The Musee D’orsay

The Musee D’orsay. Some say the most rewarding museum in Paris, and I heartily agree with them. Personally, I find the D’orsay a more educational and rewarding place than the Louvre. Sure, ya gotta see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory, but after you get your gottas out of the way, come to D’orsay. The D’orsay is mostly impressionist art, but on the ground floor there are ornate modern statues and a model of the statue of liberty. Once, the D’orsay was a train station. Then the French realized it was a good place to store the massive art collection scattered around the great city. The tracks were removed, and the trains were hauled away to be turned into scrap metal.

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Here is my brother with a famous painting by van Gough. (Another caption for this title is “Stinky in a museum”).

The Arć de Triomph ( The Arc of Triumph)

Today we went to the Arć de Triomph. This isn’t, and I repeat IS NOT a history lesson, but I would like you to know a little bit about the “Acc de Trumph” ( my brother’s words, not mine). The  Arć de Triomph was built in Napoleon’s time. Napoleon built it as a monument for soldiers who had died in a war. When we got there, we climbed to the top, climbed back down, and took pictures.

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Here is a little rhyme I made up:

Humpty Dumpty’s great great great grandfather sat on the Arć de triomph.

Humpty Dumpty’s great great great grandfather had a great fall.

All Napoleon’s horses and all Napoleon’s men couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty’s great great great grandfather back together again. 😉

The Versailles (Ver-Si)

Today we went to the Versailles. It was the old home of Louis XIV – XVI   (XIV = 14 and XVI = 16). There are lots of pictures of the Louiss in the old palace. Compare the first Louis, Louis the 14 to his successor, Louis the 16. They both have the arrogant air about them, but Louis the 16 just doesn’t have the confidence (or the neck strength) to keep his head on his shoulders. Louis The 16 was unfortunate enough to be the king during the French revolution.  During the French revolution, citizens stormed the Versailles and fought for the declaration of the  rights of man. Later, during the reign of terror the aristocrats heads were chopped of by a guillotine. THE GARDEN IS HUGE!!!  IT’S EVEN BIGGER THAN THE PALACE!!! AND THE PALACE IS HUGE!!! The fountains are amazing! I wonder how they got water spouting out from the ground in those days.IMG_1066IMG_1079IMG_1076

 

 

 

First day in Paris!

Today we went to the Eiffel tower and  the Louvre. IT  WAS AWESOME!!!!!!  We took a Photo of the Eiffel tower (who wouldn’t ?).

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At the Louvre, we saw the Mona Lisa by Da Vinci, The Dying Slave by Michelangelo, and the Wedding Feast by Aline François..

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IMG_0917 They were all awesome. After that, we were so tired that we took a train to our apartment, flopped down on the beds, and played video games until dinnertime.

Travel Day

Yesterday we got in a rental car and drove for 3 hours to LA, where we boarded a plane and flew for over 12 hours. Fisher and I played iPad for the majority of the flight  ;-). We arrived in Sweden this morning and waited for 3 hours. After the waiting, we boarded a plane to France. After that, we will book an apartment in Paris. I am very excited for the trip. It will be very fun!

 

 

 

 

Leaving Thailand

Today we went on a seventeen hour plane ride from Bankok to San Fransisco. Fisher and I played a lot of ipad (yawn). we also got plenty of sle…zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

We went on a three hour plane ride from Thailand to Taiwan (a small island in the Pacific Ocean). Then we went on a fourteen hour plane ride from Taiwan to San Fransisco. Then we went to our uncle’s house (in Livermore) and slept over. And finally, we went back to our house and went to sleep.

Kayak trip

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Now we are in railay (ra-ly), and we are totally creeped out. What do you expect when a flock of bats swoops over you in a sea cave? Or a normal cave? Either way, It is freaky! We are also kayaking like our lives depend on it. Welllllll… they actually do. What do you expect when your being chased by box jellies, the largest and most poisonous of the jelly family? What about an angry great white shark that got slapped on the head with a paddle? Very scary. I might have exagerated a bit.

We also saw some grand scenery. Huge granite cliffs topped with razor sharp rocks, great islands bigger then a house, and gaint caves with vicous stalagtites pointing down from the ceiling. We kayaked through tunnels and caves, and waded out into the ocean to look at fish and crabs.

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Phuket, thailand The day we finished Harry Potter #5

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have been working on that book for almost one year (well, actually only three months, but if feels like a year). If it’s that long, I can’t imagine how long #6 and #7 are. Pretty much all we did today was read Harry and swim. After two hours, we went to the pool bar (a island bar in the middle of the pool) and had a milkshake (slurp) and pizza. Then, we went to our hotel room and finished the 5th book. Next up, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix #5 the movie!