Things I'll Miss About Paris

Obviously I'm procrastinating in my studying for finals.  So here's a list of things that I'm really going to miss about France once I get back home.

• Not needing to straighten my hair (in Paris most women don't straighten or curl their hair everyday.  They brush it, mousse it, pin it up, clip pieces back, braid it, etc. but they almost never use heat products to contort it into an unnatural style.  I'm not looking forward to having to straighten my hair again every day in order to look nice and put together)
• Perfect weather (it's in the mid 70s here.  It's in the 100s at home.  Enough said.)
• Being of legal drinking age
• Fresh bread every day
• Pastries (donuts and coffee cake will no longer count as pastries for me.  I've been spoiled by the piles of pain au chocolat, tartes, macarons, and chaussons aux pommes on every corner here)
• Gelato (I might suffer withdrawal when I'm forced to stop eating it every day)
• Orangina
• Foreigners (not the French, it's the other foreigners I love meeting.  Like the waiter at a restaurant last week who was from Algeria and here studying electrical engineering.  And the guys from Scotland who'd heard of my last name before.  And the very cute Australian math teachers.  It's just so interesting to meet people from other countries on a regular basis.  Even if it usually is in a bar)
• The shopping.  The variety.  The clothes.  The sales.  Soooo wonderful here.
• The service in restaurants.  (They don't harass you here.  You need to flag your waiter down if you want something.  And the only time they'll indicate that they want you to leave is when they're closing for the night.  It's so nice not to be rushed or bothered)

Things I Miss About the United States

For awhile now I've been coming across things that I really miss about the US.  I mean, I love Paris, but sometimes I just wish I could turn on the TV and watch some Toddlers and Tiaras.  So here it is, my list of things that I really can't wait to get home to:

• TLC (Say Yes to the Dress and Cake Boss mainly, because there is nothing quite like hours of wedding and dessert related reality TV)
• Being so close to my family (distance-wise)
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Pull-N-Peel twizzlers
• Country music
• Penny
• Having my own room (I know this isn't something specifically American, but it's something that I'll have when I'm back in America so it counts)
• Being able to say I'm American.  The French find it to be very arrogant when you say you're from America or that you're an American.  They see all of North and South America as American.  So while I'm here I have to always say that I'm from the United States, which is tricky to do because I consider my nationality to be American.
• Cereal (mainly Lucky Charms, Raisin Bran, and Honey Nut Cheerios)
• Popcorn.  COVERED in butter.  The way Justine gets it at the movie theater
• Group iMessages on my iPhone
• Tabloids in the grocery store (I never realized how much I enjoyed reading their ridiculous headlines until I got here and they didn't have anything like that)
• American boys (there's really nothing quite like them.  European guys are very metrosexual.  They dress up nice during the day but at night they all wear tight jeans, tight shirts, blazers, scarves....it's disconcerting because that's sort of "gay" at home.  I just have a hard time calling a guy hot when we both own the same jeans.  Doesn't work for me.)

A Shopping Spree, Piles of Bones, and Crêpes Galore

On my last Saturday in Paris, I spent the morning and early afternoon relaxing and recovering from my Champagne night.  In the afternoon we decided to visit the Catacombs so a group of us headed to Denfert-Rochereau, where the entrance is.  Unfortunately, we got there at 3pm and the last entrance was at 4pm and the line was going to take about an hour and a half to get through.  So instead I took the RER up to Saint-Michel and then walked back to the Foyer, stopping along the way to shop and pick up some of the last few things I wanted to get here in Paris.

After I finished shopping, I met up with a few of the girls in my group and we went out for dinner at a restaurant by the Seine and Notre Dame.  It was surprisingly delicious for its inexpensive price.  I finally tried escargot, and also had boeuf bourguignon and chocolate mousse.

After dinner we went back to the Foyer and got ready to go out.  We went to our favorite bar, the Violon Dingue and hung out, talked, flirted with the cute bartender, and danced.  I ended up leaving around 2:30am and passed out almost right away when I got back home.

