Les Jours Deux Par Neuf (The days two through nine)

Well, it took me a while to update, didn't it? It's not like we've done a whole lot during the actual week. I suppose I just didn't have the 'inspiration' to write about it.

So I suppose I'll start at jour deux, that is day two.

October 10th was my daddy's birthday! Yay! I think he was very excited to be in France and get to spend his day that way. We woke him up by singing to him and after getting dressed, we headed to the Arc de Triomphe. Of course, we did make a stop at the Patisserie along the way. :D Mmmmm...

The Arc de Triomphe was pretty cool, but not my favorite. It was insanely hot inside, because of all the moving bodies, and I wasn't feeling good- so that could have affected my view of it. :P

Afterward, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower, grabbing lunch on our way.

The line to get tickets was insanely long, but ended up moving along pretty quickly. So many people were there that I was sure I'd get lost in the crowd! I overheard a few Americans while I was there as well, which made me feel a little happier. :D

The elevators to the top scared me, I'll admit. Not really because I'm scared of heights, but because I get claustrophobic. Luckily, they didn't cram them as tight as I'd expected and I made a mad dash for corners so I could breath.
Standing at the top was super cool. Some people threw off little bits of paper, and while I don't approve of littering, it was so cool to watch how far the wind carried each one and how long it took for it to hit the ground.
At some point, I realized that anyone could stick their head out of the wire encasing, because my head fit. Not that I would try sticking my whole head through- if my neck got stuck I'm pretty sure I would pass out. So instead, I told Mitchell to. Dad and I laughed so hard when he did and pretended to get it stuck. I, of course, whipped out my camera (which was dying) and got a great picture. Greatness!

We even got to sing happy birthday to Dad, and some others joined in!
A few minutes later, we were still looking around and Mom was leaning against the wall when some water shot out of the top of the ceiling and it started raining whatever it was all over her. She screamed and jumped away, which was hilarious. Another little girl decided she would dance underneath it, before her mother cuffed the back of her head and said something in another language that likely resembled "You don't know what that is!"
When we left, we had our first ride on the Metro. Of course this produced numerous Narnia quotations from me and resulted in Mitchell trying to convince us all that he'd been to Narnia. Of course, his inability to keep a straight face (or do a convincing English accent) definitely gave him away. :P

For the rest of the week, we didn't do much. I stayed home during most of it, still not feeling so hot, while Mom and Mitchell would leave to get food each day. Otherwise, it was a rather uneventful time in which we attempted to get caught up on homework, which I'm still a bit behind in (stupid Algebra 2 is too hard!).
On Thursday, I think it was, we got news that my sister, Valerie, had gone into labor! There were mixed sentiments- mainly because the due date was Nov 20th. But Mom had suspected she'd come early, with the way Val had been so uncomfortable as of late, and she was proven correctly.

Little Leah was born on October 16 at 6lbs. 15oz.!!! I want to hold her so badly!

On Friday, we went to the Louvre, which was spectacular. We really only got to see the Italian paintings, some beautiful sculptures, and other such things. But we still have alot that we weren't able to see, so I thinkwe'll be going back sometime soon! I really want to go back. The paintings were spectacular, though Mitchell and I found the Mona Lisa somewhat lacking.

I used to always think it was spectacular, but looking at it then- I wondered what made it so popular. There were plenty of far better paintings, with far better stories behind them, and far better detail. It could just be us, but we began to wonder what all the fuss was about.

Overall, my favorite two paintings that I saw were "The Virgin and the Child surrounded by two angels, holy Rose and holy Catherine of Alexandria" by Pietro Vannucci (I think) and "The Abduction of Helen" by Guido Reni. I also loved "The Four Seasons" by Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

I can't wait to go back and see others!

Really, I think I could make a good artist if I had enough patience. I can draw when I put my mind to it, but I get insanely frustrated because I want it to look precisely like the model to the point where it ceases to be a worthwhile pursuit for me. I think I'll just stick to writing. :D

Well, today we're set to see the Notre Dame. In fact, Dad's calling for us to leave now- so I've gotta go. We'll try to write more often from now on!

Have a blessed day!

P.S. I got a Superman comic book in French at the mall connected to the Louvre! So cool! Though I have to translate it- at least I'm a bit more motivated to learn the language now!