PARIS DAY ONE & TWO

YOU GUYS PARIS

saturday morning i arrived in paris pretty early (btw the bathrooms look like french women pee standing up and the luggage takes forever to arrive). i called my shuttle and waited for it to come pick me up. we had several stops to make so i got a nice little tour of the city. i saw the grand palais and the petit palais and the back of the louvre. they were all breathtaking. i still could not believe i had seen them and that i was actually in paris and all i could think about was how badly i had to pee.

and then we rounded the corner and i saw her. just the top half. i'm a little embarrassed to admit that as soon as i saw the eiffel tower, i gasped. and my eyes started getting teary. and my heart started to race, you know when you see a really cute boy you like and your heart starts beating fast and your stomach fills with butterflies? that was it. it was like everything i ever wanted it to be. (i know cheese guys, but paris!)

when i finally got to my hotel it was like jetlagggg. every thirty minutes or so i would be absolutely unable to keep my eyes open. i went to a bakery and got a pain au chocolat because i'm in france, right?

kay, one of my friends on the study abroad, and i walked to a little store to buy a straightener because this hair is no good on it's own (surprising, i know) and i didn't bring my american straightener since it has the wrong plug and will burn out quickly if i use a converter.

after almost everyone had arrived, kay and i rode the metro to go take a look at my old friend over here. we kept being amazed at how we live here. we get to see the eiffel tower every day. wow we are so blessed.

we walked around for a little bit more and then headed back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the group for dinner.

after dinner, we decided we wanted to go see the eiffel tower glitter. so we headed back on the metro (almost all of us) and ran to the eiffel tower so we could see it in time. just as we rounded the corner, she started to sparkle. now, very few things in my life have been as amazing to watch. this huge metal structure in the middle of paris, france, where i am now living was sparkling. it sparkles every hour for five minutes on the hour at night. bands are playing music and you just feel one with everything and everyone around you. i can't describe it.

on sunday we woke up early to go to church. paris is empty at 9 in the morning. we took the metro and walked to the institute building. i was super intimidated to go to church in france, but it turns out church in paris is such a melting pot. the bishop is even american, speaking french of course. in sunday school i was able to understand pretty much all of what was going on, and in relief society they even had a translator. unfortunately, no french hotties.

after lunch we decided to go look at the hotel de ville and notre dame cathedral. the hotel de ville is HUGE. it's really beautiful.

and then notre dame. like you dream of these things and don't believe they will actually happen, then you're standing right in front of them. there were even gypsy's around! but you actually need to be really careful of them because they might try and steal your things.

so you go through paris expecting to just go check out this amazing historic thing and that's it, but then you actually get to do the most amazing things. aka, pigeons. there is a man that's feeding pigeons, tuppence a bag, and he hands you food and all of a sudden pigeons are landing all over you. and then he pours the food on your head so they land on your head, too.

the ward put on a fireside for us that night with the french young adults so we could talk and get to know them more. i had full-on conversations in french. i know i know french, but i am always so intimidated to speak it. i thought it would be even worse here, but it's the exact opposite, which is amazing! 

after the fireside a couple of us went to the louvre so we could see it light up at night. we got a little distracted by the sunset and the gardens, but eventually made our way there and it made me even more excited to go inside. the louvre is HUGE. man, i louvre paris.

sorry blurry iphone pic

also on the way home from the louvre on the metro, a french guy sat down next to me and we were talking and he asked me for my email. no désole french man, désole.