On Sunday we relaxed in the morning, but got up and headed to the catacombs around 1pm.  Unfortunately the line was still very long and we waited about two hours to get in.  By the time we got inside our numbers had dwindled from seven to four due to fact that it started raining.  And we only had one umbrella.  It wasn't too much fun.  But the catacombs were very cool.  At first you got down more than a hundred stairs to deep underground then you walk through all these tunnels for quite awhile.  Our group was all alone down there and so it was really creepy.  We kept thinking we'd just randomly turn a corner and suddenly see piles of bones.

There were also all sorts of dark gated off corners.  It was really creepy and we kept thinking we'd see a skeleton or two in one of them when we took pictures using flash.  Alas no luck there.  Probably a good thing...

Finally however, we came upon a very creepy doorway.  Almost like a dolmen.  It's in french, but basically it translates to "Stop!  This is here the Empire of Death."  Reminded me a lot of the doorway in Lord of the Rings that says something to the effect of "The Way is shut, it was made by those who are Dead and the Dead keep it."

Then we walked in.  And there were bones EVERYWHERE.

Some of them are even arranged kind of artistically.  Like this random creepy drum of bones in the middle of a room.

They just go on for miles too.  There were so many gates like the ones below that blocked off entire huge chambers of nothing but more bones and more passages.  It was like some sort Edgar Allen Poe inspired labyrinth from hell down there.  Being lost in that rabbit warren of bones would probably be the worst thing that could EVER happen to me.

I also decided to get sneaky and carve my name into the wall on the way out.  So my friend and I pulled out keys and went to work.  It's a bit sloppy, but I didn't want to get caught.  Such a great way to leave my mark on Paris!

When we finally left it was still raining so I stopped to grab dinner on the way home then just headed back to the Foyer for the night.  I skyped my mom and dad then showered and went to bed.  It wasn't my busiest weekend, but was still an exhausting one.

Today was my last full day of classes and my last day of French History class (tomorrow we have an outing).  Classes started at 9:15am and went until about 12:15pm when we got a break for lunch.  I headed down to La Croissanterie and a delicious sandwich, soda, and citron tartlette.  Despite its yumminess however, my meringue is of much higher quality than theirs.  

After lunch we had our last class of the day and then I was free!  I spent the afternoon packing and listening to music.  I figured if I packed today, I wouldn't be tempted to do it when I need to study for finals tomorrow and I'll be free on my last afternoon in Paris on Thursday to do whatever I want.

After packing I watched some True Blood then my group went out to dinner together.  Our program director had set up a dinner out for us at a very nice crêpe restaurant just off the Champs-Élysées.

At the restaurant I got a salty crêpe and a dessert crêpe.  My salty crêpe (which was actually a galette, or a thicker and browner crêpe) was filled with bacon, potatoes, cheese, and sour cream.  So delicious.

My dessert crêpe however was the pièce de résistance.  It was a thin crêpe with orange marmalade, chocolate fudge sauce, chopped nuts, and flaming Grand Marnier.

After dinner I headed back to the Foyer and showered, by then it was almost 11pm so I finished my last episode of True Blood and am now finishing my blog.  Once I finish this I'm going to get ready for bed then pass out because tomorrow is going to be another very busy day.

Last Friday in Paris

Yesterday was my last Friday in Paris.  Talk about depressing.  Of course, the day was actually so busy I didn't have much time to be sad that my trip was almost over.  Class started at the ungodly hour of 8:30am, meaning I had to be up by 7:30am.  And of course it was for French lit, my least favorite class.  After suffering and sleeping through the required 75 minute class we had a quick meeting (where we got a hundred extra euros!) then got on the metro to go to Saint Denis, a suburb just north of Paris.

The first thing we did when we arrived was visit the Basilica of Saint-Denis, sometimes referred to as the Royal Necropolis of France because so many of the French kings and Queens are buried there.

The church itself was definitely very lovely with the requisite stained glass, high arched nave, and large rose window, but the really interesting thing about the basilica was definitely all the old tombs, including those of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The first king of France (Clovis I) was also located there, as was Henry II and Catherine de Medicis, Louis XIV, Pepin le Bref, Charles Martel, and Francois I among many others.  The creepiest part of it all was in the crypts below the basilica.  There were more graves down there, but also the only part of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's son that could be found: his heart.

There were also a lot of super creepy paintings and pictures of Saint Denis.  I guess he was beheaded or something because in all of them he's holding his bleeding head in his arms.  Yuck.

