picture with him. haha.



We also visited the Roman Forum and the Palantino on our first day, so of course I had to go back the last day we were in Rome to get the pictures I had lost.



Where the Emperor's throne used to be, in the Palantino.



View of some of the Roman Forum. You can see the Arch of Tito and the Coliseum in the background.



I believe this is the Temple of Romulus in the Forum... He is the founder of Rome.



There were such beautiful carvings everywhere you looked in the Forum, but this flower was one of my favorites.



I absolutely loved the Forum. I could have walked around there all day taking pictures and savoring all the history at my feet. Everywhere you looked there were ruins, columns, arches, and other remnants from the Roman Empire. So much history. It was pretty much my idea of heaven. haha. :)



My only complaint: it wasn't that great of a day. Our last day was extremely cloudy and there was some rain, but the sun tried her best to fight through the clouds...



We also visited the Pantheon, where Italy's first King Victor Emmanuel II and the famous Raphael are buried. The Pantheon is Rome's oldest standing domed structure...Like the Trevi Fountain, I couldn't really get all of it in one picture, but I tried my best!



We enjoyed one last gelato at a nice little place near the Pantheon. I definitely fell in love with gelatos in Rome... We made sure to have at least one gelato a day every day we were there, though there were a few days when we managed to have two, lol.



We started off for our flight from Rome to Paris around 5am and while waiting for the metro to open, I snapped a few last shots of the Coliseum.



I really enjoyed Rome. I think I preferred it over London... For one thing, I didn't lose anything nor did my hearing aids stop working on me, haha. But I really loved that there was just so much history to take in everywhere you looked. Oh, and the food was amazing, too, not to mention all the gelatos. :)