Paris Day 4 1/2 March 31, 2014

Day 4 Monday March 31, 2014. The first thing we did was go over to the L'arc de Triumphe. They were doing construction on part of it which was sad but still it was super cool to see again. 

       My dad served his mission in Paris so the city is very close to my heart. While we were at the Louvre we found a store called the Douglas Store. We had to take a picture in front of it because that is my dad's name. It was really cool to see. Then as we were leaving to go to the metro someone at the metro station was playing Canon in D with their Cello. That is my dad's favorite song.  As we were walking over to the next destination we were going we went past a place that sells models ships. My dad loved building model ships. Needless to say it was awesome to see all of the stuff that made this experience all the more special. 

         One of the places I had to see when I was in Paris was the Love Lock Bridge. Love Lock Bridge is a bridge full of locks on both sides. It is used for lovers. They both write their name on the lock then make a wish and throw the key in the river. Literally there is no where to fit a lock that is actually connected to the bridge and not another lock. I decided to write we love you dad on our lock. My mom helped me find a spot for it and guess what? She found a spot where I could actually connected to the bridge!!!! Brian documented the whole thing. 

Make sure you lookout for these two pictures in the post. It was one of the coolest things about this place. 

We went under the ground to be able to get super close to it. I loved seeing all of this architecture and history of Napoleon.

You can see the battles that he fought on the top of L'arc de Triumphe

The Endless flame that goes in honor of Napoleon. 

So we didn't know this before hand but you can go to the very top of L'arch de Triumphe. It was so cool to look out everywhere. This view is of the Champs Élysées.

Here is the view of the Eiffel tower on the side of L'arc de Triumphe. 

We are funny! Peace signs!

Here is the view from the top back of the L'arc de Triumphe. This was such an amazing experience to see all of this. 

Here is another photo of more architecture from underneath.

People watching is great in different countries.

All the names of the people who died in the battle.

If you wanted to get unclose and personal with the statues, here you go. Here is the left side. 

Here is the right side.

After we were finished with L'arc de Triumphe we walked over to the Champs Élysées. 

This is where the Guillotine stood during the French Revolution

If you look closely at this picture you see the Eiffel Tower on the Left, where the Guillotine stood and then back in the back L'arc de Triumphe.

We went in the Louis Vuitton store at the Champs Élysées. Can you believe this scarf was 450 €? SOO expensive.

If I had lots of money I would have totally bought these shoes from the Louis Vuitton store.

Here is the new Tiffany and Company store. It wasn't finished yet but it sure is beautiful.

Abercrombie & Fitch store. You walked through these gates down a garden path. The store was 4 levels big. Holy Cow! 

The sign on the gates. 

Here is who welcomed you when you walked in. His line was quite large and I really wanted to also get in line to take a picture with everyone! 

It was 2 levels like other stores but it was so pretty! 

We of course had to go in the Disney Store. 

Look how cute this Eiffel Tower was. Everything besides this section was the same.

So if you have been to Paris before you know the Louvre is just straight down from here. Everything we went to basically was just down this whole long street. 

Ladies and Gentlemen here is the Louvre.

Here is a smaller version of L'arc de Triumphe right outside the Louvre.

Here is the Mona Lisa!

I took different shots of her because I wanted you to see how she is all boxed up. 

They not only had the box there but a wood panel all the way across.

She still looks like she is looking at you! 

This is the inverted pyramid at the Louvre. Straight behind here is a super good chocolate place called La Maison du Chocolat. I seriously could eat this chocolate almost every day although it wouldn't be good for you! 

          

My mom is looking for a place to fit the lock. We were able to fit it on the very back. It was super cool to experience. 

We went over to a super good restaurant called Bistrot Victoires. The thing I love about Paris and places that everyone isn't too familiar with is that it helps other people when they are traveling to know where to go. It helps people to know what the "Cool things" or fun things are to see. When we arrived back to our hotel we skyped my sister. We skyped with her and my nephew and went to the rooftop terrace. It was the last day in Paris so we had to soak every last bit in. We watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle from our rooftop and my sister also thought it was so cool. 

Tomorrow we fly to Rome. I have never been there before so I am really excited! 

Paris Day 3 March 30, 2014

Day 3 March 30, 2014 the first thing we did was go to church. This was an awesome experience. You entered from inside of the courtyard. Sacrament was on one side of the courtyard building and Sunday School was on the other side. 