After we left the basilica we went to the nearby market, which is one of the best in the city.  It's huge with every type of produce, meat, cheese, bread, clothing, accessory, furniture, and home good imaginable.  However it was also a bit more intimidating than the markets in the city because it's in the suburbs, meaning it draws a much more ethnic crowd.  I didn't see very many european people there that day.  Lots of women in burkhas, men in long robes and turbans, Indian women in saris, etc.  It was interesting, but I also got the feeling that it could get kind of dicey.

When we left Saint Denis, a group of us headed straight to our next outing at the Musée d'Orsay.  Once we got nearby we stopped to get lunch at a café where I had an espresso and a delicious salad with artichokes and avocado.

At the Musée d'Orsay we looked at all the Art Nouveau furniture and goods to get a better feel for the time period.  I didn't get to stay that long however because one of my roommates had gone back to our room after the outing to Saint-Denis and while there she couldn't open our door.  Neither could the women in housekeeping.  And so if we didn't report to the repairman about it by 5pm, when he was leaving for vacation, we wouldn't be getting into our room anytime soon.  So around 3pm we left the Musée d'Orsay early and caught a bus back to the Foyer to talk to the repairman.  Luckily our door got fixed and we didn't need to worry.


I spent the afternoon napping and recuperating from my early morning then went out for a late dinner at a nearby café with some of the girls in my group.  I got a wonderful bowl of french onion soup, a glass of white wine, and a caramel mousse for dessert.

After dinner we headed to the Champs de Mars, stopping to buy champagne along the way.  We sat in front of the Eiffel Tower for about two hours then, laughing, talking, taking pictures, and drinking champagne.

Eventually we caught the metro back to the Foyer just before 1:30am, when it closes, and went to bed.  It had definitely been a long day.

Picasso, Mondrian, Rothko Oh My!

Today I got up extra early to take a shower before classes started at 9:15am.  Fortunately, there were only two classes and I was done by noon.  When class ended I took a walk around the block to a nearby crêperie I hadn't tried yet.  It might've been the best crêpe I've had yet.  They made the pancake part fresh in front of me and then stuffed it full of cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and onions.  Delicious.


After a short lunch break we headed to the Centre Pompidou, otherwise known as the modern and contemporary arts museum in Paris.  The building was designed to be more or less inside-out, with the escalators, pipes, and ducts all wrapping around the outside of the building.  It's very modern.

Inside the building the museum takes up the fourth and fifth floors.  We had a guide who showed us around to give us a basic understanding of modern art.  We started with a painting from Georges Braque from 1905,

then moved on to see a wide variety of Kandinskys, Picassos, and various other pieces by artists that I didn't recognize.  The following is my favorite Picasso from the museum, titled "L'Aubade" or "The Dawn."

I was also excited to see Andy Warhol's pop art depiction of Liz Taylor:

And Rothko's very famous and very modern "Untitled": 

I saw plenty of other interesting and thought provoking pieces, including an extremely disturbing exhibit by a Russian artist showing the regression of society into animals.  I couldn't make myself take pictures of it because it was so disturbing, but I doubt I'll forget it soon.  The artist was completely naked and wearing a choke collar like the kind put on a large pit bull.  In all the pictures he's behaving the same way an aggressive dog would, tugging at the leash, baring his teeth, trying to leap from a moving car....it was freakishly violent (the museum even had a warning in the doorway) but also very thought-provoking.


After leaving the museum I went back to the Latin Quarter with two of the girls in my group.  Along the way we stopped at a bakery to pick up snacks for later and baguettes for dinner.  I spent the evening working on homework, making and eating dinner, and helping a few other people with papers that are due at midnight tonight.  For awhile I thought about going out for a drink, but since I'm already exhausted and class starts at 8:30am tomorrow, I figured that wouldn't be my best idea.

The Past Three Days

The past three days have flown by and for various reasons I haven't been blogging.  So this is about to be a long one to catch up on everything I've been up to.


On Monday I woke up around 8am and went to class.  Not just one class.  All three classes.  Granted I had a lunch break in there where I was able to go grab a sandwich, but otherwise I was on the go with class until late afternoon.  That's when I took a break to go do my grocery shopping.  By the time I came back it was almost 6pm so I relaxed and made myself dinner.


