You say EYE-FULL, but the French say IHH-FELL...

A clear view of the tower without that Aaron-guy getting in the way ;)

Eiffel, the designer/creator of the tower, had a permit for the tower to stand for 20 years, meaning it would have had to be dismantled in 1909, when its ownership would revert to the City of Paris. The City had planned to tear it down (part of the original contest rules for designing a tower was that it could be easily demolished) but as the tower proved valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain after the expiration of the permit. The military used it to dispatch Parisian taxis to the front line during the First Battle of the Marne (WWI), and it therefore became a victory statue of that battle.



As the sky darkens, Eiffel gets its 'light' on....

The tower was met with resistance from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore. (Novelist Guy de Maupassant — who claimed to hate the tower — supposedly ate lunch at the Tower's restaurant every day. When asked why, he answered that it was the one place in Paris where you couldn't see the Tower.) Today, it is widely considered to be a striking piece of structural art.









So we were just walking towards the tower enjoying its splendour, when suddenly it's splendour became even more splendiforous! It started to 'twinkle-twinkle little star' a million miles a minute! (I saw this from the plane as I flew into Paris, but just decided that it was 'seeing the lights of the tower from the air'. Umm...no, it REALLY was sparkling!)

Anyway, we figured out, more or less, just as Big Ben chimes every hour, the Eiffel Tower 'sparkles' every hour ;) Interesting way of keeping track of time...









The insides of the giant!














'Isn't it romantic?...' Actually, it was FREEZING cold, but we braved it and went up to the top! BEAUTY-FULL! With the moon and all...nice....













Back on the ground again, the Ihh-Fell Tour and the moon....need I say more?

The Triumphal Arch...

Guess where we are now.....

The Champs-Élysées is the most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris. Its full name is actually "Avenue des Champs-Élysées". With its cinemas, cafés, and luxury specialty shops, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as $1.25 million a year for 1,000 square feet (100 m²) of space, it remains the 2nd most expensive strip of real estate in the world (the first in Europe) after New York City's Fifth Avenue. The name refers to the Elysian Fields (Champs means 'fields' in French), the place of the blessed in Greek mythology.

There is the view and there is THE Arc de Triomphe!

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon I at the peak of his fortunes. The arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and today also includes the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Here is a plaque commemorating when Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France after WWI (the Germans annxed them after 1871). Big deal/trouble between Germany and France!

Napoleon I's military victories...

and France's 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier'....

The cool thing is you can go to the top. So the road on the left is the Champs Elysees.

Those buildings off in the distance is La Défense. It is Europe's largest district specifically built for business. La Défense is named for the statue, La Défense de Paris, which was built in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The name of the area sometimes causes confusion with visitors, who occasionally assume it is some kind of military zone or establishment.

That is a view of the area of Montmatre and the basilica called Sacre-Coeur. You'll definitely see more of that later on!

And there she be! THE Ihh-fell Tour ;) I just find it funny how something that was meant to be 'temporary' became THE symbol of Paris and possibly France.

It was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build it in Canada, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but they rejected it (Ow! Bet that hurt! ;). The tower was opened on 6 May 1889.

Paris - next verse NOT the same as the first...

'Okay everybody, we're walking, we're walking' ;)

You can see the Louvre in the background and this is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (NOT THE Arc de Triomphe, that will come later ;) and was built between 1806-1808 by the Emperor Napoleon I on the model of the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome. It was commissioned to commemorate France's military victories in 1805.













As we began our walk through the Tuilieries (a garden named from the tile kilns or tuileries which previously occupied the site) we saw French cops on horses....















Another view of the gardens, towards the Louvre...






















Fancy-schmancy lightposts on the 'Place de la Concorde'. During the French Revolution the area was renamed "Place de la Révolution". In a grim reminder to the nobility of a gruesome past, when the "Place de Grève" was a site where the nobility and members of the bourgeoisie were entertained watching convicted criminals being dismembered alive, the new revolutionary government erected the guillotine there. The first notable to be executed at the Place de la Révolution was King Louis XVI, on January 21, 1793. Other important people guillotined there, often in front of cheering crowds, were Queen Marie Antoinette and Robespierre. The guillotine was most active during the "Reign of Terror", in the summer of 1794, when in a single month more than 1,300 people were executed.





And here is the plaque that commemorates where the guillotine stood and Louis and Marie Antoinette's death. The guillotine was most active during the "Reign of Terror", in the summer of 1794, when in a single month more than 1,300 people were executed.


