Kayak Adventure 2007!

Today I went kayaking for the first time ever! It was great. The weather was great and the river was beautiful. I went with my dear friend Dianna and a new friend, Sarah. We went on the Iowa river (blue squiggly line below):

Dianna and I

Detroit Adventure 2007!

Here are some semi-exciting pictures:

Sunset from the plane and Detroit at night from the plane:

And then some shopping at a cool grocery store that isn't in Iowa. The conference food is bad and expensive, so we bought lunch + exciting treats.

Weekend Fall Pictures

I took some fall pictures this weekend! Perhaps you are wondering what this picture is (of the little building) - this one is the most exciting of all! My community group built a "sukkot" on Friday night - I will write more soon.

I think my fall pictures from last year were more exciting...though I think I took them later in the year when there was more color.

Des Moines Adventure!

This weekend I went to Des Moines (Iowa) to visit my friend Andrea. We went walking around a beautiful lake and also went to a fun new grocery store (I bought some black rice).















And, I fufilled a life-long dream - I was able to ride in a paddle-boat! You pedal like a recumbant bicycle, and it's very fun!

Minnesotan Adventure Pictures

Here are the pictures of my Minnesotan adventure. It was so much fun! I did two first-time-ever new things:

(1) rode in a pontoon boat and and (2) swung from a rope into the lake

And one second-time ever thing: went caneoing!

This weekend I went to visit my dear friend Joanna at her grandparent's cabin in Minnesota. It was the furthest I have ever driven by myself! It was wonderful - more pictures to follow!

Rose Petals

This Jewish Synagogue was across the street from our hotel in Paris. I could not decide if I like the picture with or without the blue door...

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...

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.

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)

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)

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.

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.