The only interesting thing of the day was when we went to a nearby bar after dinner for happy hour and olympics coverage.  It was a lot of fun, just sitting around drinking long islands, raving about the American swim team, and gossiping with the girls on my trip.  Around 10pm we headed home and called it an early night.


The next morning we woke up bright and early to meet our French history professor in Montmartre.  With him we toured the neighborhood, seeing Sacre Coeur, the only vineyard in Paris, and of course, Place du Tertre.

After the outing we took the metro back to the Foyer and had a few minutes to grab a quick lunch before heading to our last two classes.  Once they ended we only had a little bit of time to get ready for the theater that night.  At 6pm we left the Foyer and walked about 8 blocks to the Théâtre de la Huchette.  


We were there to see La Cantatrice Chauve (translated as The Bald Soprano), an absurdist play that has been performed every night at this theater for the past 55 years or so.  It's the longest running play in theater history or something.  Either way I found the play to be awful.  Absurdism can be good, but I didn't like the play when I read it and I liked it even less when I was forced to sit in a hot, stuffy room and watch it.  The actors did a good job, I just found it to be trite.  It wasn't good absurdism, it was just a sort of haphazard attempt at social criticism through theater of the absurd.  Not a fan.


After the theater I rewarded myself with gelato (chocolate and nutella) and headed back to the Foyer where I spent the night catching up on homework for today.


Today we met Madame Szeps at La Grande Mosquée de Paris, the largest mosque in Paris.  We had a guide who showed us around and talked to us about Islam.  We were able to see the central courtyard, the gardens, the library, and even the prayer room (though we couldn't enter).

The guide was very knowledgable and a bit loquacious about his faith, but not in a pushy way.  He was just trying to explain to a group of Americans what it truly meant to be a Muslim.  He did a great job in my opinion, even if he was a bit long-winded.

After this trip we headed back to the Foyer where we ate a quick lunch then went to our next two classes. After class we went to the theater in the Luxembourg Gardens to see one of the famous puppet shows put on there for children.  This show was the story of the three little pigs, told with puppets, singing, dancing, and set changes.  It was very cute.  Even cuter were all the little French babies sitting in the front and laughing and yelling at the puppets.  


When the puppet show ended I went to out to meet Nikki and Ilia for dinner on their last night here.  We ended up at a café on Saint-Germain where we sat for about three hours.  I had two delicious glasses of Sancerre and a Croque Monsieur, all for fifteen euros!

After dinner we headed across the bridges onto Île Saint-Louis where we wandered a bit then stopped for gelato at Amorino.  This time I got caramel and cinnamon.  Sooo good.  We walked a bit more and ended up in front of Notre Dame where a group of fire dancers were performing.  They were incredibly talented so we stopped to watch for a bit.  There was a girl who used a fiery hula hoop, one fire-breather, and another guy who twirled flames and used fireworks too.  It was so cool.

After this we split up and they headed back to their hotel to get some sleep before their early flight and I walked back to the Foyer.  Along the way I passed a group of breakdancers who were performing (singing and dancing) to Prince's "Kiss" so I had to stay a watch a little.  Then they started up with Michael Jackson.  Quite impressive.


After this I walked the rest of the way home, where I got ready for bed, and am now here writing my blog.  It's definitely been a very busy couple of days.

The Streets of Montmartre

Today I slept in until about 9am then got up, had breakfast, then got dressed and ready for the day.  I met Nikki and Ilia at the Madeleine metro stop and we headed up to Montmartre together.  We got off at the bottom of the hill at Place Pigalle, also known as the Redlight District in Paris.

I expected it to be slightly shocking and the area certainly delivered.  There was a section of about four blocks where old-cabarets-turned-strip-clubs fought for attention between the flashing neon lights in the windows of sex shops and exotic lingerie shops played peek-a-boo out amidst the gaudy attention grabbing signs, posters, and lights.  This is also, of course, the location of the infamous Moulin Rouge.  The establishment is now nothing but a watered-down, overpriced dinner show for naive tourists and nothing like its former glamorous, seedy, absinthe serving, twenty-four/seven rager self.

