Europe - Day Three

Today was a very full day!! We woke up late at like 7:30 and barely made it down by 8. Grabbed a quick typical French breakfast of baguettes, milk and yogurt and then it was off to the Louvre!!!(:(:(:

 It's weird to learn and study all about these incredible places and then actually be there. We took lots of pictures outside by the gorgeous museum and the beautiful famous glass pyramid. It was not disappointing. (: As perfect as I would have imagined. (:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We bartered with some guys on the street for souvenirs which is fun. (: We wanted to see how good of a deal we could get and we did a pretty good job. (:

 Then it was time to go inside the louvre (: Anyone under 18 gets in free so that was awesome. It would take over a month to see the whole thing, and I wish we would have had more time to look because there was so much amazing art. We needed more than three hours to take it all in. 

But since we had such a short amount of time, we decided to hit up the most famous pieces of course. 

First we found the Mona Lisa which is a lot smaller than we all expected. It's literally tiny, but it's cool to say we've seen the original(: It was crowded with tourists in that room like you can probably imagine so we were happy to get out of there. 

 Next was the Winged Victory!! I was posing for a picture when I felt a tug on my purse. Turns out someone was trying to pick pocket me! I was freaking out about what they took, but they got an empty case. Serves them right. But what's funny is that we got a picture of the exact moment I got  pick pocketed. We have a picture of me turning my head and the side of the guys face. It was a total fail for him because we saw his face and got a picture, plus he got nothing out of the attempt. (: 

 Although after that we kept a super close hold on all our stuff. Pick pockets are everywhere in Europe. Beware if you ever go. We wear a horrible awkward pouch around our neck with all our money and our passports. It's nice to have it all organized and hidden. (:

 So that was funny. If he'd gotten something valuable, it would have been tragic. But since he didn't, funny. 

One guy in our group had his iPhone stolen out of a zippered pants pocket. Crazy. You gotta give these thieves credit. They're good at what they do. Just don't let it happen to you!

We so saw other cool ones like Psyche and Cupid, Michelangelo, and  Aphrodite. It was way cool(: It was pathetic trying to look for all these pieces in such a huge museum. We got super lost so many times. One time we decided to finally ask someone where Michelangelo was and he must have thought we were stupid because it was right behind us. Haha. 

We were on our own for lunch like everyday, so we went to the McDonalds at the Louvre thinking it'd be easy and familiar. Not the case. Completely different menu. I was trying to read it for Kena and I and then order it with someone who didn't speak English. To be honest, it was easier to communicate with this lady in a completely different country than it was with the lady who worked at Fuddruckers in AMERICA. Ridiculous. Still good food though. Weird but good. Found out later there was a place to order in English. Whoops. Good experience anyways to have, ordering in French I guess(;

After the Louvre, we headed out on a bus sight seeing tour. She drove us all around the city and showed us the coolest things and let us stop for pictures. 

I almost passed out the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower. There was nothing I wanted I see more. It is the most perfect thing ever. Kena and I took the cutest picture you'll ever see. Lots of them are perfect. But one in particular. Oh man. We love it. Might as well be professional. I think our whole group is sick of having to take pictures for us. But oh well, we're photoaholics. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAVORITE picture of the trip?

I mean this picture is literally Pinterest worthy.

 

 We also saw the Musee d'orsee, nationale republique meeting house, arc de triomphe, and drove along the Seine. 

The drivers in Europe are psycho. No one follows any traffic rules, I'm surprised we haven't gotten in an accident yet. Truly I am. People pulling out in front of each other left and right with no signal, speeding, pedestrians ignoring the street signs and walking when they want.. It's a nightmare! Glad I don't have to drive here!! The worst is in front of the Arc de Triomphe. There's literally no rules or stop signs around that whole area. And because of that, it's a "no fault" accident zone so no one cares enough to be careful. No one even stops to see if its clear, they just go. Scary. 

 We ended our tour at the opera house. Then we went to a perfume factory to learn about how perfume is made. Apparently it takes 600 kilos to 3 tons of flowers just to make one liter of pure essential oil. Crazy huh? We matched every scent perfectly when she tested us(: Then we sampled all the perfumes there, they were amazing. If I had more money I would have bought one for sure. Best perfume I've ever smelled(: Then we had some free time before dinner(: So we went to the Lafeyette galleries. (: It's basically this huge high end shopping districts. They have some crazy fashion there which was fun to see(: While we were there, we past a chocolate shop. The worker looked at us and held out some free samples with this look on his face like he just knew we wanted some. So we had some and it was awesome. So we decided to buy a macaroon from his shop. I got a chocolate one which was fabulous and so cute. Kena got a banana one, which wasn't that great. Oh well. (:

 

 We walked around the area before dinner since our reservations were late and found a statue in a little fountain. Of course me and Kena would jump in the fountain and climb up on the statue when it's not allowed(; We have a record for doing illegal things. (;

 

 Then we went to dinner at another restaurant where we had salad, baguettes, pork chops and potatoes. For dessert we had a chocolate mousse with pieces of real chocolate in it. Freaking awesome. Best dessert of the week. 

