Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. ~Benjamin Disraeli

It has been absolutely fabulous being back in Paris this past week!! I went to the Musee De Pompidou, the Sacre Coeur, the Moulin Rouge (don’t worry...just the exterior of it. Haha), the Eiffel Tower at night, Versailles, the Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore (this INCREDIBLE book shop that is like a wonderland of books on floor to ceiling shelves with ladders, winding aisles, and lots and nooks and crannies to curl up in with a book), and the Musee D’Orsay. The building the D’Orsay is in is a 19th century train station that has been turned into a museum, and the building itself was as much a work of art as the paintings and sculptures it houses. As much as I have enjoyed these last three(ish) months, I must say that I am looking forward to going home, which I will be doing on Thursday. I cannot wait to see everyone when I return!!

Sacre Coeur

Paris Skyline

Versailles

Versailles

Versailles

Versailles

Versailles

Versailles

Too often. . .I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen. – Louis L’Amour

Tuesday and Wednesday were long long long long travel days from Avignon (very southern France) to Caen (in the Normandy area to the far north of France). On Thursday I visited Le Mont St. Michel, which is an architectural wonder. It is a city on an island surrounded by sand and water with only one accessible road to it. This town is very very small, and because it is so touristy, there are only 25 permanent residents of this town, and 17 of them are monks and nuns who live and maintain the medieval monastery that covers the top of the island town’s hill. Friday was the most profound day for me thus far. I visited the largest German and American Military Cemeteries honoring those who died in the Normandy invasion, and I was humbled by the haunting beauty of these places. My eyes could not help but well up as I passed line after line of grave markers, and tears freely fell  in the German Cemetery when I cam across two head stones placed directly side by side (instead of having grass in between them) because this meant that the soldiers had been brothers. The American Military Cemetery housed the graves of two of the Ryan brothers that the movie Saving Private Ryan is based on. On Saturday we also visited the Pointe Du Hoc, which is the stretch of cliffs on the Normandy coast in between the Omaha and Utah beaches that had to be scaled by Allied forces, and resulted in the death of almost all of the soldiers assigned to this tactical area of the invasion. It is hard to walk on this stretch of cliffs because there are so many bomb craters, and what is left of the bunkers has been preserved and left the way it was after the invasion. I was humbled to my very soul to stand where so much had been lost and won and history had been made. On Saturday I visited the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, which consists only of a 70 meter long medieval tapestry depicting the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy. It was beautiful and incredibly fascinating. As of today I am back in Paris until I fly home on June 2nd, and then I can (hopefully) share all of my stories and adventures with you in person some time this summer!!!!

Le Mont St. Michel

View from the top of Le Mont St. Michel

German Military Cemetery

View of the German Military Cemetery from the top of a hill memorial in the center of the cemetery

Normandy cliffs between the Omaha and Utah beaches

American Military Cemetery

What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds. When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road. ~William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday visiting, touring, exploring, and walking around Avignon. On Saturday I went to Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue (a small town outside of Avignon), Gordes (a beautiful hill town), and Roussillon (a hill town completely constructed of ochre, which is a red-orange stone). On Suday I went to the Pont du Gard (the very famous Roman aqueduct) and Arles, where Van Gogh painted many of his masterpieces. In Arles I went on a Van Gogh walking tour and saw all of the real-life places and scenes that he painted while he lived in the town. On Sunday I went to Cassis, which is on the Mediterranean, and I basically just napped, read, wrote, and took pictures all day on the beach; I got a little sunburned, but it was so worth it to have such a laid back and relaxing day. Yesterday it was cold and rainy in Seattle, and myself and all of the other students felt a little bad because we were earning college credits lying out on a sunny beach on the French Riviera, but “Life is like that” someone once said.

Avignon

Avignon

Avignon

Avignon

Avignon

The cafe in Arles that Van Gogh painted.

Arles

Arles

Cassis

Cassis

Cassis

Cassis

Avignon

Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue

Gordes

Gordes

Roussillon

Pont de Gard

I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within. ~Lillian Smith

So, while I was in Switzerland, I visited Bern, Interlaken, Ballenberg, Fribourg, Lausanne, and Geneva. I liked Interlaken the most, but I enjoyed every minute of my time in Switzerland; the languages, cultures, people, food, scenery, and every other aspect of these places was superb. If I had to choose one favorite thing that I did in Switzerland, I would have to say that being able to tour the United Nations in Geneva tops the list, though being in a field in the Alps and breaking into song with "The Hills are Alive..." is a close second (for those of you who do not know, the Sound of Music is my favorite movie of all time, and when I was little I used to watch it multiple times a day; it drove my family crazy). Haha. I arrived in Avignon, France last Wednesday, and I am glad to be back in France but I also miss Switzerland, especially the Alps. There are quite a few Switzerland pictures below, but I could not narrow them down any more. I hope you enjoy them!!

Interlaken

Geneva

Ballenberg

Fribourg

Fribourg

Hiking in the Alps

Hiking in the Alps

Interlaken

Fribourg

Interlaken. This is my dream home.

Geneva

Geneva

Fribourg

Fribourg

Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne

Geneva

Ballenberg

Hiking in the Alps

Hiking in the Alps