After passing through this area we started the trek up the hill, weaving between small streets, staircases, and a few level squares and parks.  We eventually ended up at the Place du Tertre, a small square right near Sacre-Coeur that is famous for it's street artists.  It's the best place in Paris to buy paintings of the city, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything I was willing to buy.  The only things I could afford were small 4x6 sized canvases that cost almost 40 euros.  Anything bigger costs much closer to a 100 euros, depending of the medium and quality.


After passing through here we headed up to the Sacre-Coeur.  We walked through the basilica, which was lovely and very eastern orthodox.  I was actually quite surprised by the byzantine-style mosaics and high white domes.  It was interesting to see this old fashioned art contrast with the modern stained glass windows.  We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and it was almost too crowded to even try, so I don't have any of what the interior looks like, but the outside was definitely beautiful.

We ended up slowing making our way down the large stairs and lawns in front of the basilica.  The views of the city were beautiful and there was a lot going on in the area today.  There were gypsies trying to con tourists out of their money, hawkers selling fake ray-bans and burberry purses, a harpist, tourists taking pictures, locals sunbathing, an old man playing a violin, and plenty of other people and things to see.

Once we finally made our way to the bottom we stopped in a few stores nearby to do some browsing and shopping.  Eventually we stopped for a late lunch at a place selling crêpes where we sat and talked while watching the Olympics on the tv until about 3pm.  Then I headed back to the Latin Quarter while Nikki and Ilia went to the Louvre.


I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening doing homework, making dinner, and hanging out here.  It ended up raining most of the late evening so even if I had wanted to go out, the rain would've discouraged me from having anything but a relaxing Sunday evening at home.

Big-Little Adventures in Paris: Part One

Today I got up (like every other day it seems) at a terribly early hour.  By 8am I was showered, dressed, and eating breakfast and by 8:10am I was briskly walking through the Paris streets to a metro station on Saint-Germain.  I met Nikki and Ilia at a metro station near their hotel at 8:30am and then we headed to the Eiffel Tower.


The Eiffel Tower has only one elevator this summer (it usually has two) so the lines are taking twice as long as usual to get up.  The other elevator has been broken down for months but because it's custom made for the Eiffel Tower and all that you can't just order the broken parts from a catalog and it takes awhile to get fixed.  We ended up waiting in line for about an hour and a half, but it didn't feel so long because we spent the whole time talking and catching up.

Eventually we got onto the elevator and were taken up to the 2nd level.  We stopped off to take pictures and enjoy the view, then boarded the elevator leading to the top.

At the top you could see out all over the city.  It was very beautiful, but sadly it was also very hazy so the visibility was terrible.  It was almost impossible to even see Montmartre, and that's pretty close by!  We ended up deciding that while both the top and 2nd levels have great views, the 2nd is better from smoggy days like today when you need to be closer to the ground to see farther.

Eventually we took the elevator back to the 2nd level, then walked down the stairs to the ground.  We then took some very cute pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars before leaving the area.

We crossed the Seine and headed up towards the Arc de Triomphe.  On our walk we ran into an open air market so we stopped by to see if we could find lunch there.  We ended up each getting a panini, drink, and pastry for 5 euros each.  Walking a little farther up the street we found a quiet park bench to sit down and enjoy our meal.


After eating we headed up to the Arc de Triomphe where we took pictures and watched traffic fly around the traffic circle.  Definitely one of the busiest parts of the city that I've seen yet.

After finishing up there we walked down the Champs-Elysées from the Arch to the Place de la Concorde.  Along the way we stopped into a few shops, watched some street performers, and wandered a bit.

When we finished taking pictures at the Place de la Concorde, we walked over to the large department stores: Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.  At Au Printemps we browsed briefly then left, but at Galeries Lafayette we actually spent some time shopping.  We also stopped into Angelina, a tea room that serves gourmet teas, coffees, pastries, and hot chocolate.

After sitting at Angelina for awhile we headed back into the store and did some more shopping.  When we finished we continued our walk back in the direction of their hotel.  On the way we stopped for dinner at a café where I got a chicken club sandwich and a glass of sauvignon-blanc.


Once I dropped them off at their hotel I hopped onto the metro and headed back to the Foyer.  I got back around 10pm and took shower, skyped my parents and sister, then uploaded pictures to facebook. Once I finished that I started my blog and once that's done, I'm going to bed.

Les Invalides and Finally Seeing My Big!

