Monday, Monday, so good to us.

All set for another day! On the 1 line, there are often bands that play in the metro stations. This one was exceptionally good! They had an upbeat Spanish sound and harmonized fabulously together. Mom was slightly horrified to see that I had been wearing tennis shoes with my skirts for a few weeks. She insisted that I buy a new pair of black shoes before we went anywhere else, haha. Next, I took her to the Musée du Moyen Age – Middle Ages Museum – to see the Unicorn Tapestry Series, the oldest intact series in the world. It portrays the five senses and a lot of symbolism with a princess, unicorn, and monkey. It’s quite beautiful. The funny thing is, that when we were at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake a few months after getting back, I looked at the wall as we sat down and gasped as I saw a replica of one of the unicorn tapestries! Imagine that! In our very own Salt Lake City.
Well, after that, I took mom to the Sorbonne campus and begged the guards to let mom just step in for a look, but for security reasons they don’t allow anyone but students, so we walked the perimeter of the school. The buildings are gorgeous and just across the street, is the Collège de France campus. The picture to the right is the Law School building of La Sorbonne. I was hoping to take mom to this student café that I loved eating at-it was just off campus and in a basement decorated with eclectic black and white photos. I saw students from all over the world eat there; the best part is they had 5 Euro yummy lunches. Well, they happened to be closed so I couldn’t show mom, however, she picked the café we ate at and it turned out to be absolutely delicious, as we sat on the heated sidewalk patio. Next we headed up the street toward the Pantheon and the City Hall for the 5th arrondissement.
The building to the right is an Epicerie: a shop where spices are made. Still moving full steam ahead, we hopped on metro line 8 and headed toward the neighborhood of Saint Sulpice. We saw a quaint little house with a neat door and flowers in bloom so I hopped inside for a picture. Next, I took mom to one of the fanciest and best patisserie shops in Paris called Pierre Hermès. They are well known for their chocolate and macaroons and though it’s a little pricey, one could still spend more by crossing the street and shoping at Yves Saint Laurent. We ate by the fountain then walked to the Saint Sulpice Church. Unfortunately their famous organist wasn’t playing, but we did see the rose line that’s described in The Da Vinci Code. The church is currently under restoration but is beautiful despite the scaffolding. Before heading back, I took mom through the Gardens of Luxembourg where the French Senate building is surrounded by gorgeous flowers, statues, ponds, and orange trees. There is also a grotto with a beautiful grey sculpture of a Greek God. There are some fun things to keep your eyes peeled for while walking through: we spotted a mini statue of liberty, several people doing martial arts, kids pushing sailboats with sticks across the pond, and several Parisian couples. As we were on the metro headed back to Croissy, I had mom and I hop off at the GeorgeV stop and run up the stairs to get a glimpse of the Arc de Triomphe by night! We asked a man to take a picture but he must have been a little tipsy in every sense of the word. We were exhausted by the end of the day!

Third day in Paris

Evidently, mom’s first day in Paris was an absolute success! The next day was Sunday so I woke her up and took her on my Sunday routine: 1 train stop, 3 metro stops, and then a 20 minute walk from there to my ward in Versailles City. It was such a pleasure for me to have my mom be able to meet a few of the ward members I had become friends with: my dear friend Maria Babin, the Brother, Sister, Valentine and Emilée Caussé, Sister Salinas, Sister Jones, Mathieu, and others. Luckily, the mission president’s wife was there so my mom had an English speaking friend to discuss the lesson with. Everyone treated her so kindly and she came with me to Sunday School.
After church, I decided to take mom up to Montmartre to see the Basilica of the Sacred Heart – Sacre Coeur. We took the metro to Pigalle then hopped on a bus going up the hill. We hopped out and carefully avoided the salesmen who try to grab your wrist and tie a bracelet to it to force you to buy it. We followed the path up to the basilica and wandered up the stairs and inside. We enjoyed walking around while the mass was going on and looking at the Christian paintings. Then mom suggested we climb the dome to see the view from the hill, so up we went the flights of stone stairs! She kept trying to convince me that it was safe to lean out the window..ha..anything for a good picture. Though the day was cloudy, the view was nice an