It's weird because we can get offered alcohol here. Since there's no legal drinking age, we can have whatever we want. (: I was tempted to try wine just to say I'd legally done it at 17(;

 After dinner we went on a boat sight seeing cruise down the Seine. It was super relaxing and a much different experience than the street life(:

 As we were taking off there were these boys that were waving at us and making hearts at us. We waved back so they started sprinting after our boat. They were waving and blowing kisses and they ran until they couldn't chase us anymore. It was freaking cute. Haha(:

 And we saw lots of cute couples sitting on the walls over the seine which made me wish Brayden was here with me. I miss the boy. 

 

 

 

 

 It started to get cold on the water since it was like 10 when we finished the tour.   We were supposed to go up on the Eiffel Tower after but we ran out of time. We were so mad. So then we just took more cute pictures with the Eiffel Tower, went souvenir shopping, and stood by until the 5 minutes of twinkling it does at 11(: So breathtaking. I loved it.  

 

Then it was off to bed after a long, perfect day. (: 

So happy(:

Europe - Day Two

Weird that there was no night before this day(: So we got to the Charles de Gaulle airport at about 8 AM. It was like we'd been on a plane for 24 hours. It was midnight our time back home so talk about jet lag. We were all pretty tired this whole entire day because of it.  

We got off and it took like 2 hours to get through the bathroom line and security line. Dang. Forever long. And we were tired. I was kind of scared about going through Customs because I've always heard its a bad experience but no(: It was easy! And I got my first passport stamp(: I plan to get many more in my life(: 

Then we waited about an hour for the other tour groups to arrive and we went to our hotel. I was nervous they'd be nasty like Erin's were when she went, but it was a super nice hotel(: I roomed with Kena, of course, and a girl named Melanie.  

We met our tour guide Dimitrious. He's a pretty cool dude. He grew up in Greece and now lives in Germany. He speaks four languages and is way funny.  

 

 

We got changed and headed out for the day! He first took us to the Latin square and it felt incredible just to be there. Breathing in the Paris air(: We took a walking tour of the area and then had some free time. Kena and I did a little window shopping and then made our first European purchase - a crepe. Good thing I have some French background so I could read the menu. It was still scary though. French people talk so fast I have to work really hard to understand them. We went with a sucre, sugar, crepe. It was incredible. Ahhhh.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we went to Notre Dame. I was so excited. It's just as beautiful, but probably more, in person!! Touring the inside was incredible. They even had people in confessionals we saw walking through the cathedral. We walked outside and found the center point of Paris. The legend is that if you put your left foot on it, you're destined to come back. So you betcha we did(: It was awesome(: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It started down pouring on us so Kena and I took refuge in a souvenir shop and bought some souvenirs for our friends. 

Then it was off to dinner in the rain. We had to wait outside for our table for like half an hour. It got pretty miserable at this point. The jet lag caught up, we were exhausted without real sleep for 55 hours, my feet were soaking wet, I was sore from walking the4-5 miles we did, and we were hungry. I think we were all dozing off during dinner. I could barely manage to keep my eyes open. 

 

We had a cheese croissant for appetizers, mushroom chicken and rice and an apple tart for dessert. Everything was excellent except the cheese croissant which I hated. (: 

Then we went back to the hotel to get the sleep which we desperately needed. We went to bed at ten that night. Dead asleep(:

 

The only transportation we use, like most Parisians, is the metro. It's chaotic and confusing, but we were prepared beforehand with a crash course from Mrs. Henson. So we were the only kids to know how to use it. It's crazy because in France there is no real concept of personal space. You just have to crammmmmm. It's normal to not even be able to turn around. Sometimes there's musicians on the metro who play cool music to try to earn money which was interesting. 

We also saw a street performance by a dancer which was pretty cool and funny while we were in the Latin quarter(:

Pretty good first day. But so tiring!!

Europe - Day One

It's going to be hard to accurately describe an experience that you can only understand by living it. Honestly this is the trip of a lifetime and I'm so blessed and lucky to be here, living out my longest dream.  

Going back to look at my bucket list from a few years back and seeing the item "Go to Paris for my senior trip" on it followed by the comments, "Yeah, that'll never happen but it's a nice dream" is crazy now. Because guess what? I made it happen(: Wow(: 

So many years that I've wanted this. Dreaming about Paris with Erin since 7th grade and now it's here. I'm so proud of working hard enough to pay for most of this(: And grateful for my mom for being willing to help with the rest. Couldn't have done it without her(: 

So here's the start of my amazing adventure and here's to the time of my life. 

