Lovely Weekend Bike Ride

A friend and myself took a long bike ride recently as the weather has suddenly turned beautiful somehow in the middle of February.  We followed the canals outside of the city limits and finally found the countryside I've been missing the past few months.  Here are some photos of our short journey.

Flat Stanley

Every year, thousands of American elementary school kids learn about Flat Stanley.  Flat Stanley is a character from a book who is, well of course, flat and travels around the world in envelopes due to his flat state.  Upon reading the story, kids are meant to draw and mail their own Flat Stanleys to family and/or friends to help them learn about a new place in the world.  Last week my little brother, Adam, mailed me a Flat Stanley.  This past week me and ol' Flat Stanley palled around Strasbourg, France and got some cool pics together.  Enjoy everyone...especially Adam!

Here we are at Place Kléber, the largest plaza in the city center. 

One nice day we took a stroll to the Musée d'Art Moderne (modern art museum).  The art was interesting, but unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures of the works.

Perhaps the most exciting thing going on in Strasbourg right now is the filming of Sherlock Holmes 2, which Flat Stanley and I were not about to miss!  We even got to see the filming of the big explosion scene that we hear will be part of the opening scene of the movie.

Of course, I couldn't let Flat Stanley come to Strasbourg and not see its famous cathedral.  

Walking through town one can't miss the lovely canals that surround the city center.

Flat Stanley, myself and some of my friends took a ride on one of the "bateaux mouches" or fly boats.  These are boats tours that ride along the canals of the city and give a more detailed explanation of the historical sites around Strasbourg.

 Finally, Flat Stanley was introduced to the famous pastries of France!

I think Flat Stanley enjoyed himself and he tells me he thinks everyone should come enjoy Strasbourg, France!

Off to Paris for the Weekend!

Hi family and friends,

Haven't posted much what with the hectic holiday season and all, but now I'm back in full swing in La France.  I have settled into my new classes at school and otherwise have been relaxing while enjoying being back in Strasbourg with my friends here.  That is, until this past weekend when I went to Paris for a few days to meet up with my aunt Nikki.  We spent most of our time parading around to see as many tourist destinations and to eat at as many French cafés as possible within the weekend.  Below are some pics of the highlights. 

Here's me in front of the Musée d'Orsay,  the prime time modern art hot spot of Paris.  As you can see, I am standing in front of the large replica of Vincent Van Gogh's self-portrait (in fact, one of my favorites).  I saw many original paintings by Van Gogh and other important artists from the turn of the 20th century--->the time period from which modern art was born. 

Here was a delicious, but hard to cut, traditional French dessert we split called a "Mille Feuille."   Miam! as the French like to say.

Here is the large, impressive fountain at Place St. Michel.

Right nearby sits the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral, which means "our lady" in French.  It is the title given by the French Catholic to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Construction first began in 1163, yet the cathedral was completed in 1345.  Actually, many churches have the name Notre Dame throughout France, but this is obviously the most famous one known around the world.

Voilà the Arc de Triomphe (Triumphal Arch), which stands at the western end of Champs-Élysée Avenue in the middle of Place Charles de Gaulle.  This monument honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

And here is the iconic, glass pyramid, which serves as the entrance to the Louvre art museum.  You enter the pyramid and go beneath ground to buy tickets or see the shops below.  This is the most visited art museum in the world and averages around 15,000 visitors a day.  Over 35,000 works of art are present here, including the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. 

Oh yeah, and the Eiffel Tower.  Built by Gustave Eiffel in 1889, it is the highest building in Paris (2nd tallest in France) at 1,063 ft tall (or about an 81 story building).  This is the most visited paid monument in the world, as it cost about 8 euros to take an elevator to the top.   It is also nicknamed "la dame de fer" or the "iron lady."

Here is the Moulin Rouge where the can-can dance was first born.  This is an entertainment venue that dates back to 1889 and still provide nightly musical dance shows.

Eiffel Tower at night.  Enough said.

And last, but not least, the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basilica which sits upon the hill in the Montmartre region of Paris as the highest point in the city.  Just in front of the church there is an amazing view of Paris and its surrounding areas. 

Hope you all have enjoyed this small visual rending of Paris!  Talk soon!