We woke up this morning and...it was NOT raining! What a beautiful day! Unfortunately, it was still cold enough that I got brain freeze as Karin and I troddled up to the Grande Arche at La Defense though. We've visited so many places the past few days, it is hard to keep track of them! This week, we've gone to the Eiffel Tower, L'arc de Triomphe, le Louvre, Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Institut de France, eaten the world's "best bread" and world reknown chocolate and other pastries walked along the Seine, and visited many many other places. Of course, we've done our fair share of shopping before the Soldes end as well. But that was implied. The Soldes are the nation-wide sales that mark everything about 50% off, so we are basically obligated to buy everything we can NOW.
I'm actually excited for my classes to start on Monday because they all sound pretty interesting. Too bad it already feels like we don't have enough time to do all that we want to! It has been fun to play the tourist scene the past week or so and just go everywhere. And I have some really good news...I have not gained 20 pounds yet! Karin and I have taken on the bad habit of visiting the boulangeries and patisseries at least once a day. As well as the chocolate shops. Yesterday, we were meeting up with our friends Zach, Chris, Jill, and Alexis at la rue de Sevres. They were about an hour late (nothing new) so we decided to shop around (also nothing new). Zach and Chris came up out of the metro station and didn't see us, so Zach somewhat jokingly says, "Well if they aren't here then they are in that chocolate shop across the street." So then they call us...and where are we? Across the street in La Maison du Chocolat of course. I figure I'm here, in Paris. I might as well eat all of the best pastries and cheese and chocolates that I can. Then I can go back to Provo and either settle for a lower grade of food, or eat vegetables for the rest of my life to make up for my misbehavior here.
Karin and I seem to be having matching moods and we just seem to be on the same brain wave with everything lately. I guess that is what happens when you are with somebody 24/7. So we both were cranky earlier today and a little homesick/ America-sick. She was a little crankier than I was, but that is beside the point (Just kidding Karin, I love you!). So we took a swing at some pizza and HaagenDaaz ice cream to overcome our maladies. Karin made the mistake of throwing her empty ice cream bowl at a lovey-dovey couple's feet rather than in the garbage can, but that is just one of her many embarrassing stories of the week. Nothing new :)
We're all having loads of fun! It is so great to be able to see all of these amazing monuments and places where so much history has happened. It is such a blessing to be here!





























Grande Mosaique, the world's largest mosaic



















Moretti Tower, This is me acting like a skinny tube and trying to blend in



















Our new favorite game is "impersonate-the-closest-statue-or-monument"














Caitlin, Megan, Karin, me, Marissa, and Jessica