Photo Gallery

Here are some of my favorite photos I have taken on this trip. You guys have seen some already. These are ones that remind me of the National Geographic photos of the day.

At the Gentilly Metro station. I think it would have been a better pic if you could see the entire Gentilly sign and the lady was at the edge of the pic.

Mass at Notre Dame . . . so much incense.

Some statue in Paris

L'Arc de Triomphe . . . and the rain.

Say Chinese!!!!

This was a cool mural outside a church by the Centre Pompidou.

Montparnasse

The line for climbing the Eiffel Tower, from the top

The Eiffel Tower

The parks on the ground from the Eiffel Tower

Clouds and the Eiffel Tower

Sacre Coeur from the clock at Musee d'Orsay

The Obelisk and the Arch

Pont Alexandre III

Notre Dame with the sun hitting it at sunset

Maureen looks like a model here. This should be in a magazine.

Trees at the Source du Lison

Peculiar shadow from the leaves. This one makes you look for the source of the shadow.

From Montmahoux

A swan at Lac Neuchatel

A bear in Berne

The French countryside

A hinge for a window

These are a few of the strangest things

Well, I've seen a bunch of strange stuff while in France. Here's the stuff I managed to get a picture of.

These are the exit signs. I guess people in France can walk through/in walls.

These are the crosswalk signs. When the man turns green, you can cross. I find it funny that he is walking, when our crosswalk men just stand there.

This is a bridge where people who are in love put their names on padlocks, then lock it to the bridge and throw the key into the Seine.

Asians are everywhere in Paris. I took this picture because I liked all the colors, very typical of the Chinese tourists. It's a pretty good pic, if I do say so myself.

Look closely. The lady has a mustache; it's not graffiti. The ad says Art, Love, Fashion. Strange.

A church we visited that sort of doubled as an art museum.

A levitating truck under the Eiffel Tower. Strange.

The girl in the middle has really crazy hair. Lol, very crazy.

There was some sort of festival going on, and this guy was chasing people around with a squirrel looking thing on a stick. Weird.

Europeans know how it's done. When you open up your gas tank, there is a little spot to put the cap so you don't forget it. Wish my jeep had one of those.

Snails and slugs everywhere!!!!

Dun-nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh BATMAN! Sorry Batman, passage prohibited.

Maureen and Adelaide went swimming in a lake. Maureen was so wet, she took there tank top off and held it out the window to dry. Silly Mo!

This is barley. That's not that strange. it's the way the French pronounce barley that is funny. 

It's sort of like "bawrl-ley." Lol.

That's all for now folks.

Helping you be PRO at airplaning

In the past three weeks, I have flown on five different airplanes and navigated five different airports. Wowzaaaa. It's a bit overwhelming, so I have thought of some tips for future airplaners.

1. Don't wear a lot of jewelry or hard to put on shoes. You will have to take it all off when you go through security. You will get run over and be in the way.

2. Don't expect to see different movies each time. Chances are, on the international flight you will have a movie you already saw and a boring one. Bring a book and a pillow because you will be bored and will want to sleep.

3. Have the person next to you wake you up when the food/drink trolley comes around. You can't really do anything to help yourself if you get hungry. And, airplane food isn't too bad, but bring snacks anyways.

4. Don't have anything suspicious looking in your carry-on suitcase at Heathrow. They will literally unpack your entire suitcase and try to put it back together.

5. Don't wrap your cheese in aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Security will think it is drugs or explosives and then unpack your suitcase.

6. Don't fly internationally west-bound during the day. The time change and surplus of daylight will mess with your head and you will have literally the longest day of your life.

7. Don't make your suitcase top-heavy. It will tip over on the train/bus and fall on someone who will give you a dirty look.

8. In a foreign airport, try to speak the language. People will be much less rude and will appreciate that the stupid Americans actually know something.

9. Don't fly to London on a busy day. Your pilot will make tight circles around the city, swerve every which way and then not have a smooth landing, all because of the air traffic.

10. Stay in first class on international flights. You will be miserable in coach no matter what. To make the most of it, recline your chair, shut the window, bring earplugs and try to sleep. Good luck with that.

11. Get a window seat. At any cost. Even if it means sitting on the person in that seat. Just kidding. Window seats do allow you to get some pretty stellar pics.

Quelle coïncidence

I finally had time to look for something that has been lingering in the back of my mind since the day we went to Centre Pompidou.
So, Wednesday, June 4th, I saw this woman in Paris at the Centre Pompidou playing some strange instrument. 

It reminded me of a video I once watched of Jason Mraz playing with a lady in Paris. 

Start at 2:00. Look closely at around 5:14 

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? OMG!
I <3 Jason Mraz! Can't wait for his concert at Red Rocks in September!

Saying goodbye to the home I once loved

Goodbye Famille Maréchal (Aimé, Jean-Luc, Pauline and Odile). You have been so kind to me. Thank you so much for everything.

Goodbye Malans. You have provided me with a nice place to stay. I loved the greenness and lovely rocks.

Goodbye Franche-Compte bell towers. Um . . . Let's try this again . . . stupid truck! 

Goodbye Franche-Compte bell towers. I have enjoyed your uniqueness.

Goodbye France from the ground. You have left me with many amazing memories. (This was the last view of France from Switzerland. We flew out of Geneva and had a hard time emotionally when crossing the Swiss border. We told ourselves not to turn our back on France until we couldn't see it anymore. Maybe that's why my back hurts.)

Goodbye France. Hope to see you soon. (This was the view of the north coast and the English Channel. The French call it La Manche which literally means the sleeve.)