The hilltowns are a series of villages in southern France. The townspeople are folk who are country dwellers and nature lovers. The houses are old and crumbly, but cozy. The roads are steep, and there are lots of stairs. We went to Seguret, a town known for it’s security and cafes. Later, we went to Gigindas, where there was an EXTREME rainstorm. We couldn’t have gotten much wetter if we had jumped into the ocean! Then, we went to our apartment, changed clothes, and did art until dinnertime.

The arena is an ancient roman ruin in Nimes. It is a smaller and less grand(but more educational) version of the colosseum in Rome. We walked around amid the ruins and split up. I was with my dad. we listened to the audio tour and looked at the gladiator costumes. There were several kinds of armor. Unfortunately, I cannot remember all of them, so I can’t list them here. In the audio tour, I learned that in the mornings, it was gladiators VS wild beasts, at midday, it was criminals VS wild beasts, and in the afternoons and evenings, it was gladiator VS gladiator.

At the Aqueduct we found some frogs and swam and saw some centipede/worm/fish? creatures. The roman ruins in France are considered to be better than the ruins in Rome.

The Luxemburg Gardens are a series of hedges and flowerpots around the French Senate building. For fun we had bought a scavenger hunt book called Mission Paris for the Gardens it had listed 3 statues for us to find. There are so many statues it is like an outdoor museum. There was a fountain where we rented mini sailboats and pushed them into each other.

Today we went to the military museum and the dome de Invalides. The WW 1 and 2 section really got me thinking, were we really on the “good” side in world wars I and II? Sure, Hitler killed millions of people, but the only two atomic bombs ever dropped were dropped by the U.S. It was really fun though, we posed next to the armor in the medieval section. I also posed by model tanks in the WW II section. Overall, the military museum was awesome.

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.

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

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.

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. 😉

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.

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

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

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.

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!