"Look! STOVES!" (Day 15)

We began today by going to the Musee D'Orsay. The art in this museum is from 1850-1914. We saw a good mix of sculptures and paintings. The ones that stood out to me the most were he ones by Claude Monet, who is one of myfavorite artists. I especially liked the two largest that were in a room with only one other painting. I was smart to sit next to Sister Patty - she was pointing things out to me that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. For example, she pointed out how the subjects were not looking at us at all, as opposed to the paintings the tour guide had talked about right before these, from a slightly earlier time period. She also pointed out the different plants and the patterns on the dresses. My favorite was the one next to the Japanese bridge of a church, pained in warm colors. Our tour guide explained how impressionism was not widely accepted at first. People didn't like that it wasn't realistic. Many people felt that if this were to be considered art, the concept of art would no longer exist. It's interesting to think about this, because I'm such the opposite; I believe anything creative is art.

We also got to see some pieces that were influenced in the medi

eval era. For example, we saw a vanity that very obviously was influenced by this time period. It was very ornately decorated. The most striking part was the jewelry box on ither side of the mirror. At first glance it looked like a reliquy, and on the sides were pictures of famous people from the time period, including Marie de France, who wrote "Le Laustic" that we read in class.

After the museum, we went to a small place a few blocks away and got pizza. Then we headed off for our long day of exploring Paris. Our first stop: the Eiffel Tower! We've constantly been saying, "I don't feel like I'm in France," but when we saw tha

t, it finally hit us. After the Eiffel Tower, we headed to the Arc de Triumph. Unfortuantely we couldn't climb it though. Our next stop was Montmartre. We got off the metro right by the Moulin Rouge, so the walk to where we were actually trying to get to was interesting to say

the least. We kept walking and climbed about a million stairs, but it felt like nothing thanks to

those mountains! We saw the view of all of Paris before going up tot he Basillique du Sacre-Ceure. After the view from Fanjeaux, this view was the complete opposite but still worth seeing. Then we went in the church. This basillica was built in the spot where St. Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was decapitated for his faith. The thing that struck me the most about this church was the statues. I think it was in the way

they were placed. Some were where you wouldn't expect them, like in the aisles, and some were near surroundings you wouldn't expect, like near paintings.

We walked around that area for a while. We got coffee and crepes and looked at a bunch of stores. Then we got back on the metro to head to dinner. We had di

nner with everyone in the program right next to the Notre Dame. It was beautiful. It was goot to see everyone together for one last time. I couldn't have imagined coming to France with a better group of people.

After dinner, we decided to go back to the Eiffel Tower so we could climb it. We took the elevator to the second tier, as high as they'd let us go. We were on it as it started blinking. We stayed there for a while, just enjoying the moment as a group before coming down. To come

down, we figured it'd be easier to take the stairs than wait in line for the elevator. Wrong choice!! I got pretty dizzy coming down, and it seemed never-ending. I did it though, thanks to my friends.