Two very important orders of business

Today is the first mother's day I haven't been with my mother.  And I didn't realize how sad I would be about it until this morning! So here's to my mother. I'd say after almost 20 years of experience, she's doing an excellent job :)

Model momma and her two oldest girls, me (Brittany) and Shelby

And a happy engagement to the couple of the hour, Amanda and Andrew! When I get home I'll have my very first experience with an engaged roommate, (which I've heard can be pretty interesting) but I'm so excited! August 18 can't come soon enough for you two lovebirds!!

Missing you all very, very much today!

All my love, B.

So much gratitude I can hardly talk about it.

Heavenly Father is real. Without a single question or doubt.  And this is why I'm absolutely positive that this is true:


1.  I lost my camera.  In the pickpocketing capital of the world.  A block away from the museum I just exited, I was going to take a picture of this other building when I realized my Canon G10 was GONE.  Cue hyperventilation, throwing my bag at my friends to hold, sprinting  the fastest I ever have in sandals, (and thereby pissing off a bunch of leisurely walking French natives), sobbing, and praying with everything I had.  It wasn't out in the courtyard where I KNEW i was looking at it ten minutes before, and then I knew it was hopeless. I half-heartedly walked to the bag check desk and feebly said in broken Franglais, "J'ai perdu mon appareil-photo, est-ce quelqu'un l'a retourné?" (I lost my camera, did someone return it?) And the man's face lit up and he said, "Quel type?" (What kind?) and then I had it back.


Someone in Paris found a camera that could easily run for $1,000 and they returned it.


I don't ever have that kind of luck.  And I know that it had nothing to do with me.


2.  Days like this just don't exist unless Heavenly Father had something to do with it.

Fontainebleau Palace and Forest.

(aka the closest my life has ever felt to a Nicolas Sparks novel)

All my love, B.

the world is too beautiful.

Hello everyone!! Life is CRAZY over here in Europe!!  Not a lot of time, but I just wanted to let you know I'm still alive and breathing and I wrote my very first guest post!

Each and every one of you should hop on over to the adorable Bri's blog, Breezy Days!

You'll get to see more recent pictures of the trip and also read of some new profound life discoveries...

Turns out, traveling isn't just about seeing cool things, it's overwhelmingly about self-discovery too.  Who knew? Go check it out! 

But in case you're just dying to see more right now, here's a few :)

(all originals)

Musée d'Orsay

Day excursion to Chartres Cathedral

Opéra Garnier

Gardens of the Royal Palace

View from the top of the Notre Dame

So clever! (Go look up "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" if you don't get the reference)

Revisit to the Opéra Garnier

Joan of Arc

Rugby

Gelato break :)

Toy boat races at Luxembourg gardens on 1er mai (fête du travail) (national holiday)

Back with more soon!

All my love, B.

It all leads up to this.

Knew you'd been waiting for it ;)

It exceeded my expectations by 982982374979293498274.

All my love, B.

a visual treat.

Adventure 1: (Friday)
Our very first "walk" for class-Layers of Paris-discovering the very roots that made Paris what it is today

l'Hôtel de Ville

City of Paris administration

Mayor's office

Large reception halls

Creed of the French Revolution: (Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité-Libery, Equality, and Brotherhood)

Love Locks Bridge

This is where people who have a loved one leave a lock behind to symbolize that their love will last forever :)

Mémorial des Martyrs de la Deportation

Memorial for those from France who died in Nazi Concentration camps.

So very, very sad. 

"They descended into the mouth of the earth and they did not return."

Notre Dame de Paris

The most famous Gothic Cathedral ever

Check out those flying buttresses ;)

Scenes from Christ's life

Ornate golden gate

I could not get enough of stained glass

Before people could read, they created bible stories like this so people could learn and understand

Crypte du Parvis

Archaeological museum of Gallo-Roman foundations

Conciergerie

Royal palace and prison

Holding place for prisoners before being sent to the Gullotine

Comprehensive list of names of gullotine victims (not pictured)

Marie Antoinette memorial

Women's courtyard

Saint-Chapelle

Only surviving chapel of its' time

Dedicated April 26, 1248 (THAT'S OLD!)

Downstairs

Breathtaking

Palais du Justice

Part of the Conciergerie

Still used for court hearings today-judges today still have to wear robes and wigs when they do hearings!

There's that French Revolution saying again :)

Massive

Adventure 2: (Saturday)

Walk to the Metro

Croissy-sur-Seine (suburb of Paris)

Charles de Gaulle statue

World War II Hero

Champs Elysées

French for Elysian fields (place of "blessed dead" in Greek mythology)

Among the most expensive strips of shopping and real-estate in the world

Open Air Stamp Market

They happen.

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré

Ritzy Stores

Palais de l'Elysees

Where the President, Nicolas Sarkozy lives

French version of the White House

There's Sarkozy's front door!

U.S. Embassy

Place de la Concorde

Largest major public square in the French Capital

East end of the Champs-Elysées

Egyptian obelisk

Wedding!

That huge scary famous roundabout/death trap

Group photo

street bubble blower

crêpe break!

Musée l'Orangerie

Monét, Gaugin, Renoir, Rodin, Claudel, Cezanne, Matisse, etc. etc.

aka my dream come true

"The Waltz" by Camille Claudel-favorite sculpture ever.  Found it.  Saw it.  Got teary.

"The Kiss" by Rodin-Claudel's mentor. Beautiful.

Tuileries gardens

Created by Catherine de Medicis

former garden of Tuileries palace in 1564

Dedicated as a public park (between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde) after the French Revolution

outside the Orangerie

And this is where I got a raindrop on my lens

l'Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

honors casualties of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars

(not the huge one, the smaller one by the Louvre)

Front of the Louvre

What I've been waiting to see since I read the Da Vinci Code four years ago

More adventures to come :)

(all original photos)

All my love, B.