Right after church was over. The door behind us was the door you entered for Sacrament. 

We sang I Stand All Amazed in French! Loved it!

This was what the chapel looked like. It was Testimony meeting.

This is where the missionaries translated the meeting into English. 

The door you entered into. The chapel in French was on the left and English was on the right when you came in.

Right outside the door.

A Panoramic of the whole courtyard, the architecture was beautiful! 

We went through the whole building and found the Nursery it was so cute!

The I Am a Child of God board in the Nursery. 

After church we saw some tourist shops and I bought a beret! I was SOO excited I knew I had to get one. There was also a baguette pen that I bought. I thought it was super funny. We then ate at Pomme du Pain where they have fresh squeezed Orange Juice and it is SOOO good! I also had a chocolate croissant which was super good!

We then went and changed out of our church clothes and went on the train to Versailles. The train ride to Versailles is about an hour each way. Needless to say I fell asleep; in fact I have fallen asleep on the train ride every time I go to Versailles.

When we got off of the train this was the first thing we saw. My mom had to put her face in it. It was really funny.

The first set of gates at Versailles. 

These are the main gates. As you know this was Louis XIV's house. It is so crazy that the gates are all gold plated. 

One of the paintings on the sealing, I loved all of them. 

This is the courtyard right when you walk in the gates. 

Right inside when you walk into one of the buildings, this was their chapel where they worshipped.

Hall of Mirrors. This is one of the places that Versailles is known for. On one side you have all of the mirrors and on the right side are windows to see outside in the garden area. 

Me in the hall of mirrors. It was super crowded with a bunch of different Asian tour groups today.

In the Courtyard after we finished. 

Love the Chandeliers. This whole place is overly HUGE though. 

The gardens out in the back. Just by looking at this picture it doesn't do justice. If you look straight down the middle the gardens continue on and on. However they do the same out both sides as well.

My mom really wanted to see Marie Antoinette's house. We walked and walked and walked but could never find an entrance. Brian decided to climb the wall and pull my mom and I up it. Jeffrey is the photographer of this image.

While we were walking over to her house there were a lot of animals on the farm. 

This is how the clean themselves. So gross!

A close up of Marie Antoinette's house. 

This area of her house was so beautiful. The view you would have everyday would be so great!

The walkway to different parts of the house. 

Here is the back of the house where there was a river that ran through. 

My mom found some flowers that she wanted to put in her hair. 

We decided to wander around for a bit to find somewhere to eat. Of course the places we planned to go were already closed and wouldn't reopen until 7:30. Some restaurants close in the middle of the day so they can visit their family. 

Walking down the streets of Versailles. 

My mom's name is LaRene which means Queen. This street was called Boulevard of the Queen. 

The houses were so pretty down the Boulevard of the Queen. 

After wandering the streets we found a place that my mom wanted to eat called La Bœuf a la Mode. We sat in the front of the restaurant. 

Here is what I ordered. It was So good!!! 

While we were eating we saw the waiter sit some people right next to us. My first thought was "hey they speak english too." Not to far after we realized that it may be a famous actor as well. Ladies and Gentlemen meet Pierce Brosnan! That's right we ate dinner with him and his wife. They in fact ordered the same thing my mom did. He is the most genuine person. He looked us all in the eye,  shook our hand, repeated our name and said nice to meet you! My mom asked his wife if she does movies as well and the response from Pierce was "She takes care of the house and our kids." They were here because Pierce had a movie shoot on Monday in Versailles. 

We asked if we could take a photo with him and he said that would be great. He looked and my mom and I and said, "LaRene and Laurie come stand next to me." It was Awesome!

On the way back to Paris we were on cloud 9. How awesome is it that we got to meet Pierce Brosnan? 

The Metro on the way home. I love how different they look from other metros. 

When we got back to Paris we wanted to go to a great dessert place. Brian bought the Rick Steve's books before we came and heard about Breizh Cafe. They have Flambéed crepes.

Here is what the inside of the restaurant looks like. We were around the corner from here. When we first got here they weren't going to let us come in because we didn't have reservations. Brian talked to another waiter about letting us come in and finally convinced him. 

I had a flambéed crepe and it was super super good!