Paris Weeks 4&5

I kept meaning to write this post last week, and I never got around to it. A lot of really big changes are coming up in the next few weeks, so my weekly posting may not be weekly.

BUT. Before I talk to you about the exciting stuff coming up(it's really exciting), here are some highlights:

Two weeks ago, some lovely girls from my ward invited me to go to Saint Chapelle with them. However, when we got there, it was closed(they were preparing for a concert). So, we went to the Opera house instead.

Besides the fact that it was BEAUTIFUL, this also just so happens to be the building where they filmed Phantom of the Opera. How cool is that? I definitely need to re-watch it now...

And yes, there really is a lake underneath it.

The staircase behind me is where they filmed the "Masquerade!" scene.

It was incredibly breathtaking, to say the least.

I hope you guys can endure food pictures...I found a cute gluten free bakery in the 4th Arrondissement, and had to restrain myself to only two pastries. They were so good.

Then, that weekend, we spent half a day in Versailles. We didn't get a chance to visit the Palace, but we did stop by in front and admire it. Holy goodness, it was beautiful. (Don't worry, I'll get another chance soon to go inside!)

What we DID do there, was go swimming(I guess there wasn't somewhere suitable in Paris??). We visited the Waldorf Astoria there in Versailles. I guess my host family has some sort of deal there, because they let us use the pool without being guests. The hotel was beautiful, but it sorta made me miss my little family back at the Hilton in Salt Lake.

E, getting into the pool.

After we finished swimming, we went and ate in the Gordon Ramsey restaurant that was on property. I was so hungry that I didn't take a picture of my beautiful lunch(salmon. All the entrees here are so healthy and delicious). BUT, I did take a picture of my dessert, so you could all be jealous of that. ;)

Took a selfie on my run outside the Eiffel Tower. 

This is M. I try not to pick favorites, but...;)

I'm starting to develop a really beautiful tan from my favorite walking shoes. 

This last week was the last week of school for the kiddos, which meant there were a lot of half-days, a lot of picnics, a lot of birthday parties, and a lot of friends coming over. Which meant my schedule was crazy insane, and I didn't really have time to go do anything. When I'm not with the family(and it's not raining), I go sit in the Champ de Mars and read. It's so great. The only thing you have to watch out for are the ladies trying to get you to "donate" money for their various causes. But as long as you know how to defer them, it's pretty peaceful, despite children running around. It reminds me of home. ;)

On Friday, the first "official" day out of school, the family and I went to Parc Asterix, which is an amusement park near Chantilly, which is about an hour North of Paris. The park is based around a French cartoon, Asterix, and it's all a play on the Romans and Greeks and the invasions and all that stuff. It was really cute, and every section of the park was themed differently(Rome, Greece, Egypt, etc.).

Entering the park.

 The first ride we went on started with you sticking your faces into these little boxes on the wall, where a camera would take your picture. You walked into the next room, and after a few minutes of robust French talking and cheering over the speakers, a bunch of cartoon soldiers were projected on the walls, marching around. With our faces on them.

E and I on the Carousel.

"Turn around so I can get a picture!"
"Aurora, I can't! I'm driving!"

E, S, and I, with the two main characters. (Sorry for the way blurry picture)

Saturday, we went to an exhibition at the Grand Palais, on Augustus and Julius Caesar. Although it was majorly in French, there were some bits written on the walls in English, so I gleaned most of my information from that. Nonetheless, it was really cool to get to see all the statues and artifacts, which were actually pulled from numerous museums around Europe.

I have no idea why they're noseless.

M and I walking along the Seine. 

On Sunday(yesterday), I walked through this ENORMOUS market that went for probably 5 blocks, on either side of the sidewalk. They had the most amazing fresh fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, clothing, shoes, fresh bread. Oh my goodness, it was heaven. I'm hoping that I'll be in town on another Sunday so I can bring my camera and photograph how absolutely amazing and quaint the whole thing was.

Every single day has been incredibly full of babysitting. And I expect this next week to be equally as crazy. However, it is my last full(ish) week in Paris, and so I have big plans to squeeze as many last things as possible into this week. Such as:
The Catacombs
The Top of the Eiffel Tower(it's surprising I haven't done this yet)
Saint Chapelle(Also surprising)
Hotel Invalides(REALLY surprising I haven't done this one)

Now, I just said this was my last week in Paris. But I'm also not coming home until the very end of August. Confused?

I mentioned(in a post before I even left for Paris) that once school got out for the kids, the family was going on Holiday, and I'd be tagging along as their live-in Nanny. The work load will basically doubled, but we're going to be travelling all over the place, so I don't really mind TOO much.

I'm(unfortunately) somewhat out of the loop on our exact itinerary for the summer. So I'll have to keep you guys updated as we go. I do, however, know how the first two weeks will go.

This Friday afternoon, we're leaving and heading to Versailles, where we'll stay for 3 days. Then, we head to another city(I cannot, for the life of me, remember the name) that's somewhere generally nearby, to visit my host mother's family. We'll be staying there for 2-3 days, and then on that third day, we'll head back to Paris. We'll only be in Paris for 1 day, however, before we repack and head to London for a week.

So, expect tons of pictures on all of that, and you will all definitely get updated throughout my journey.

I've really enjoyed my time here in Paris. It is definitely going to be very different, not having my separate space from the family, or having the freedom of visiting the markets whenever I please, but I'm still really excited to get going.

So, here's to hoping that I make it everywhere in the next 3 days. And if I don't, we'll always have a day or two between destinations back in Paris, so I'll try to hit all the extra sites then.

Thank you to everyone for their support and love while I've been here! I seriously appreciate it so much!