'A Tale of Two Cities', ugh....




















There is another view of Place de la Concorde with its obelisk. The center of the Place is occupied by a giant Egyptian obelisk decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramses II. It once marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple. The viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali, offered the 3,300-year-old Luxor Obelisk to France in 1831. The obelisk arrived in Paris on December 21, 1833. King Louis-Philippe had it placed in the centre of Place de la Concorde on October 25, 1836. The red granite column rises 23 metres high, including the base, and weighs over 250 tonnes.

Bienvenue en Paris - getting over loss...

So after feeling stupid, embarrassed and talking to my credit card companies to get my cards cancelled, Ellen decided we should go and see Sainte-Chapelle. (Info on most of my blog comes from Wikipedia.org which I heart oh so much!)

Sainte-Chapelle was planned in 1241, started in 1246 and quickly completed: it was consecrated on April 26, 1248. The patron was the very devout Louis IX of France, who constructed it as a chapel for the royal palace.

The church used to hold a lot of relics (Jesus' Crown of Thorns, etc.), but now it's famous for these windows. It's 'the best example of 'transparency'' - in other words, the walls 'disappear' and the windows are the walls. They are truly beautiful!

During the French Revolution, the chapel was converted to an administrative office, and the windows were obscured by enormous filing cabinets. Their all-but-forgotten beauty was thereby inadvertently protected from the vandalism in which the choir stalls and the rood screen were destroyed, the spire pulled down and the relics dispersed. In the 19th century Viollet-le-Duc restored the Sainte Chapelle: the current spire is his sensitive design.

This is the Palace of Justice which took the place of Louis' palace of which Sainte-Chapelle was part...

Beautiful! You can see Napoleon III's 'N' on the bridges....you'll see more of him later...














Just another view of the Seine...

















They had a massive flood while we were there! The Louvre was under water and....








it's a good thing I had my trusty RED WINGS boots (I heart them!) to wade through the flood! (A 'friend' dared to insinuate that I should get rid of my beloved Red Wings boots - don't make me choose between you and my boots, 'friend', you'll lose! ;)

Okay, so just kidding, there was no flood, that's just the fountains in front of the Louvre! Old palace, now a museum...




There she be and she be pretty, ain't she?

The pyramid was designed by a Chinese-American in 1989! Ieoh Ming Pei 貝聿銘 is known as the last master of high modernist architecture. He works with the abstract form, using stone, concrete, glass, and steel. Pei is one of the most successful architects of the 20th century.

Bienvenue en France....

So, this will probably seem quite an odd beginning to a 'I heart France' blog entry, but the truth is the truth - the 'overall' truth is that it is great, however, there are a few 'peculiarities'.

I walked around and didn't see a 'no photo' sign, so I took a photo. This was the 'welcoming' ground to Paris, Charles de Gaulle airport. They kept on shoving us into this room, one flight after another. I would estimate there were about 400 people standing in line with TWO border officials to check passports...

I found this sign funny, because even the French in the line were upset, but hey, what can you do? Just relax and go with the flow....

So my friends, Ellen and Lisa, picked me up at the airport (merci BEAUCOUPS!) and we went to our hotel. We stayed at a Hotel Formule 1 (I would recommend it; cheap, but clean).

Here is a picture of Basilique St. Denis, right where we stayed. It's in the north of Paris and is the basilica where the French kings/queens were buried.

Inside it had a very pretty 'Rose Window'....

Here are Ellen and Lisa 'showing' us the door....

We then took the subway to Ille-de-Cite, the 'heart' of Paris, where Notre Dame is. Most of the Metro stops are done in 'art decco' - very interesting to see...

Ellen and Lisa humored me and allowed me to walk along the Seine river....I was just SO happy! Everything was SO beautiful and I felt 'good' there - I had a good feeling about the city.

And then there it was - NOTRE DAME! 'Sanctuary! Sanctuary!' Forgive the Hunchback comments....

Anyway, I was just VERY happy inside, however, you know when you watch a scary movie and you're like screaming at the person on the screen 'LOOK BEHIND YOU!' Well, just imagine you're hearing 'scary' music in the background right now....I'll explain why....

Here is the altar (that's one thing I don't get - in Europe, it just depends on where you go, if you can take pictures or not. Sometimes they say NO photos; other times, NO flash photography'; Catholic churches seem to allow it more than Protestant, but not always....hmmm....)