d clear. We then moseyed down the darling streets of Montmartre and to one of my favorite places: the artist square. Dozens of independent artists paint on canvases set up in a courtyard and you can watch them paint or sit in for a portrait. Mom and I both are kicking ourselves for not purchasing one of the small oil paintings. We picked a random restaurant and had spectacular luck! We both had delicious French onion soup, I had lamb and mom had then we shared crème brulé and mousse au chocolat for dessert. I blushed crimson when the waiter complimented me sweetly on my French and mom was so pleased she left a bigger tip. As we started back down the hill, we stopped a cute little French family to see if they would take a picture of us, and as we walked away, the little boy chased after mom and handed her his piece of candy with a big smile. It was adorable-mom said ‘merci’ and the little boy laughed and ran back to his family. All in all, another great day for the Americans in Paris!

Mom's first day in France

First morning in Paris: I showed mom around the Julienne’s house then couldn’t wait to take her through the neighborhood and through Croissy-Sur-Seine, my town. I showed her all the features that make my neighborhood so neat. Houses’ worth isn’t measured by size, the age and amount of restoration is what makes a home remarkable. Lilacs were in bloom everywhere on my street, Avenue des Tilleuls. Croissy only has one central street of shops and holds the old French tradition of separating: a butcher for the meat, a market for the fruit, a bakery for the bread, etc…I took mom to the bakery to taste her first French tart and we sat in the town square while I told her where I shopped. We hopped on the metro and I had mom take a picture of me here since I’ve probably hopped on at this station over a hundred times. Mom saw the musicians who play for money and how the French don’t talk on the trains; however, I couldn’t help myself-I just wanted to tell her everything! We got off near the Eiffel Tower and walked up the Champs de Mars (Fields of March) toward the tower, passing the ‘peace’ war monument with ‘peace’ written in all of the world’s languages. Next, I took mom through the Tuileries Gardens and on to Angelina’s-the best place in Paris to drink hot chocolate. It’s very expensive, but entirely worth it. I’ve never tasted anything like it. Mom decided we should treat ourselves to one fancy meal each day so we started there. The food was good, but I think our favorite was at La Durée, which we’ll get to toward the end of our trip. We spent the rest of the day exploring the city, and since I had always been alone in Paris before, I hadn’t spent much time at night in the city, so it was fun to see everything lit up with mom. We passed L’Hotel de Ville, the city hall, the Pompidou museum and the modern art fountains shown in the movie Sabrina, then onto the institute, and finished by eating another Greek sandwich next to the river with our shoes off. It is so true that Paris is perfect when you have someone to share it with.

Finally Mom Arrives!

At last! One more day and after months of telling mom about Paris the day was almost here when I could SHOW it all to her! I spent my last day alone in Paris wandering around to find a dress I could wear to pick mom up and I found a cute black one with a bow and matching shoes in Chatelet Les Halles. I went to institute that night and spent time with the young adults. Late that night I got a note at my hotel from my dad’s secretary saying my mom’s plane had been delayed a few hours. The next morning I woke up super early to get ready and help a friend to the airport and waited what seemed like days for mom’s plane to arrive. Finally at long last she came out the doors and I yelled ‘Mommy!’ (Very un-Parisian like to yell in public) I ran over to her and we hugged very tightly, both tearing up and laughing! We were ecstatic to see each other! We sat down on the nearest bench and I proceeded to talk a million miles an hour. A dream-come-true to be able to have mom here in my Parisian world. From minute one I was so thrilled I couldn’t stop smiling. Though mom hadn’t slept in 24 hours she was not about to rest yet. We hopped on the metro and headed for the outskirts to take her luggage out to the Julienne's home, but on the transfer at Chatelet station we had quite a mishap. A woman had a heart attack on the RER line A train at the next stop and trains weren’t pulling out for hours. I knew the metro so I knew we had one other possibility: to take the Metro 1 line out and go around the problem. I should have realized I wouldn’t be the only one to try this backup plan. In less than a minute Chatelet became Grand Central Station at rush hour on Christmas Eve..times ten! Shoulder-to-shoulder doesn’t even come close to how this felt. Squashed from all sides and moving without our feet on the ground is more like it. I felt awful that this was mom’s first experience in Paris but when I looked up ahead of me, she was laughing! She was not panicking, just laughing! After a few hours of madness we decided to stay in Paris until our arranged dinner with my dear friend Elizabeth and her mother. We hopped out of the metro at Saint Michel station in the Latin Quarter to meet our friends and as soon as mom saw the fountain, she said “I love Paris!” I laughed and dragged her across the street so she could see the view and she awed when she saw the Seine, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the view from the right bank. We took this picture with her luggage and despite the rain, were still on cloud nine to be together! I took mom to my favorite Greek stand squished between the shops in the Latin Quarter. We got a lamb kebab with cucumber sauce and herbs de Provence. I was so glad that mom loved it like I did, despite the sketchy way it’s cooked on a spit right on the side of the road. Though the rain never let up, we happily stayed outside with Elizabeth and Amy. After awhile I took mom back to the Julienne’s home on the train. She loved the neighborhood and I couldn’t wait to show it to her in the daytime! Once we arrived, looking like drowned rats, Mom met the Juliennes and gave them dozens of gifts from America-they said it felt like Christmas! We hopped in bed and mom crashed in T minus 3 seconds.

