The week was filled with papers, presentations and the constant anticipation of break around the corner. Friday afternoon
my family met me at school for lunch and an instant submersion into French culture, and then went to Versailles while I suffered through class until 6:30pm! We checked into our amazing hotel, and got a full night sleep before waking up early to head to Monet's gardens.
Ever since I was a little girl I always was infatuated with Monet's work. Nanny would read me books on him, show me pictures and I remember always talking about wanting to go to Paris to see his water lilies and covered bridge paintings in real life. Now in one day I was going to see both his home and the gardens that inspired the works! We took a train out to Giverny, France and after witnessing yet again how the French like to take their time getting somewhere, we made it. We were pleasantly amazed to see flowers still in bloom and the gardens just as beautiful as we imagined them to be. We wandered the gardens and the finally there it was, the weeping willows, covered bridge and water lilies I so vividly remembered dreaming of as a little girl!! The area was so amazingly peaceful and I could imagine nothing better than spending afternoons in the Spring time here painting, I can see why Monet did. We also got to tour his home and see numerous works just hanging casually in his home. Nanny, you would've absolutely loved it! :) We then headed back to Paris to continue our Impressionist tour by going to the Musee d'Orsay. 
For those that don't know Paris splits its' museums by time period, starting with the Louvre housing the earliest pieces, moving into the Musee d'Orsay for more Impressionist and Post-Impressionist era works, and ending with the Pompidou museum for modern art. This was by far my favorite museum in France so far! I could see Van Gough's self portrait, Degas' ballerinas, Renoir's Afternoon in the Park, Cezannes's fruit, Manet country sides, and finally Claude Monet's work! There are no words to describe the pure talent behind these pieces, and being surrounded by so many great works at one time was truly breathtaking.
We then made our way to Notre Dame where we went to Saturday evening mass. The church was gorgeous and the alter was truly a piece of art. There was just one problem...the entire mass was in French. Definitely an amazing experience, but slightly challenging. The evening ended with a SUPURB traditional French meal at an awesome restaurant near our hotel. We met my French friend thank goodness who could translate the menu, but we had escargot, duck, fresh fish, great wine and finally a speculoos cheesecake.
Sunday morning we woke and headed to the stadium where Roland Garros Tennis tournament is held. It's a personal goal of mine to go to all 4 Grand Slams, and although the tournament wasn't in session it was a step. We took a private tour and got to see the press rooms, locker rooms, interview room, and finally the hallway leading up to Center Court which was signed by all the players! The clay on the court was so red! A fun fact we learned was if you fail to show up to an interview you are fined based on your rank in the world, so for example in 2001 when Andre Agassi was #1 in the world and he skipped an interview he was fined 25,000 EUROS! It was a super cool experience, and after that we headed back to downtown to enjoy the nice weather, take pictures near the Eiffel Tower, and head to the Louvre. Here we were able to see the infamous Mona Lisa, but also Napoleons Apartments from when the Louvre was a palace, Ver Meer's work, classical sculptors and some Medieval knights and swords for Drew! The night ended with a walk through Luxembourg Gardens, and a night trip to the top of the Montparnasse Tower where we saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle, (not really as cool as I expected but hey it can't all be great.) 
The following day was dedicated to visiting Normandy. We trained up to the north and went to a museum dedicated to the port at Arromanches. In school they always focus on the actual day itself, but fail to mention all the other events that happened in the 100 days after the invasion before Paris was regained. There was film put together by both the Allied countries and the Axis countries to educate people on the events of the war and it was the most moving piece I have ever seen, since it wasn't just from the American perspective. We then headed out on a 5 hour tour with Guy, our guide to the cemeteries and beaches. We saw a German cemetery, Port du Hoc where the rangers scaled the cliff and defeated German defenses, drove through hills the soldiers marched through towards Paris, saw lots of bunkers and guns, and finally went to Omaha beach. Standing on this beautiful beach looking out into the ocean where thousands of men died, and looking up at the cliffs where the Germans stood were extremely surreal. Sadly, because of the government shutdown we didn't get to see the American cemetery and to pay our respects to those who died. After a longgggg, cold, wet day it was great to return to a warm day in Paris.
As our last day in Paris we woke up had a nice Parisian breakfast and headed off to Marais to walk around and enjoy what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places in Paris. We shopped a little, got some traditional French pastries and headed back to my hotel to show the family my new home. This concluded the speed tour of Paris and we hopped onto the train to Belgium for the second leg of our European adventure. Overall it was awesome to be able to show my family where I've been living these past few weeks! Now onto waffles and Belgium beer!
Recap:
5 People
1 Country
5 Days
4 Cities
And too many museums to count
XOXO from Paris
