Dimanche, Septembre 15

Sunday 15th~
Janelle and I went to the American Church in Paris. We went to the 11a.m. traditional service. When I checked it out on Google Maps it said it would be a 59 minute walk...well it was correct. We were walking pretty fast too! It was an enjoyable walk though most of the time we were walking along the Seine River. The church is in the 7th Arrondissement.

The service had some similarities to mine at home. After the service, we met some girls that gave us the suggestion of going to bars to meet guys so that we could improve our french... weird advice from someone at church?!?

After church, we decided to take our time on the walk home. We walked right along the Seine and stopped every so often to do a photoshoot. Fun!

We took about 2 hours to walk home. Just incase you are wondering why we walked so far, the navigo pass that we had to buy for public transportation is per week and also per month. We decided that for the part of September that we were going to be in Paris we would just like to walk around and get to know the city.

This was also my mom's birthday, and she told me before I left that I should go out and have a dessert for her. So after supper we went to Le Petit Pont Restaurant, the view from our table was Notre Dame! We ordered "Toi et Moi" which had chocolate, vanilla, & strawberry ice cream covered with brownie and cookie chunks, fruit, and whipped cream. The server brought the dessert to the table with a sparkler in it. At the end of the day, we calculated that we walked about 8 miles that day!

Samedi, Septembre 14

Sorry for not posting recently. Starting school and getting into the swing of things has been crazy! I'm going to try and catch you up on all that has been happening here in Paris.

Saturday 14th~

Janelle went to do some modeling for Mrs. Wang. I was able to go with and take pictures. We went to the Louvre and to the Eiffel Tower to take pictures. There were some many people that wanted to have their pictures taken with Janelle and Lindsey! It was pretty neat :)

There were two protests going on that day at the Eiffel Tower, and for some reason I felt kind of uncomfortable being there. 

After they were finished taking pictures, they treated us all to some Nutella crepes! It was delicious :) 

Here are some pics from the day.

Vendredi, Septembre 13

We slept in on Friday morning. We went to the nearby boulangerie/patisserie to buy a loaf of French bread. The guy in the shop recognized me from when I was here in January. He told me it had been a long time and I said yes it had. Janelle made scrambled eggs for a late breakfast around 11:30. We left the apartment at noon so I could show Janelle BHV (a department store), which is about a 25 minute walk. We browsed some of the 7 floors.

From 3-5 that afternoon the school was having a presentation on evening gown methods, so we wanted to get back to the apartment with enough time to make lunch. We toasted bread in a pan on the stove and then put some sautéed onions and swiss cheese on the bread to make a sandwich. It was delish!

The evening gown presentation was taught by Mrs. Wang from Malaysia. In the 2 hours we were there she made 1 bodice and 3 skirts, in techniques that would not have passed at MMU or PAA. I guess if I need to make a gown in record time I'll have to use her techniques. haha :D Mrs. Wang needed 2 models to do a photo shoot on Saturday so she chose Janelle and another girl named Lindsey. After the presentation we went to a reception that was held by Peter.

We decided that we should just relax since we had done a lot of walking that afternoon and our feet were sore. We made fried rice again for supper, but with some different vegetables.

Mercredi, Septembre 11 et Juedi, Septembre 12

I finished packing on Wednesday morning and then ran a couple of errands, including saying goodbye to my grandparents and neighbors Bob & Marilyn. Janelle's parents dropped her off around 11:40 that morning. They decided it would be best to say goodbye right then and just have my mom drive us down. After they left, I said goodbye to the rest of my family that wouldn't be coming with and then made sure we had the suitcases packed in the car and we were headed out a little bit after noon. Noah came with that way mom would have someone with her on the way home.

We made a stop at an oasis on the way to O'Hare to pick up something to eat, as neither Janelle or myself had eaten much all day. We even won a $5 gift card to Starbucks for answering a few questions on fake food products...business class in action ;) We left the oasis and had about a 20-30 minute drive to the airport. We arrived about 3 1/2 hours early just in case of extra security because it was Sept. 11. We checked our bags, said goodbye to mom and Noah, and headed to security. The security wasn't too bad and we were in our terminal with 2 1/4 hours to spare. We took a couple of pics in the airport and let our parents know we made it to the terminal. Also texted one of our professors to let her know we were on our way.