Aix en Provence

My next day in the south was spent in Cannes, where the Film Festival is held each year. Tons of celebrities own a home here, which explains the ridiculous prices for absolutely everything. A normal person could never afford to live in Cannes. I did enjoy seeing the red carpet walk though and spending the day at the beach.
After Cannes, the next stop was the Pont du Gard. Currently I don’t have any pictures of it because I kayaked down the river and couldn’t bring my camera. It is the oldest aqueduct bridge in the world and rowing down was an awesome way to see the sight.
Ensuite, Arles. Arles is an ancient Roman city with an arena that once housed lions and there were bullfights and all sorts of entertainment. I walked through the underground passages and climbed the bell tower with my friend Sarah Georges from Lyon, France.
Since we were staying in Aix en Provence, I got the chance to do a little sight seeing around the city with my friend Susie. She and I even ran into two LDS missionaries while gallivanting around and one was from Sandy, Utah no less! The city is historic with a different feel than Paris, though I will always prefer Paris to the South. The region of Provence is known for its herbs, lavender, and various crafts. Market day is every Wednesday and that was an experience I’ll never forget-wandering through the rows of bustling southerners, hearing prices being shouted and my senses on overload from the countless colors, smells, and sounds. I found a darling pottery stand where a man had hand painted all sorts of homemade ceramic kitchenware and couldn’t resist buying my mom and me each a painted provincial spoon rest.
Over the weekend I got the chance to go on splits with the area’s sister missionaries. We taught a man named Pascal with his friend. It was such a touching experience. When I sat through Pascal’s interview for baptism on Sunday, he was so excited. His favorite him was ‘je sais qu’il vit mon rédempteur’ I know that my Redeemer lives-and he wanted to sing it for the opening and closing hymns at his baptism. Sunday Brother Welch gave a fireside to the Aix stake after we attended their ward. One man was specifically touched by the presentation and resolved to start attending church again. My last day in the south was quite enjoyable and in the evening our group went out for a farewell to France dinner at a really nice and authentic provincial restaurant called Le Bistroquet. We girls were thrilled to get dressed up nicely and had actually found a round brush and blow-dryer to make ourselves presentable. The menu was incredible! The first course was a cold gelatin-like purée of olives, oils, herbs, and quite honestly, I’m not sure what else. Initially it has a bitter taste, but amazingly, the longer it sits on your tongue, the sweeter it tasted! The next course was a roast cooked in a red provincial wine. Yummmm..it was so tender. The bread was traditional and the dessert was a raspberry mousse with a raspberry rum sauce. I left the restaurant so full and determined I would rather starve than go back to eating American food. I love the way the French consider mealtime a drawn out, relaxed, and classy experience.

