Paris

   Can't believe how long it's been since I've written on here! Anyways the big city of Paris is my current home, but only for the next 4 weeks or so. Then I'll be headed on a two week vacation around Europe with my family, and when that's over I'll be spending a couple weeks with friends in England before flying to Southeast Asia for a few months. I am so excited!! But for now, Paris is my home and a beautiful one at that.
   After visiting all the big and famous monuments in Paris like; the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, and so on, I had to start looking harder for interesting things to see. I used TripAdvisor and created a list of all the extra things to see around this grand city. So over the last few months my list has taken me to the most visited cemetery in the world, Pere Lachaise, which is the final resting place for a few famous people such as Oscar Wilde and Gertrude Stein. I've seen a few other cemeteries as well, all quite interesting and very grand, much larger than any I've seen in America with some very interesting graves. This photo is from the cemetery monmartre.

I explored the 2km long underground catacombs beneath the city, the entire pathway was lined high on either side with hundreds and thousands of bones, some set decoratively into the walls. With my love for the outdoors, I had to explore every park I could find. Park Andre Citroen is very modern with a hot air balloon, giant fountain, and contemporary spaces used by many for relaxation. Parc Monceau, one of my favorites for its relative closeness to me, is a lovely park used by many joggers that has a few odd structural pieces like a pyramid and an archway as well as a row of columns in the pond. This park is a sweet and peaceful place to chat on a park bench, enjoy a baguette for lunch, or read a book. Sadly Parc des Buttes- chaumont is so far from me or I would likely spend much of my time walking around the giant cliff surrounded by water and taking in the breathtaking views of the whole park and city from the top of that cliff. There are also many small random green spaces in Paris that I walk through whenever I spot them.
  
















I've been through the home of Victor Hugo, many different museums and dozens of churches. Every street in Paris seems to hold something aesthetically interesting. One of my favorite churches that I went through after reading the DaVinci Code, was the church Saint Sulpice, very similar to Notre Dame but housing some notable paintings and also playing choir music that sounds enchanting in the giant cathedral.
   Food in Paris is quite different for each person. Often around lunch time you see people walking down the streets eating a baguette as they go, seemingly in too much of a hurry to sit down and eat their meal. But on the other hand, there are many restaurants and braserries, where people sit outside and enjoy their company and their meal slowly and peacefully, not leaving out their espresso or cigarette. I haven't had the opportunity to eat much French food besides the occasional baguette for lunch. I have though been able to try some of their delicious pastries. From fruit tarts and chocolate croissants to eclairs and flan, French pastry is something to be savored and enjoyed.

Ellen and I enjoying a strawberry tart and piece of flan

   One of my favorite things about my life here is the gorgeous view I have just outside my window. When I first arrived in September, the trees outside my window gave me a small view of the top of the Eiffel Tower, but as fall progressed and the leaves began to fall from the trees, my view got bigger and bigger. Whether it be in the morning when the sun has come up or on a foggy day when I have to strain my eyes to see it, or at night when it glows brightly making the entire sky a slight shade of orange, I love this view and am so thankful for it.