{PARIS}

We've been enjoying our time in Europe. I guess it's time to share some of our travels with you. :)

Paris is so close to Brussels that we did it on a regular weekend. We took an early morning bus on Saturday. Then, after seeing sites for two days, we traveled back Sunday evening. It was a busy two days but, a ton of fun!


(Don't worry... If you want a short version Jason's Paris Top Ten is coming soon)

Becca's Detailed Travel Log...

We packed the first day as full as possible to leave time for the Louvre and other Museums for Sunday. (The first Sunday of the month Museums in Paris are free). We took the bus at 5:30 in the morning arriving around 9:30AM. Jason tried to sleep while I read up and planned all the places we would go. (Thanks Mama Bunker for your travel book!!)

Stop one... Notre Dame. Thanks to our Monday night French class in the States, we learned that Notre Dame means "Our Lady." It was covered in decoration, paintings, sculptures, relics, and stained glass. Back in the day, these decorations were some of the only way people knew of Christ and the Bible. Truly Amazing! I loved every second of it. I think Jason was searching for Quasimodo. Wonder if he found him?

Next was the Royal Palace and prison. This is where Marie Anoitonette and others were held during the French Revolution. All of which was on our walk towards Sainte Chapalle, another great Cathedral. This one is known for its 15 stain glass windows that contain over 1,000 biblical scenes.

Definitely worth seeing! I tend to want to see everything, and Jason likes to glance and only look at things that catch his eye. So if you are like Jason this could take about 10 min, but if you are like me it could take hours. :)

When we couldn't find the Metro to go to the Luxemburg Gardens we decided to walk along the river towards the Museum D'Orsay. We ate lunch on the steps and heard a ton of Japanese. I guess Paris is a popular destination for them too. The Museum was full of Impressionist art, and I think Jason and I would have appreciated it more if we had known the authors and their work. There was one statue that caught my eye. (And no Jason, it was not one of the many naked ones). It was a middle aged man that was dressed up like a farmer. It had looked like he had already put in a hard day of work. But, he was rolling up his sleeves, head forward, pressing on the work. It reminded me of all the people around us who work hard and continue even when they are tired. Parents, Grandparents, Mothers, Missionaries, Students, everyone who has already worked so hard, yet they know they need to continue and finish their work.

From there, Jason was museumed out and ready to check into the hotel. So we walked across the river to take a picture at the Place de Concord. It started as a statue of Louis XV, but was torn down during the Revolution so that the guillotine could be set up. This is where over 1,000 people including Marie Antoinette died.

On our way over,we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. We both wanted to be the first to see it. Unfortunately, Jason was the first to see it. (Which fact I will probably hear about that for the rest of my life).

After checking into our hotel we headed to one more museum, Museum Guimet, which is a major museum of Asian art. You can't miss the Asian sites when traveling with Jason, even if you are in Europe. It was pretty neat. Each floor was dedicated to a different country including, India, Afghanistan, Thailand, Korea, China and Japan. I realized that Jason and I have only visited a small corner of Asia. I guess we have to travel more. (He is convinced next summer we will be in Korea or Thailand) It was great to see familiar art and I was pretty proud that I knew more of the Japanese things than Jason. I guess that makes up for him being the first to see the Eiffel Tower.

There is a great picture spot for the Eiffel Tower just a block or two from the Museum. it was crowded, but we were able to squeeze in a few shots.

From there we caught the Metro to see the Arc De Triumph. It was huge and set up in the middle of a roundabout, you can't really miss it. The arc was built by Napoleon to be a triumphal gateway. It was a little confusing finding the tunnel that allows you to walk around the arc. Believe me, we wandered, but we eventually found it. There was some sort of military ceremony going on when we got there. Maybe it had something to do with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that is beneath the arc. But, we don't speak French so who knows.

From there we headed back to the Eiffel Tower. We wanted to hit it around sun down or early evening. We spent a long time waiting in line for our ticket. By the time we reached the second level it was perfect lighting and a great view of Paris.

Since we were halfway there we decided to wait in another line (Paris is full of lines) to go all the way to the top. When we reached the top the lights were turning on. Jason joked that for being the "City of Lights" it really wasn't that lit up. But I guess that is bound to happen when you are standing on top of the most lit up thing in Paris.

Everynight the Eiffel Tower has a 'light show' where it flickers/sparkles. We decided to take the stairs down from the second level, and missed the first show (or as Jason would say, we were in the first light show). So we decided to walk back to the grassy area to get a better view for the next one.

It was nice to just sit down and take in the sites after running around all day. I was able to stop and think about how blessed Jason and I have been the two years we have been married. We have an awesome and supportive family, we have been able to travel and learn of new cultures, and we are almost done with school. We are so blessed!!