Classes started at an awfully early 9:15am this morning.  I did, however, manage to drag myself downstairs by a suitable hour for breakfast before class.  First we had french literature (where we were supposed to have started a play but had never been given the book.  So sad).  After dying during the long 75 minute french literature class, french civilization began.  We took an easy EU map quiz then learned about the different french political parties.


After class I made a quick lunch in my room then had to hurry to get on the metro to get to Les Invalides by 12:50pm.  Les Invalides is both the military chapel where Napoleon and other great french general are buried, but also a military history museum.

Napoleon's tomb was ridiculously large.  Apparently he's buried in multiple coffins in there.  Either way I found it to be excessive for such a small man.  And that's before you count my personal opinions about Napoleon and his war-mongering, despotic, mass-murdering ways.

After wandering around this area for a little while we went into the military history section of the museum and looked at all of the objects of medieval warfare.  The collection included everything from suits of armor to saddles to swords to crossbows.  They also have some of the first rifles ever created and used in combat.  It was definitely a very interesting series of exhibits.

After leaving Les Invalides, I went with three other girls from my group to a large electronics, computer, and bookstore called FNAC.  It's sort of like a multimedia superstore.  There we browsed their collections of literature, fiction, and most interesting: cookbooks!  I bought two, one for gourmet desserts and another for basic recipes.


We'd barely arrived back at the Foyer when the front desk called up to my room to let me know that I had visitors downstairs.  I ran down and was FINALLY reunited with my big!  Nikki, Ilia, and I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Latin Quarter so they got a pretty good feeling for the neighborhood.  Then we went to a nearby cafe for dinner where I finally tried mussels.  They were delicious and fantastic.  Yummm.  After dinner we went to a bar nearby and got a few drinks and sat around talking.


Around 11pm they headed back to their hotel and I stayed at the bar a bit longer to hang out with some of the people from my group who'd shown up.  Around midnight I headed home because we're going to the Eiffel Tower tomorrow so I need to be up bright and early.  Oh yay.

Strasbourg

Today I felt like I did the impossible: woke up at 5am.  By 5:40am we were tearing through the streets of Paris at an unbearably fast pace to get to a metro station that would take us directly to our destination of the Gare de l'Est (or the East Train Station).  Fortunately upon our arrival I had time to get a chausson aux pommes (sort of like an apple turnover) and a water before boarding the TGV and zooming off to the French-German border.


We arrived in Strasbourg at just about 9am and at 9:30am we met our tour guide in front of the city's cathedral.

The cathedral was built in several different parts so it's made up of three different architectural styles: Romanesque, Gothic, and High Gothic.  It also has an enormous amount of stained glass and is very well-preserved.  

After leaving the cathedral, we went on a tour of the oldest part of the town, known as Petite France.  

Here, the canal's wind through the narrow cobblestone streets, houses are made of wooden beams and plaster, and flowers bloom in profusion in every window.  It was absolutely enchanting.

So much so that we decided to eat lunch there when we were given our "lunch break" around 11:30am.  

I have to say that this was probably the best meal I've had so far in France.  The server was strangely friendly and outgoing, the atmosphere was wonderful, and the food was to die for.  I ordered the formule, so my first course was a salad and munster cheese pastry:

My entree was a mixed grill with salad and frites: 

And my dessert was a to-die-for crème brûlée: 

After lunch we got onto a bus and drove about an hour south to a castle in the Vosges mountains.  The castle is known as Haut-Koenigsbourg and used to be a medieval castle, in use until about 1500.  In the Thirty Years War it was sieged and abandoned until 1900 when it was renovated to look mostly like it used to in the Middle Ages.

The best part about the castle though was the view from the top level.  From there you can see out for miles into the valley where small villages are nestled in between fields and vineyards.

On the drive back to Strasbourg we weaved through wine country instead of taking the highway.  Though we were speeding along rather briskly in the bus, I still managed to get some great pictures of the countryside.

When we arrived back in the city we stopped to pay a quick visit to both the European Parliament and the European Council, both parts of the European Union and located in Strasbourg.

Then we got back on the TGV and headed back to Paris.  We arrived in the city a bit after 9pm and then took a bus back to the Foyer.  I immediately took a shower and made dinner.  I'm currently uploading pictures, finishing my blog, and going to bed.  Today was exhausting.