Springtime in Paris!

FRANCE! After taking the chunnel under the ocean and across the countryside (I slept the whole time so I missed the whales and fishies), we ended up in the beautiful, warm, buzzing city of Paris. It was sunny and warm, and by warm I mean seriously warm. Like, even when the wind blows- you still feel warm. I didn't even bring more than a light jacket. Yeah- that's warm.
In France, romance is just in the air. It's probably safe to say it's in the food, probably even in the water too. Being here with a BYU group, mostly girls, you can imagine that the majority of conversations are about boys, kissing, and marriage(emphasis on marraige). These creatures I live with look up wedding blogs, plan their weddings, look at rings etc... even the ones who don't have boyfriends. It's wierd. So when we arrived in this so very romantic setting, you can imagine the talk of weddings and boys was increased by at least 3x, if not more. I'm serious, I heard three separate wedding/dating conversations on our first coach ride in France. BYU girls + France = goopy, swoony, and desperate. Good thing I'm not an official byu student, THAT would be embarrassing.
Anyways, we started off the trip by hopping on a coach and driving to Chartres to see the famous Chartres cathedral. We got there a little early, so we all split off and did whatever we want in the oh-so-exiting town of Chartres. I did the merry-go-round, it definitely started off the whole trip right. I felt like I was in a movie.



Then we got into the Cathedral, which is mostly famous for it's incredible windows, and it's relic- Mary's nativity robe (aka the clothing she wore when she gave birth to Jesus). It is proven that the cloth is 2000ish years old, but it is not proven that she wore it. I guess we'll find out SOMEday. Anyways, Chartres Cathedral was like a giant freezer. You walk in and you can see your breath. We were so lucky it was sunny outside our whole trip because the stained glass was just perfect. Chartres has over 150 original windows from when it was built in the 1200s. They all tell stories. Our guide had worked there for 52 years- A real live Chartres rock star.

By the time we got back to Paris it was getting darkish. Me and some girls decided to go see the Eiffel tower. The metro was scary for a few reasons: 1- It stinks and it's dirty. 2- There are creepers and pick pocketers here. Lots more than in London. 3- There are SO SO scary army men that you occasionally see in a triangle formation with guns walking around. They stare at you in the eyes and it is ooober scary.
The metro was also cool for a few reasons: 1- It was all in French, so we had no idea what we were doing- but we did it anyways. 2- The instrumentalists and singers come onto the metro with you and serenede you and ask for your money. I loved listening to the violinists and guitarists on my way.
We finally made it to the tower... and seriously.... it was one of the most magical moments of my life. I have never really cared too much about seeing the actual Eiffel tower- I mean I've seen PLENTY of pictures. But now I know why everyone needs to go there. The tower at night is SO incredible, I was short on words. No picture (at night at least) will ever be able to portray the magnificence of this building. It's like big ben- you just have to go.
So we're standing in front of it, and all the sudden, it explodes into a giant mass of glitter! It was sparkeling! I LOVE GLITTER! When it glittered, I was in heaven. A giant, cool, glittery structure. I mean, that's basically my middle name! (If I HAD one, that is.) Moral of the story: the Eiffel tower is one of my favorite things I've ever seen in my life. I love it.
Not to mention, two of the girls I was with started crying because they missed their boyfriends. Hahahahahhaha. Yes, it's that romantic.
*When in Paris, random men stare at you, and hit on you, and want pictures with you because you are American.

After this wonderful evening, we got nutella crepes off the street, headed back to our spacious hotel rooms, and I took full advantage of the fact that I had a nice clean bath tub.