It was pretty late when we headed back. Luckily the Japanese restaurant near our hotel was open. It was super yummy because it was run by a Chinese family so it was a mix of both Chinese and Japanese food. YUM!

The next day we planned to spend most of the morning at the Louvre. We were told the first Sunday of every month it is free. However when we arrived, the Louvre was closed! May 1st is France’s Labor day. So we took a picture outside and tried to decide what to do with our morning. (Jason wasn’t too sad, and it’ll give us something to do if we ever go back).

I really wanted to see the Rodin Museum because it has famous statues such as the “The Thinker”. However, it was closed for the holiday as well. So we decided to try and find the Luxemburg Gardens again that had to be open, and it was. It was nice to just stroll through the park. It is a really popular park for exercising. Tons of people were running, doing karate, yoga, etc. They also had a little pavilion where a band was playing. You know how much I love parks, so it was a good relaxing place.

We decided to grab lunch before meeting up with Jelha at 3:00. Jelha stayed with us last week while traveling in Belgium. She lives near the Sacre-Coeur (Or Sacred Heart). We grabbed lunch at a DELICIOUS Vietnamese noodle restaurant, Pho-14. It was recommended by two Chinese girls that we hosted a couple weeks ago. (They gave us a lot of travel tips for Paris). However, we only had the metro stop not the address. So, we weren’t sure where to go once we got off the metro. We decided that if we follow the Chinese couples in front of us.(They are Asian, of course they would be going to the noddle place, right?) But after about 10 min we decided to try to find it on our own. It was super busy, which meant it was delicious. And Ironically, the couples we were following ended up there 5 min after us. I guess we could have followed them and made it. (That gave Jason and I a good laugh. In the corner of our picture you can see one of the Chinese we followed.) Utah really needs to get a ramen place. If you've noticed traveling with Jason, even in France, you'll eat Asian food. But it is totally worth it. We joke it may be worth the travel expenses just to eat at this place again. (Pretty sure this is Jason’s favorite part of Paris)

The Sacred Heart Cathedral and surrounding area ended up being my favorite area. The Sacred Heart was built by two business men who vowed to God if France survived the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 they would build a church. It was gorgeous! The prefect amount of detail. Truly a building dedicated to God. It was so open and light inside. The stain glass and the reliefs around the top of the dome were amazing. There was also a grad painting above the alter area of Christ with open arms. Definitely had a great spirit about it. I wish I would have had more time to admire it.

The Sacred Heart is built in an area of Paris that is much like San Fran, with all the hills. However, it had the most “Paris” Atmosphere. There were musicians playing, and we passed through the Artist square. It was hear where Van Gough, Picasso, and many other artists painted. Now it is dedicated to current artists. It was fun to see them create right in front of you. We wandered through the stalls and streets and saw the last two windmills, and a vineyard. We ended at Moulin Rouge. Not necessarily a place we had to see, but Jelha wanted to show us it. She had been a great guide and we are so grateful for her help. From there we had to travel back to the bus station and head home. Pretty busy week! We were able to see just about all the famous sites and then some.

~Bruges~

So we are a little behind in Blogging. The second Saturday here in Brussels we went to Bruges but we just never got around to writing about it.

~Bruges~

We traveled with three other interns from Jason's work: Matt and Erin from Utah, and Aleksandra who is from Poland. Pretty awesome group!

It was a fun and relaxing trip. Aleksandra gave me a run for my money in the picture taking department. She took tons of pictures :) I loved it because usually I am the photo fanatic. Poor Jason, I think he was maxed out by the end of the day. But we have some fun pictures between the two of us.

Once you get off the train you can see the Belfry tower in the distance. Which is great for direction impaired people like me. If you walk towards that you'll end up in the Market Square. It looks like it could come right out of a history book. They were setting up for an evening concert, but unfortunately we couldn't stay for it. The nice thing about Bruges is that it has a "old time" and "chill" feeling. There's enough to see, but we just enjoyed wandering around and window shopping.

My favorite thing we did was the boat tour around the canals. A boat tour is a perfect way to see Bruges if you ask me. You get to relax and have someone point out all the famous sites. Our tour guide was amazing! He first asked what languages he had on his boat. Then he did the tour in French, English, and German. I think Europe has a huge advantage and push to speak more than one language. Everyone we meet knows at least two or three languages. I feel out of place being only fluent in English. At least Jason has Japanese, not that it helps him much here.

Bruges, like Brussels, are famous for their chocolate, lace, waffles, and beer. In Bruges they have a 'Beer Wall' that shows all the different flavors and their collector cup. Didn't realize there were so many different kinds.

