To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one 

of the pleasantest sensations in the world. 

– Freya Stark

So this is the final trip that I got to go on while on my study abroad adventures. I had 28 hours worth of traveling and 15 hours to spend in Paris.  Paris had its ups and downs. It was great getting to see at the sights there but the locals were mean and it was raining so our feet got really wet, but it was worth it. We got to take the ferry over instead of the chunnel because we were on a bus so that was kind of a let down. 

The first thing we went to see in paris was the Louvre, which was closed but we still got to see the outside of it.  Right by the Lovre is an arc. This arc was build at Napoleon's request because he wanted his troops to pass under an arc, but the arc de triomphe was not yet finished (he actually died before it was) so they built this smaller one for him. 

I even went to the love lock bridge and put a lock on there. It's said that if you put a lock on there and throw the key that it is a symbol of everlasting love.  Funny thing is that there a combination locks on there! Don't need a key for those! The locks are so varied from padlocks to fuzzy handcuffs!

This fountain is the St. Michel (pronounced Michelle). This is like a meeting place for the city. So if someone wants to meet for coffee they use this fountain as a meeting place. The sculpture is actually of St. Michel defeating the devil.

This statue is Henry IV who was actually very loved. He made sure at Christmas  everyone in the city received a special dish, even the poor people. He was killed in 1610 (it was blasphemous to kill a king because they were held right below God). The man who killed him was then tortured by peeling the skin in his hands back and then dipping his hands in acid. 

Lastly the Eiffel Tower. I got to go up to the second floor of the Eiffel tower because the summit tickets were sold out. I even witnessed someone getting proposed to because their friends were at the bottom holding a sign (at least I think that's what it was because it was in another language). We went up at night and it was amazing to see the city all light up. The Eiffel tower is even beautiful at night because at the beginning of every hour the lights flicker and make it seem like it is sparkling. 

We do not travel to escape life,

We travel so life does not escape us. 

-Anonymous 

              

Rome was simply amazing. There was so much to see and do, and even eat! Of course, since I love food, I must talk about that first. I could eat pasta all day every day as long as I had a different sauce, so I was in

heaven. The pizza there was so delicious. The crust was thin and the sauce that they put on was so yummy. When we went out one night, I even got a pasta dish with homemade noodles 

If it was one thing that I loved just as much as I loved the food was the buildings in the city. There was so much history within the buildings and they were build so beautifully. There was also one thing about Italy  some of the streets are so tiny! Our tour bus went up this street, we had to squeeze! American drivers are definitely not that good at driving!

Also quick fact that you may have not known, there are 940 Catholic churches just in Rome alone. Crazy right?!

 I even got to go into the smallest country in the world, the Vatican. Despite that I am not religious at all, the artwork and the history within the building was amazing. I never thought that in one hour I would see the worlds of DeVinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo. I never even thought that I would ever see the artwork of the sisteen chapel. It was all so beautiful and breathtaking. The carvings on some of the marble sculptures was beautiful done and so intricate. 

You can find these pieces of artwork all around the city on corners of smaller streets and allys. These were put in sometime in history when street lamps were not around. They came about because people would watch higher class people leave homes and special buildings and follow them and rob them. They then put these up all around the city and they would be illuminated at night with candles. They thought that this would stop crime because who is going to rob someone when the mother of Jesus is looking down on them. You may think that it is funny, but it actually did work. 

This skull and engraving is on a church in Rome  This church basically did a community service to Rome. They would risk their lives(could get disease, especially the black plague) to go fetch dead bodies out of the river or street without knowing how they died. Since they were near the river, it would flood and sometimes take bodies with it so they would have to go out again to get them. They then got the great idea to nail the bodies to the wall of the church. If you go inside, you can see human bones on the wall.







We even spent the day walking around the roman Colosseum and the roman forum.

It was crazy to actually step foot on things that were so old and had so much to do with history. I got to see Caesars house. It was just a crazy feeling!





One night when we were walking we came across a procession of priests. In this photo go can see a Bishop and a Deacon! I even got to stick my hand in the mouth of truth which it is said if you stick you hand in there and you are a liar, the mouth will bite your hand off.






I even got to make a wish in the Trevi Fountain!