Le Jour des Loaves in Paris!

This post is dedicated to my loaf day home girls Cind and Meg and those of you who love to eat delicious loaves of bread.

For those of you who are wondering what loaf day is, you're in for a real treat. It all started one glorious day when Meg, Cind and I were talking very loudly in the library. I had a pang of hunger and instantly thought of the loaves at "Suger and Spice" in the cougar eat. (which I know has been frequented by none other than Nicole Donnelly in her days at BYU) From that day forward Tuesdays have been dubbed "Loaf Day."

While I was in Europe I was parted from Meg and Cind which was so sad. One day in the midst of my longing to see friends and family, Cind and I collaborated and decided that we would have to do a loaf day apart. Meg in Vienna. Cind in Provo (home of the original loaves). Me in Paris.

Cind gave me strict instructions so go to Lagay Chocolatier. I went to the address and it had been replaced by another chocolatier. So I took a sad picture there and bought my loaf.

Lagay is the one on the right.

Nicole told me about this wonderful park. Victor Hugo lived here. Historical tidbit that I learned from my bike tour man -Hugo wrote wonderful stories such as the Notre Dame and Les Miserable. The Notre Dame story saved the cathedral from destruction. It was beat up and misused really bad during the revolutions and people wanted to demolish it. The book made the building popular again and they fixed it up.

ANYWAYS back to my story. I sat in the park...

I enjoyed my almond and honey loaf... avec une peu de fromage....

And thought about how wonderful life is.

Loaf day was the perfect ending to my stay in Paris.

grrr there's supposed to be sounds with that video. you'll have to hear it later. it's a letter to my future husband

London Bridges Falling Down?

In a surge of homesickness i had to buy mcdonalds. even though i never eat it. it was SO good!
madrid temple. my home away from home.
Frolicking in the grass at versaille
I love brains
The bathroom at the top of the eiffel tower

I'm in London now! As much as I love being able to understand the conversations that are going on around me, I kind of miss relying on my high school French classes while eavesdropping in Paris. Last night we went on a bike tour around Paris (thanks Nicole for nudging me in the right direction) it was SO much fun!!We road beach cruisers to Notre Dame, Invalides, the Louvre courtyard and a lot more during sunset. It was so beautiful. Then we went on a boat ride down the Seine and saw all the buildings lit up at night. All the younger crowd hang out right on the edge of the river and you can see crowds gathered dancing in little amphitheaters. Very cool. We got done around 12 and the last train out to our hotel left at 1208 so we pretty much sprinted to the metro station. We got there at 1207. Lucky for us the train didn't come till 1214 so we got to take a breather.

So today I went off on my own again and wandered to Hyde park, which is a british central park, and I went to Buckingham Palace. It's a nice place. I'd still rather live in Versaille though.

Then I went to one of those cute red telephone booths and called Michelle, which made me really happy...until the sun created a lethal hotbox in the booth and the smell of urine started to rise up from somewhere. I don't know.

So I thought I'd post my checklist for europe so you can see my progress:

1. See the sunset on a hill in Florence. CHECK
2. See the city lights on the river in Florence CHECK
3. Buy sandals CHECK
4. Buy High heels...Antonio, my hott italian lover supposedly sent me some from Rome. That counts... CHECK
5. Leather Jacket CHECK
6. Knock off purse CHECK
7. Dress from Paris CHECK
8. People watch on the Champs Elysee...only for a few minutes...but i did at the eiffel tower. that counts...CHECK
9. Loaf Day. CHECK...nothing better than a french loaf
10. Go Clubbing
11. Go to the top of the eiffel tower CHECK. Went to the bathroom and sent some postcards up there too
12. See a broadway
13. Kiss a man -that one's still questionable. My italian love Alex pulled me into a corner and bit my ear before I knew what was going on. That was a lot more than I bargained for.
14. Bike around Paris
15. Stonehenge
16. Buy a good book CHECK - I was walking down the streets of Paris and I glanced over at a book stand and saw the book Fart Proudly by Benjamin Franklin. It was the most spontaneous purchase I ever made. There was no doubt whether or not I wanted to book. It help that it was only 3 euros.
17. Eiffel tower keychain CHECK
18. Gondola ride CHECK
19. Get lost in Venice CHECK...got lost a lot of other places too.

Loaf day blog will follow when I have pictures don't worry loaf girls.

twinkle twinkle little star

did you know that the eiffel tower twinkled every hour? it's sooo cool looking. we went there last night to hang out. there's a park that I adore at the foot of it where the community all hangs out, men walk around trying to sell you wine and 10 eiffel tower keychains for one euro. who needs 10 keychains??? i was writing in my journal in the park (my favorite thing to do) and i felt something hit me. it just so happened to be a 10 cent piece from the parisian men behind me who thought they were so devenier. i said thanks and kept writing. then i got another 10 cent piece. just what i was hoping for. haha. the things people do to get someone's attention. i could find another man that thinks i'm worth more than 10 cents. I'm off to wander on my own today for the first time in more than a month. i'm excited. i gotta go. not much time. we're leaving this wonderful place in the morning.
ps i got the CUTEST bag today! and i was trying to be all adventurous and try french cheeses so i got a bunch of little ones...bad idea! it smelled like butt. i took a bit and almost threw up.
i hope i can post pictures soon. i have soooo many. probably about 2000. that's just mine. all the other girls have tons of pictures of me too. i hope i've been gone long enough for you to miss me enough to want to see them ALLLL.

J'adore Paris

Ok, Ok
Now that I know I have an audience and I'm not talking to myself I shall continue my story...

I'm In Paris now and I absolutely love it here. It is a close rival wish Rome for different reasons. Paris Is very green and the city has a certain charm. I just wonder how much more I would love it here if I got to see the sun every once in a while.

I've seen the Louvre, Versaille (my future home), St. Denise, and Chartres thus far. They are all really cool. I love the little city that Chartres is in. Versaille's gardens were so beautiful. I frolicked in them...until some lady told me that I wasn't supposed to be in the grass. I'll have to post pictures when I can upload them.

So I've developed this smoker's hack from the second hand smoke here. My lungs go into a state of convulsion. So the other day I was in awe of the Louvre, soaking in the scenery when my lungs started the rhythmic convulsions. When they are finally over I continue my moment with the Louvre and then something on my jacket caught my eye. Don't even worry it, my coughing was so intense that something came up. Well, I figured since I sneezed in Rome at the Alle Quattre Fontaine church and had to wipe it on the fountain, I had to wipe my cough on the poll at the Louvre. I took a picture. It will be posted soon.

Oh yeah, How could I forget the Eiffel Tower?? I went there the other day and relaxed at the park there. It was so cool. There were the cutest little girls chasing eachother around and yelling at eachother in french to be gentile with the pigeons, there was another girl jumping on her grandpa's belly, a bride and groom, and of course the couples scattered throughout the crowd making out. The sun even made a guest appearance for about 30 minutes. We went up to the top of the tower yesterday. I walked up the stairs while listening to Whitney Houston's "i'm Every Woman." It was very invigorating. I even got to go to the bathroom at the top. I tried to write my name on the wall to leave my mark but my pen didnt write. Well, my little french internet place is closing right now. We're on our way to the Champs Elysee. Ps. the sun doesn't set here till 10 at night. Crazy.