So we were up packing the night before until 3 AM. And I had to be up at 5. I got barely any sleep and had to be at the airport at 7:15. So early. I felt like I was gonna die. The plan was to stay up so that I could sleep on the plane. Didn't really happen but whatever. 

 

Kena and I were super tired when we finally got to the airport and didn't even really register we were actually going. We checked our bags and went through security, which I really like for some reason(: although when I went through the security scanner the buzzer went off and they had to pat down my head. Happened to Kena too on her leg. Of course we would both have to get patted down. Hahaha we laughed about it forever.  It was crazy that all of our baggage claim tags said Paris - Charles de Gaulle airport on them! And when people asked us where we were going, we literally got to say Paris. Oh my. It still hasn't sunk in and as I write this, I'm sitting here in Paris. Haha. 

 

We got some quick breakfast at the McDonalds there. During breakfast, Kena and I looked down at our tickets and realized we weren't sitting by each other and freaked the freak out. It was pretty funny cause it hit us at the same time and we looked up at each other with a look of horror(: But don't worry, we ended up definitely getting to sit by each other. (: We just switched with other people. 

 

One funny moment, Henson was talking about birthstones before we boarded and was trying to remember one of them. She asked for our help, and said, "K it's orange and starts with C." I said "Carrot" because that was all I heard so we laughed about that forever. (: 

Our first flight was about 5 hours from SLC to Boston where we had almost a 3 hour layover. Boston is gorgeous. I wanted nothing more than to go wander all the piers and islands, especially lighthouses, that we saw. Stunning. I have to go back someday. This is where we went to lunch. We went to Fuddruckers at the airport which had a long line but we wanted to try it. When we got to the front we realized why it was so long. There was a lady from India or something like that taking orders who barely spoke English. I ordered fries and onion rings and paid for it. After, she informed me that there weren't any onion rings. I asked for my money back and all she would say is "Fries? Fries?" I was like, "Yes, I still want fries but I want my money back for the onion rings!!" Happened to quite a few people around me too so she eventually was just overwhelmed and started handing out money. It was so ridiculous but we got our food.  

Then it was back on the plane for flight 2 of the day, to PARIS!(: I was so excited. However the plane was still very small and very crowded. It was super hot and uncomfortable. Plus I was in the middle of two people so I had zero space. The airplane food was alright, not great. But they did have free movies and music for us which was awesome. We tried to sleep, and I was rolled up in a ball for about the hour I slept. Then I just sat up and it was super peaceful to just be alone in the dark quiet watching the sun set then rise. Absolutely gorgeous.  

It was weird to go through three straight days and not ever get a real night. It was only dark outside for like an hour. As we crossed all the time zones, we lost 8 hours and it was day again. Crazy cool. 

 And I love looking at all the clouds from the sky. We flew through a cloud which was awesome since that's always been on my bucket list. I never really knew it was possible because I believed for the longest time that clouds were solid objects. So it was crazy to fly through one and see the whole plane engulfed in white!!!

Then we arrived at Paris. Breaking through the bottom of the cloud was crazy. My first glimpse of my dream country. Hello France!

 

 

 

Brayden's 18th Birthday(:

Oh my goodness Brayden's 18!(:

 

He spent the first half of his day finishing out a family camping trip that week, and I was so excited for him to get home! Aubrey and Whitnie helped me decorate his house and room with streamers, balloons, confetti, signs and posters. It was an absolute disaster but we had fun doing it. (: He said that he loved it, so that was awesome(:

 

After he came home and got ready, I came and picked him up and we went to get ice cream from Sub Zero like he requested. (: He loves the mint there, so that's what we got. It was fun to catch up after being apart for a few days, and of course delicious.

 

Then we went to dinner. I know, weird. Dessert and then dinner. But hey, we do what we want. (;

I took him to Olive Garden and it was a fantastic dinner. They even came and sang to him, he was humiliated, it was hilarious. (: Nice just to have time together. While we were at dinner I gave him his birthday card and present. I got him a new tie, (which he's worn for just about everything since then and it makes me so happy!), and a temple tie pin. He liked both of them (:

 

After dinner, I took him to his house to have him changed and get all dressed up. He had no idea why.(: I took him back to my house and asked him to wait in the car. I went inside, put on a pretty dress, and headed into my backyard where I'd set up a dance just for us. Pretty twinkling lights, our own music playlist, his favorite treats, pictures of us, flowers and candles. Yeah, I think I deserve GF points for that! He has always loved going to dances together, so I figured why not do it one last time? (:

 

My little sisters went and got him and brought him out to me, and we danced all night. (: He loved it, said I made it the best birthday of his life! It was so fun and very special. We made forever memories. We also watched a slideshow that I put together of all of our pictures over the years, which got a little emotional knowing how soon he was leaving on his mission. But it was fun anyways. We love looking at all of our pictures. (:

 

I'm so glad we had this perfect night. Happy birthday Brayden. (: