Arch de Triomph

Trip to Chartre

More info to come...

A Day in the Life of Others

As part of the program, our classes are held three days out the week; which includes an excursion out in Paris for four hours. Our French Literature class took an excursion to a cemetery site in Montmartre. I really didn’t think that I would enjoy taking a “promenade” in a cemetery, but it was actually a neat experience provided that the cemetery plots were absolutely gorgeous. One of the pictures is of a cemetery site of a famous poet, Emile Zola; who I have studied in many of my other literature classes.

In Love at La Louvre!

Ok, so this was one of the primal moments for me while here in Paris. So many times I have seen La Lourve in text books, and you may remember seeing it different movies, such as the “Davinci Code”, but when you’re actually seeing it in person is just surreal. For a second I thought I was dreaming. I became overwhelmed for a moment as I started to feel beyond blessed to be in Paris at this moment.

Musee d'Orsay

Claude Monet: This picture was taken at the Musee d’Orsay. I am actually standing in front of one of Monet’s original paintings! (Please excuse my hair!) I was very pleased to have the experience of seeing original paintings of some very famous painters: Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Renoir, Paul Gauguin and others. You may recognize some of the paintings. I also took pictures from the top of the Musee d’Orsay; which used to be a railroad station years ago. Also there is a picture that was taken of the outside scenery that can be seen from the top of one of the floors of the Musee d’Orsay; you can see the Sacre Coeur from where I was standing.

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Church) This is an absolutely amazing church that sits on a tall hill in Montmartre. A few friends of the program and I had lunch at the top of the hill on the churches front lawn over looking Paris. Breathtaking! If you look closely at one of the pictures of the church, you may be able to see a blue dot in the middle of the picture; yeah, that’s me!

Un Petite Village d'Afrique

Little Africa: In Paris, around the Chateau Rouge, Chateau D’eau area, there is a little village (I like to call it “hood spot”) where most African colonials reside. I was told that over 10-20 different languages are spoken in this area. Me and some friends walked around the streets of Little Africa, and guess what? I found a place that actually had black hair care products! It was like Christmas! I was so happy to walk upon this place because I had run out of hair products. In the process of me traveling here from the states, my suitcase got smashed amongst other suitcases, causing my shampoo to crack and spill out in its baggy. So finding a black hair care store to replace my demaged hair products was an answer to my prayers. It was a very spiritual moment!

La Notre Dame

Le Dos De Notre Dame: This picture is of the back of the Notre Dame. I will be visiting it soon, so better pictures are posting soon.

"Sex in the City" of Paris!

“Sex in the City” of Paris!: These are a few pics of me and some other students, in the KIIS program, (doing our “Sex in the City” walk and poses) in front of a Paris movie theatre (MK2 Bibliotheque). We went to see “Sex in the City”the movie (in English with French subtitles and which is one of my favorite shows to watch, next to Grey’s Anatomy). It was a nice evening out. We ate outside a café (La Boulangerie) which was a few blocks down the street from the theater. In one of the pictures the group and I took a picture with this very kind gentleman, who was our waiter. He took good care of us and gave us free desert! For doing this, I figured he would enjoy taking a picture with a few beautiful American women. I was right. He was in Heaven!

Les Bookinists

Les Bookinists: This picture was taken along La Seine Rive(r)(which runs about 20 miles through Paris. The woman on the right is one of my professors, Madame Yoder. On this day we visited the Bookinists (who are street-booksellers) looking for books by a french author named Simenon, who wrote many police-detective books. He wrote a series of stories, called Maigret (who is one of the main characters, French detective), of which we are reading for the class. I am currently reading L’Amie de Madame Maigret (The Friend of Mrs. Maigret). As one of the assignments for this class, we are to independently visit the places that are mentioned in our Maiget stories in Paris. We are to take pictures of those sights and at the end of this term we are to turn in a collage of the places we have visited. I will be posting pics of these sites at a later date.

Paris, I have arrived!

The following pictures, and one movie, were all taken at the Eiffel Tower. One picture you can see me posing with my hands in the air (giving thanks to God) in front on the Eiffel Tower. Another picture you will see white spots around the Eiffel Tower. Every night around 10pm, and on every hour after that, the Eiffel Tower sparkles for five minutes. I almost had an hearattack when the lights just suddenly came on as I was taking a photo. I made a video of it and will try to post it later. I wished everyone was there to share that moment with me. It's definitely something to experience with the people you love. It was amazing!

Homemade Crepes anyone?

Les Crepes et des Cailles: this little restaurant is located in a little area (about a 10mins walk away from the FIAP) somewhat like the University areas where we live but without the University. Most college students frequent this area and visit the cafes and little bars (which are oddly quiet). One picture is of me and my roommates at a little café that has amazing crepes! The second picture is of the crepe that I ordered. I forgot the name of it but it was a regular crepe with warm Nutella chocolate (which is now the new love of my life!), a scoop of creamy ice cream, and “noix de cocoa” (coconut) shavings. The other picture is of the café where we enjoyed a nice evening out in our neighborhood.

St. Eustache Church

St. Eustache (rhymes with moustache): this is the church where Moliere, writer of Les Miserables, (and other famous writers) is buried in the floors of the church. He’s located near the front alter of the church. I didn't get to go inside, but I'm sure it's absolutely breathtaking in there...

L'Eglise St Merry

L’Eglise St Merry: the building in this photo was started on in the 7th century and completed 1552. The pictures that follow this one were taken inside the church where a small wedding was being performed; yet we were still allowed to tour it and take pictures.

Centre Pompidou: Louis Bourgeois

Out & About in Paris...

L’Hotel De Ville: this place is like the city hall of our cities in America. The special thing about this is that the Mayor and city officials reside here. If you pay attention to the fine details of the building in this picture (and the pictures that follow) you will see the intricacies of the designs on them. And just about every building in Paris is like this. Tres belle!

Cafeteria Food...

The cafeteria food is really good! This is a picture the first “French” meal I had in Paris. The best part about the food here (and I know this will probably spoil me) is that it is all made fresh, without preservatives, and unprocessed. Everything that I’ve eaten so far has been magnificent! Pretty good for cafeteria food...

Neighborhood Groceries...

The next pictures show places in my neighborhood that I frequent. “Le Marche Franprix” is a little grocery store where produce, personal items, and cleaning supplies can be bought. Taxes are included in the prices, but they are really cheap.