City of Lights!

Bonjour! We just arrived in Paris!

To catch you all up:

The last few days in Oxford were spend along the Magdalen garden paths that C.S. Lewis would take to mull over his next Narnia chapter, tea at the Old Parsonage, visiting the Canterbury and Salisbury Cathedrals (they were HUGE). Then we arrived in Bayeux and barely spent any time there! We took full-day bus tours exploring the area's history of WWII

• The German Cemetery made by the Allies (on top of a huge mound in the middle, two dark figures watch over hundreds of black granite graves that mark the names of the two soldiers buried under each of them)
• The U.S. Cemetary at Normandy (b.e.a.u.t.f.u.l. white crosses glow against the fresh green of the delicate grass, with the blue, clear sky soaring overhead pink roses and the trees of every US state! The ocean is a short walk down the hill. Much less somber than the German cemetary, more celebrated, honored, while the German graves are mourned).
• German bunkers, one exploded, one intact, we crawled in HUGE blast holes
• Utah, Gold, Omaha beaches (we picnicked on the beaches--our busdriver, James, told us in his thick scottish accent not to go on the beach and bring sand in his bus...but how can you tell 45 kids from Santa Barbara they can't sink they're toes in the sand?? So with the sand underneath us as we chewed our buttered baguette with ham sandwiches, wondering at the loss of life at this calm, breezy beach where kids splash in the water. It was hard to process. My mind would look across the sleepy beach and then would flicker back to that day when thousands of soldiers were shot down here, right here. It's a strange experience when the past is thrust into the present. I am to confronted with the fact that I am part of a world that also bears this scar. How am I supposed to react??)
• The Air_(born?)_ museum, honoring the American men who parachuted down into France during the liberation and befriended the locals
• Mont Sainte Michel--the famous monastery built on an island a little off the coast! Stephanie led us on a tour again and it was cool to see
• Monet's Garden! It grows 6,000 "races" of flowers (as our guide called them). Monet paid for the paving of the road outside his house so the dust wouldn't get on the leaves anymore, he bribed the mayer to have the river deviated into his property to fill his lily pond, he paid for lights in his cabinets when the village surrounding barely had lights at all. His living room is blue, all the walls, furniture, everything. The dining room--yellow. Fun facts.)
• The Bayeux Tapestry! So long, so neatly stitched, such a story!
• On the way back from our last tour in the coach, one of our guys got his guitar out and soon we were singing America the Beautiful, the National Anthem, Chicken Fried, Party in the USA and then, to top it all, we said the Pledge of Allegiance at the tops of our voices while one girl waved our tour's American flag in the front of the bus. Laura said it was the only time she has ever wanted to say the pledge in her life. 

We must've needed some 'mer-cah.

I miss Bayeux. While our bus adventures were exhausting, everywhere we visited was filled with fresh air that even reminded me of Colorado air! Life in the country. We also stopped at a little market to by fresh, local produce. It was expensive but absolutely delicious. Being out of an english speaking country has it upsides: it ensures interesting interactions between us and the locals and I truly feel we are on Europe Semester now, not just a random tour of England. :)

We are in Paris, France! It is a truly beautiful city and I finally feel like we are on Europe Semester! I am so excited to be here with these people! We've been here a full day, having come just in time for dinner last night. We went on a beautiful night cruise on the Seine which ended gloriously with the "Tour Eiffel" glimmering marvelously against the sky. It took everyone by surprise when it lit up and everyone was giddy and taking pictures and squealing, "oh isn't it beautiful?! we're in PARIS!!"

Laura and I on the river cruise...

In Paris we're staying in an "Apart-Hotel" so YES we're in an apartment in Paris! We bought pasta and hummus and cheese and wine and some chicken, I think? and we're going to make dinner :) We have a beautiful view of the city out our window. I understand why the call it the "city of lights", at one in the morning it's practically bright as day out there.

 Leaving England on the ferry...the "White Cliffs of Dover"!

 German Cemetary

 Lunch on the Beach! Alisha, David, and Laurel

 US Cemetery

Today, we had classes in the Hotel, a few of us struggled with french self-checkout and ended up being taken under the wing of an exasperated market lady, and then Gabriel led us on a walking tour of Paris! He gave us pictures showing parts of Paris when occupied by Germany and would lead us to practically the exact spot in which they were taken. Very, very cool. We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triumphe, ironic as  Napoleon's triumph was, of course, a failure. It was built anyway and then Paris was planned around it, the only huge city planned like that. The view from the top is incredible, white buildings as far as they eye can see with the Eiffel tower in the distance of course. 

The best part of the day was after the tour, Hannah, Alex, and I spontaneously went off to explore Shakespeare and Co., and English bookshop in Paris just across the river from the Notre Dame! It was the cutest little shop, with a windy staircase, books piled haphazardly everywhere, ladders leaning lazily against shelves in tight corners, I loved it. It in itself was a work of art to me, with all the books squeezed together, looking like we do as we smoosh shoulder to shoulder in the packed Metro. Their bindings are different colors and widths, different fonts write the titles, and you know that each book contains something unique, a different world inside it. So much potential. 

 Shakespeare & Co. Bookshop haphazard books. I convinced Hannah to buy an adorable copy of A Room with a View.

Alex and I before we walk to dinner outside the bookshop!

We then wandered to find somewhere to eat, and we eventually ended up at a cafe with sidewalk tables! Our young waiter helped us by using his English and we were sure to say "Merci!" at every possible moment. For 10 euros, we had french onion soup--amazing, not too salty, not too tangy, but flavorful!! I had a full 1/2 cup of cheese in the bottom half of my bowl. Seriously. Then ham and cheese crepes, and an apple tart for dessert. The three of us talked as the sky darkened and the city lights came on and it was so completely refreshing to be with two good friends on our own having these crazy cultural experiences!

We even found our way home on the Metro by ourselves. 

I'm learning words:

l'addition: check

exterior: outside

boule: scoop (of ice cream)

fraises: strawberries!

Pain: bread

fromage: cheese

Oo e: "where is", that's how you sound it out, how do you spell it?

Merci boucoup: thank you very much

C'est bon!: It's good!

See vous plait: please

aingles: english

Parle vous francais?: Do you speak english?

Je suis fatigue: I'm tired. 

D'accord:  ok! (mandi)

I'm sure the spelling is horrible, but at least I'm picking up some things! Interesting how most of them have to do with food. 

Bon soire!