Française

Bonjour mes amis! 

When I was 13 years old (wow... four years ago), I got the wonderful opportunity to visit France for a month with my mom.  My mom's good friend is a professor who was heading up her college's student study abroad program for that whole school year.  So, we had a free place to stay is Strasbourg, France, during which time we traveled through Switzerland, walked the streets of Paris, swam in the Mediterranean Sea, biked into Germany, and hiked the mountains of Cinqa Terra, Italy.

Anyways, I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures.  Be warned, however... I am the skinny, brown-haired, braces-needy, fluffy haired girl in these pictures.  These were taken a LONG time ago.  :)

This was between Switzerland and France.

The next three pictures are of Strasbourg, France, located in Alsace, the territory long disputed between France and Germany.  My mom's friend's apartment was in Strasbourg, so we spent most of our time in this beautiful city. :)

 (me sitting by the canal in Strasbourg... notice the couple behind the stone fence on the other side :)

 (my absolute favorite building in the whole city!)

(beautiful, Strasbourg-German styled buildings)

The next four pictures are from Paris!!!  I loved Paris!!! I'd absolutely do anything to live there someday.

(me and my mom in front of the Tour d'Eiffel)

 (Notre Dame -- I loved that place.)

 (the Eiffel Tower at night!  It lights up too!)

(me at Versailles, the old royal French palace.)

(Sacre Coeur -- Sacred Heart)

And, as a side trip, my mom, Lori (my mom's friend) and I visited Cinqa Terra, Italy on the Mediterranean.  We hiked about 10 miles in 2 days up and down mountains, visited 5 little cities on foot, swam in the sea, eat seafood, pesto, petas, and cheese.  It was heavenly.  By the end, I was exhausted, and I remember being so tired that I also passed out trying to catch a train back to our little hotel. :)

(probably my favorite of the 5 cities or cinqa terras -- Vernazza)

I also did a painting of Vernazza, Italy.  The lighting on this picture is really bad, but here's my version.

It was one of the best experiences of my whole life.  And someday... someday... I'm going to go back. 

À plus tard!