Once we were on the plane the time before take off was very short. The pilot came on the speaker and said the flight would be 7 hours and 20 minutes, which was shorter by a whole hour then what was printed on our boarding pass. I watched part of the new Star Trek movie, slept for about 2 hours, and then watched The Croods. We landed 45 minutes ahead of schedule at 8:45 a.m. on the 12th.

After we made it through customs and security (yay!) we called the number given to us for the Paris Shuttle. The number went to a TV rental service in the UK, so I called mom and let her know what happened. Now it was 2:30a.m. back home, but she answered. She gave me Peter's number, and we told her that if we couldn't get a hold of him we would ask the ladies at the info desk. Well the number didn't work so I went up to the info desk and asked the lady for help. She called the number, it worked, and said that the shuttle should be there in 10 minutes. We waited outside for about half an hour, asked another lady and she said just wait outside they'll find you. After some more waiting outside some army personnel told us we needed to move to the other gate. Janelle and I looked inside the airport and there was no one walking around, just a little weird. It took a while, but the guards finally let the Paris Shuttles through the gate. It was about 2 hours after landing that we were able to get on our shuttle.

Needless to say, after the adventure we had that morning we were both quite tired. So we unpacked and each took an hour nap. Our apartment is small but works perfectly for two people.

The living room/bedroom.

The doors to the bathroom and kitchen.

The kitchen.

The bathroom.

Left side view from the balcony.

Right side view from the balcony.

We went to the grocery store and picked up some food items to make supper. We decided to make some fried rice.

Making supper.

The finished product: fried rice. 

What I wore :) 

 

Macaron or Macaroon?

Here's just a little bit of clarification on the difference between a Macaron and a Macaroon :) Yes I do know the grammar is incorrect in the thought bubble.

(via Lovely Little Details)

(via  The Macaron Master) 

So thankful I'm back again!

I want to dedicate this first post to all of the people that I have to thank for helping me get as far as I have.

The biggest thanks goes to God. He is always here with me even through all of the bumps and detours that have preceded this trip. There were many things that came in the way of getting here. Some of you know, others don't.

I want to thank my parents and brothers for always being there for me even when I was in a bad mood because of paperwork problems or having a rough time getting through all of the little details. I want to thank my mom and dad for letting me take this once in a lifetime trip, and also encouraging me to work hard to make money for this trip.

I want to thank Marilyn for helping take care of all of the flight information. Also for buying me many of the things that I need for the trip, and letting me clean her house to make money.

I want to thank Uncle Ed and Aunt Joan for letting me work extra days and hours at work so I could make more money for my trip. Also that Aunt Joan let me take home alterations to make extra money.

I want to thank Uncle Steve and Aunt Lynn for suggesting me to her dad for house cleaning.

I want to thank Uncle Jon and Aunt Stephanie for letting me make some extra money by housesitting and babysitting.

I want to thank Grandma and Grandpa Swets for all of the little Paris related gifts that I have received. Also for getting me magazines to read on the plane ride.

I want to thank Janelle's mom, Mrs. Judy, for letting Janelle join me for the semester in Paris. Also for accompanying us to the consulate in Chicago, and for paying for the train ticket back home.

I want to thank all of my friends for taking me away from my busy schedule or having me over just to hang out and have fun.

I want to thank all of my professors at MMU for teaching me to work hard, pushing me out of my comfort zone so that I can accomplish many things.

I want to thank my family, friends and church for all of their prayers, they are greatly appreciated!

I know I haven't mentioned all of you but, please know that I am very thankful for your help and friendship!

Rock the Shot - Sun Flare Challenge

I came across the July Rock the Shot (www.rocktheshotforum.com) photo challenge "Sun Flare" on Facebook. I just recently took this picture of my mom's climbing rose. The lighting was perfect when I took the picture around 8:30p.m. The sun was peeking through two boards of the fence. I absolutely love the colors in this photo!