On Monday we started class @ 10 am, then headed to the Louvre. The Louvre is very intimidating. There is so much happening there and I saw like so little of what they have, yet so much. Here are some photos:
We also had FHE, which was an interesting time because the 15ish of us that went made up like most of the attendants, other than missionaries. Everyone was super cool, though, and they had food which was a plus. We got massively lost on our way there, which was less cool because we showed up late and it was just like awkward.
Tuesday was so fun! We went to Musee d'Orsay which was my favorite museum by far. There was a ton of Van Gogh and I was very happy and there was some Monet and my main man Degas and some others like Cezanne and Renoir. Here's a million photos:
@ the conjuring 2 for making it so i cant go to museums
After we went to Sainte Chapelle which is one of my favorite places on earth. I could literally sit in there for hours. My fave section is Esther ofc, but like it's all so beautiful and I love it all.
After that we went to Notre Dame which is very fun. There's also the Crypt of Archaeology underneath the courtyard which is pretty fun. It was a lot like the Roman Baths in Bath, but smaller.
That night we had game night it was pretty fun.
Wednesday was pretty fun, too! We went to Musee Rodin which was fun (also the Dior fashion show catwalk was being taken down so that was kind of cool). We then went to the army museum to look at Napoleon's tomb which was awesome because Napoleon was so wild what a guy.
After that we went to the Pantheon which was pretty cool but it was actually the coldest place on earth. I've never been in a place in my entire life that was so cold (just kidding the church building maybe has it beat).
After that I started walking with two girls to the Eiffel Tower (because I hadn't seen it yet), but we quickly realized it was way too long to walk. We did make it, though, and it was very cool. It's wild to think that tourists kind of saved it, because Parisians hated it until the tourists became obsessed.
Later, we ran into two other girls that were headed to the Arc de Triomphe (a large group of us had all planned on meeting there) so I joined them and we went to the top and watched the sunset and the lights turn on the Eiffel Tower. It was very, very cold but so worth it! The stairs to get up were also horrible, though, so if anyone ever reading this decides to go up, fair warning. Again, though, so worth the pain.
I had already been getting sick, though, and by Thursday I was like pretty dang sick. We went to the Picasso museum and the Pompadou, and I peaced out and slept for like most of the afternoon and was not seen the rest of the day.
Friday was super fun, though! We went to Versailles! First off, it is so beautiful! Architecturally and decoratively it is magnificent. It is also really overwhelming, though, because it is so extravagant everywhere. We went to Marie Antoinette's hamlet, which was part of the grounds/gardens, and that was the cutest thing ever. It was like a fairy tale village. Also, the animals were sooooooo cute.
After Versailles I ate my second Croque Monsieur of the week at this cute little place near the temple. We then went to the temple, which was one of my favorite temples ever. It was so beautiful!
You can't super tell in this photo, but they make the stained glass wavy so it looks like an impressionist painting!
That night we went to the opera! We saw a collection of different songs from different operas, and it was pretty fun. It was so hot in there, though, haha. I was also geeking the whole time because of Phantom of the Opera. (We saw it at the Palais Garnier).
Saturday was our free day! We had no class and no sights we were expected to see! We went to Sainte Chapelle (some people hadn't seen it, and I was sooo down to go again). We then walked to Notre Dame but ended up not going (although we stopped and got a crepe nearby). We went to L'Orangerie museum, which was really cool. They had the water lily paintings there by Monet, so that was magical. Monet is the bomb.
Then that night we had a pizza and chatting night, which was super fun! Everyone is really awesome, I'm going to be sad when we go home and I don't see everyone every day haha. (Although idk maybe I'll hate everyone by the end of the trip haha jkjk).
Today wasn't really exciting, we just went to church and froze to death and then came to the hotel to study and sleep.
This week we have like very few things scheduled so it's going to be a lot of free time. Guess we'll see what I end up doing haha.
~ Emily
