Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Sunday in Paris

Sunday (June 17) was my last full day in Paris. I saw two more beautiful churches (one with real-life flying buttresses!
















I was very excited to be able to order a crepe de chocolate (chocolate crepe) and some hot chocolate for my dinner. My waiter laughed at my chocolate dinner, but I was excited to order a complete dinner (and pay) all in French. I was also ridiculed by other customers for taking a picture, but it is a beautiful crepe, is it not?









One of my final destinations of the day was the Palais Royal. These are two of my favorite pictures of the day. I had thought "man with skateboard" in the foreground and "man strolling" would detract from the picture, but now I am glad they are there, I feel they add to the tranquility of the scene...

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Tiny French Things

I like small things. I don't know why, but I do. I should add, tiny functional things. I think that's part of it - it's so tiny, but still functions like a regular-sized object! Perhaps it is because I am a girl, but I just don't know. I have always liked doll-houses, little boxes, etc. Anyway, there are many tiny things in France! It is a tiny-lover's paradise. I previously showed a picture of one of my tiny hotel rooms (http://lulia.blogspot.com/2007/06/versailles.html). So tiny, but very functional!



It was very hard to take a picture of the tiny elevator in Paris (they put mirrors on all sides!), but if you look at the ceiling, you can see that the elevator is about 3 ft x 3 ft. Maximum capicaty = 3 (though I think you would have to be pretty good friends)


Next was tiny transportation. I wish I had taken a picture of a tiny car (They are called 'smart' cars - see http://www.smart.com/ for details - they are coming to the US in 2008!) next to a normal sized car, because they are unbelievably tiny! and I have seen folding bikes before, but only on the internet, never in person! what a great idea. See http://www.dahon.com/ for details and pictures of folded bikes.











And now finally, for breakfast each day, we had the option of tiny jars of honey and jam. In the US, you would get little plastic containers, but not in France! Little glass jars! Very exciting.

Friday, June 22, 2007

More Sightseeing Pictures...

These pictures are from Saturday, June 16.
This is a men's clothing store - everything is pink! Shades of pink, pink stripes, pink ties.
















This is the fôret (forest) on the west side of Paris. I didn't expect to find bike trails in Paris, so it was neat to hear about this and go see it. And of course ,the




















A craft store with a beautiful yarn display. I was tempted to take it all home! But I showed restraint and no French yarn for me :( Finally, the Arc De Triomphe, I did not know it was so large. It is beautiful (c'est bel I think)


Thursday, June 21, 2007

Musée Du Louvre

I went to the Louvre Museum on Saturday (June 16). It was beautiful, but there were many areas where picture-taking was not allowed :(
The metro (subway) near the musuem was the most exciting entrance I saw in all of Paris - very unique and lovely.









From Wikipedia: The Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre) in Paris, France, is the most visited and one of the oldest, largest, and most famous art galleries and museums in the world. The Louvre has a long history of artistic and historic conservation, inaugurated in the Capetian dynasty until today. The building was previously a royal palace and is famous for holding several of the world's most beautiful works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne, Madonna of the Rocks, and Alexandros of Antioch's Venus de Milo. Located in the centre of the city of Paris, between the Rive Droite of the Seine and the rue de Rivoli in the Ier arrondissement, it is accessed by the Palais Royal — Musée du Louvre Metro station.





With all of the famous and fantastic art, I found the painting of the dead rabbit funny. It was very well-done, but it is of a dead rabbit! ("lapin mort" in French)


Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Favorite picture from Saturday, June 16



I am too tired tonight to write a complete story, so I will just put my favorite picture from Saturday, June 16. It is at the Louvre Museum. I thought the combination of the Egyptian sculpture + pretty window + pretty outside building was nice.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Orleans Cathedral

I am going out of order, I am sorry. I had forgotten about some more pictures I took last Friday, June 15, of a large Cathedral in Orleans. This was my first real-life view of a flying buttress, it is quite amazing. I think it is called the "Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans" and this is what Wikipedia has to say about it:















"The cathedral Holy-Cross of Orleans, was started in 1287. It partly collapsed March 24 1568 because of the damage caused by the Protestants. Henri IV posed the first stone of the new building April 18 1601. The northern wing is completed in 1643, the southern wing in 1690. Work was completed in 1829. The fame of the cathedral comes probably partly from its association to Jeanne d' Arc. The national historical heroine came to the evening mass on May 2, 1429 while in the city, to lift the siege." Thanks again, Wiki.


Sunday, June 17, 2007

My first day in Paris

Day 1 in Paris went well - I will have pictures soon. Here was my schedule:

6:00 AM - Go to train station near Orleans
7:15 AM - leave for Paris on train
8:30 AM - Arrive in Paris and take first subway ride to the Louvre Museum
11:30 AM - Find my hotel, Victor Hugo and check in - take my first nap in Paris :)
1:00 PM - Go sight-seeing to
(1) Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel),
(2) Arc de Triomphe,
(3) Forest (Forêt) on the east (correction: west!)-side of Paris,
(4) Fruit & Légumes market for dinner
9:00 PM - back to hotel!

Good

Thank you h-j for the link:



What is the Gospel then? The Gospel is the only reason for hope in this world of suffering - the only answer to pain and evil. The Gospel is God in human form, Jesus Christ, sacrificing Himself to death, to cover the sins/evil/wrong-ness of His people. But Jesus did not only die for the sins of the world, God resurrected him and overcame death and evil. Followers of Jesus have peace and hope because of this, but not necessarily physical prosperity.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Versailles

We went to Versailles Wednesday night - Thursday! We had a very late dinner, but our hotel was only one block from the Palace of Versailles, so I woke up early to see a few pictures. Speaking of my hotel though, it was very tiny!















There are beautiful statues and iron work. It is difficult to describe how ornate everything is. It seems as though everything is beautiful here...



















About the Château de Versailles (from Wikipedia): When the château was built, Versailles was a country village, but it is now a suburb of Paris. From 1682, when King Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in 1789', the Court of Versailles was the center of power in Ancien Régime France.

In 1660, royal powers from the advisors who had governed France during his minority, was casting about for a site near Paris but away from the tumults and diseases of the crowded city. He had grown up in the disorders of the civil war between rival factions of aristocrats called the Fronde and wanted a site where he could organize and completely control a government of France by absolute personal rule. He settled on the royal hunting lodge at Versailles, and over the following decades had it expanded into the largest palace in the world. Versailles is famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy which Louis XIV espoused.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Bonjour de France!

Today I am in France! The flight was long :( But on my flight from Cedar Rapids to Detroit, I found that I was sitting next to my friend Kelli's uncle! I could not sleep on the flight from Detroit to France, but I was surprised by the not-so-bad food quality. There was even a fresh salad with tomatoes. I had never been on a plane with tv's in the seats! The man next to me laughed at me because I took a picture :)

It was really neat, they had a real-time map of where the plane was, the outside temperature, and the speed of the head/tailwind.
I am glad I work with adventerous people - tonight we went to a non-English speaking restaraunt and our food was great.
We also went to see the statue of Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc). She saved the town I am staying in right now, Orleans, in 1429. It is a very old city! It was founded before 275. Everything is pretty much beautiful.
This picture is just a typical house outside of my hotel.