Saint Paul de Vence..Hidden Paradise

Continuing our stay in the south, we spent half a day in a village on a hill that was once a fortress. Today, it’s called St. Paul de Vence. I wished terribly we could have spent more time here; it was a quaint provincial French village with tiny cobblestone streets, church bells chiming on the hill, and foliage growing everywhere. The shops were built like cellars and when I stepped down, there were incredible works of art, or walls filled with herbs, or blown glass and pressed flowers…St. Paul de Vence is the ultimate secret of the south.
While exploring these shops, I found an independent artist’s workshop- his name was Jean Francois Gaulthier and his paintings were scenes of dancers. Next I stumbled onto an entire shop dedicated to Gustav Klimt, my favorite artist! There were enormous vases with his paintings painted on them, floor coverings and tapestries of his art..It’s a good thing I didn’t have enough money or I would have bought the shop on the spot.

Leaving Geneva..Headed South

As I walked back through Geneva I passed this park where the Swiss were playing chess with unique technique. Then before hopping on the bullet train again, we stopped at the University for lunch in the cafeteria. It was quite ironic to be eating Chinese food in the cafeteria surrounded by students of all nationalities and walks of life. Kilometer by kilometer the sun got brighter and the air got warmer. Pulling into the port of Marseilles I was excited to see what the Riviera had to offer. The shores were filled with sail boats and the streets lines with shops and the tanned skins of the southerners. Their accents were fabulously confusing! Pain “paan” came out sounding like “payyyn”. We rushed off onto a boat ride whizzing by the Chateau D’If - domain of the Count of Monte Cristo. Though the story is fictional, they’ve even unearthed a hole as evidence of where the Count dug out. There are several little islands near the shore and then five inlets where the water is a clear turquoise blue color. This is actually the spot where the rock was taken for the base of the Statue of Liberty when France gave it to us.

Bienvenue a Geneve..

Wow, this is somewhat embarrassing that I’m blogging my last month in France after the fact, but oh well. The night after I left the Julienne’s home, I hopped on a train headed for Geneva, Switzerland. While pulling into the station and hearing “Bienvenue à Genève” and seeing the hills of the Swiss countryside, I knew I was going to love Switzerland from the second I stepped off the train.
The first impression I got upon stepping out into Geneva is how clean it was! The buildings, though old, were sparkling, and ironically, when I looked into the gutter, I saw a piece of chocolate, where normally one would see a cigarette, hahaha. I had to laugh when I saw the metro map—coming from Paris where I had learned to work the 14 metro lines and 4 RER lines, I was shocked to see two metro lines here: one going North to South, and the other from East to West. I stayed in an “auberge de jeunesse,” a nice youth hostel, right on the shore of Geneva Lake. I could see the United Nations building across from me and vineyards on the hills surrounding me. The first evening, Brother Welch gave a fireside to the youth of the Geneva stake and he had me present for five minutes on the ancient seals that I’d been researching in the Louvre during the previous weeks. It was absolutely terrifying, but I think the youth enjoyed hearing the connections I made between the worth of the kings’ seal and how binding those ties were, both figuratively and literally. My friend Michel Gaginni, from the French house, grew up in Geneva, so after the fireside, I met his brother and sister and they took me to dinner and for a drive around the city. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Early the following day, the Welch’s and a few girls went to visit the Saint Pierre Cathedral. This part of Geneva is bursting with history from the days of the Protestant reformation. John Calvin considered it his ‘home ward’ I guess we could say. The remains from the 8th century on were amazing; I even saw a baptismal font in the underground portion. (Photo Right)
Finally, my favorite part of Geneva: the Bodmer Museum. I can honestly say, outside of Paris, this is the neatest museum I have ever seen. It’s located in a village called Cologny and is the private collection of Martin Bodmer. There are over 160,000 documents in 80 languages including a rare copy of the Gutenberg Bible, the oldest manuscripts of St. John’s Gospel, Greek coins, Plato's manuscripts, and fossils dating back hundreds of thousands of years. M. Bodmer didn’t want these pieces of history to be scattered with his death so he created this foundation. There was also a room devoted entirely to letters: collected from queens, thieves, celebrities, poets, authors—among these were letters from Marie Antoinette and Moliere. The letter to the right was written as an image. I hope to visit this astounding museum again in my life.