Do you hear the 'scary' music? It's saying 'Aaron, beware the Ides of March! Beware....(even though it was technically August ;)'

Here is the Rose Window - I actually liked the one in St. Denis better, but this one was still pretty....can you hear Demi Moore singing? 'I don't know if you can hear me or if you're even there....I don't know if you'd listen to a gypsy's prayer....' ;)

So, right around now I opened up my Samsonite wallet to get out some money to buy a few souvenir Notre Dame coins. Then Ellen and I sat down....I love to talk as most of you know....and....umm....I forgot to put my wallet back in my bag! Yup! Good one! UGH!

So as of right now I still don't realize that my wallet is now sitting on the bench where I was sitting....

'AARON! LOOK BEHIND YOU!!'

We left Notre Dame. We all liked the gargoyles and so I took a picture.

'AARON! LOOK BEHIND YOU!!'

Here is Notre Dame from the back - very pretty, eh?

'AARON! LOOK BEHIND YOU!!'

So just after this photo was taken I listened to the little voice in my head, realized I no longer had a wallet which I once had ;) and we raced back into the Cathedral.

NADA! ZIP! ZILCH! No wallet on the bench! I asked a lady who worked there if anyone had turned it in and she said 'no one would turn something like that in.' :( Wahhhh! Cry!

The following feelings occured: 'how could I be so stupid?!' then it turned into 'how could people do things like this to each other? Why would they do this to me?!' And then, after cancelling credit cards and Ellen buying me a French crepe ;) I began to.....

I guess just like dealing with death, there are truly steps of 'loss'....

Here is the 'what can I do about it?' 'Yeh, what can I do about it?'....'Let's enjoy the day we have in Paris!'

French Trip Intro - a Dedication...

Before we venture into the wild-world of my trip to France, I wanted to first say thank you to certain people and dedicate this blog entry to them.

Firstly, I thank my friend, Ellen, who offered to take me along on this trip! We both couldn't believe that it had been 13 years since we've seen each other, but I guess that's the blessing of having techno-ology in our day and age - we can communicate and it feels like a lot less time has gone by in between visits. VIELEN, VIELEN DANK, ELLEN!

Secondly, I'd like to thank my new friend, Lisa. Lisa, thanks for bringing that Hawaiian way of 'chillin' to our group and for teaching me how to relax. ALOHA, LISA!

Thirdly, I'd like to thank my friend, William and his family. They allowed me to stay with them - they fed me - took me to Church - let me do my stinky laundry - and entertained me. MERCI BEAUCOUPS, William and Family!

And lastly, MERCI to the French people and to France! As an American I am constantly fed the idea that the French are rude, inconsiderate and mean - I found this to be TOTALLY UNTRUE! The French we spoke to in Paris and the other places we visited were considerate, kind and if we just said 'Bonjour' or showed some kind of effort to act like we were the visitor in their country, rather than demanding that they change, they were more than glad to speak English to us or help!

So there! ;) I 100% recommend Paris, France and the French people to all you out there! Go visit! Paris is the MOST BEAUTIFUL big city I have ever visited!!

VIVA LA FRANCE!!

Manchester YSA Convention

So I decided to go to all the LDS Church conventions for young people that I could and this time my travels took me to Manchester, England for the convention for the UK and Ireland.

Here is the English countryside....England honestly got prettier the closer you got to Manchester (I just think it's funny - Manchester doesn't have the best reputation.)



Here was a graveyard coming into Manchester. My Mom's ancestors came from Manchester and I find the thought of my being related to someone in there very interesting...

Here are some of the buildings that make up University of Manchester/Museum of Manchester.

Here's a a neighborhood/road across from where we stayed.

Here are the dorms where we stayed. They were built for the Commonwealth Games and were very nice.

We took part in a variety of workshops, including learning how to swing dance (here we are learning the 'basics')....

And then the ever useful 'how to handle a python' workshop ;) And just in case you're wondering, his name was not 'Monty' ;) (Ok, that is a sign that the British are starting to affect me - they seem to love puns like that - sorry...

(WARNING: Kids, do NOT do this at home.)

I had a good time and felt 'spiritually' good and 'fed'.

I took a bus to Liverpool so I could fly to Paris (to go on a trip with my friend, Ellen), here is the airport...

and what could be more appropriate than a Yellow Submarine?! ;)

It's just sitting there in front of the airport! Haha...