I learned that one popular Belgium flavor is the cherry flavored beer. Which according to Erin is good. We met up with Aleksandra's friend and grabbed a drink. I learned that grabbing a drink sounds deceiving. It sounds like a quick thing but, one glass of beer can take up to an hour to drink depending on how much you talk. Needless to say I drank my water too fast, but had a blast talking with everyone. It was good practice for couchsurfers.

Am I Teaching English or Learning French???

That is the question I ask myself everyday I teach. The kids couldn’t wrap their heads around that fact that I don’t speak French. :) So I learned colors, numbers, basic sentence structure, and many random other things in French. I guess total immersion can sometimes works both ways.

My first week of teaching I taught “Baby Club.” I thought this sounded like a TON of fun. But then I was told it would be 12 kids ranging in both age (3 to 5 years old) and level. Did I mention I taught 6 to 7 hours straight! Lets just say that I have a new and HUGE amount of RESPECT for my mother. She did 7 kids under the age of 8 or 9. She seriously must be superwomen! With that being we still had fun during the week. I had three Asian kids, Riki (Japanese), Selyna (Chinese), and Yerin (Korean). seriously adorable kids!

The kids favorite activity was reading The Hungry Caterpillar and then having a food scavenger hunt. They were stinkin' cute caterpillars.
The school puts on show for parents the last day of class. However, I didn’t find out about this until thrusday. It's a good thing we sang songs everyday. So we sang Hello song.

The second week was much easier! They had trouble with the Baby Club teacher and I ended up gaining two students, including my favorite, YERIN! Combine that with the two that added and I had 12 students in the morning and 13 in the afternoon. Ranging from 3.5 years old to 12 years old. Luckily the youngest students had a high understanding of English. We ended up learning a lot of games and doing a lot of competitions. However, their favorites were making Fruit Salad (Yummy Yummy), Don’t Eat Pete and the Easter egg hunt. Funny all the favorite activities involved food. For our Friday show, we preformed the 3 little pigs. They did great and we had fun. One more week of teaching. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Becca in Amsterdam

We are so lucky to know a family in Brussels! Sister Rowe (my Laurel teacher from HS) has taken good care of Jason and I. She picked us up from the airport, fed us, invited us over for conference and she even took me with her and her parents to Amsterdam and Keukenhof. It was a blast!


We drove to Amsterdam. (Holland is surprisingly close.) In Amersterdam, we started at a little diner. (Similar to a diner in Doris Day’s Touch of Mink) Ended up in Dam Square, and from there walked to Anne Frank's home. Every thing looked like the little Christmas towns with canals running throughout the city. I saw a lot of great souvenirs, including a legal marijuana starter plant in a beautiful Dutch bowl. (Too bad I forgot to snap a pic!)


We went to Anne Frank's home. I was surprised how big their hideout was. But I couldn't imagine having 8 people trying to be silent all day. (I know that would be rough for me and 7 of my sisters J) My favorite room was Anne's room. Everything was removed when they were captured. But the pictures she pasted to her wall were still there. She had posted pictures of famous people on her wall. She had TWO of Deanna Durbin, the actress from It Started with Eve (and many other amazing shows).


Keukenhof was pretty awesome. Basically a flower heaven. Right now the tulips were just growing but hadn't bloomed. But they still had two show buildings. One dedicated to Orchids and the other to Tulips. It reminded me lot of the Spanish fork house. I think my dad would have loved it.

You're kidding right?!!

Our first weekend in Belgium was full of suprises. Most of them good but one of them bad. Sunday morning we woke up and headed down to breakfast only to see a sign posted in the elevator that it was daylight savings. Yep, thats right! We not only had to go through the dreaded daylight savings a couple of weeks ago in Utah but now we had to go through it again in Belgium. What a rip! Add on top of that that we were already suffering from jetlag and it was a double whammy! On the bright side it gave us an excuse to be super late to church. jk!

The Interns!

My favorite part of interning here in Brussels is not the work, the company, or anything along those lines. Its the people. I love the fact that I get to interact with people from so many different cultures and backgrounds--that's the whole reason I love traveling and am doing international business!

There are seven of us new interns this week. Three of us are Americans, then there are two from Poland, one from Slovenia, and then one from Portugual. There are a bunch of other interns already working in the office from Romania, Slovenia, India, Kenya, and Canada as well.



A few of us interns in Brugge!

Brussels!

After the long flight (we had to first fly to Houston, then to Chicago, before finally going to Brussels), we were lucky enough to have Sister Rowe come pick us up at the airport! It was a long flight and especially since the whole flight I knew the BYU vs Florida game had just finished but there was no way for me to watch it or find out what happened. The lamest part was that our first two flights at internet access but of course the flight that mattered didn't. Grr!

We arrived in Brussels on Friday morning and Sister Rowe took us back to her home since we couldn't get into our hotel until later that afternoon. Sister Rowe and her family used to live in Becca's ward in Highland but have now been here in Belgium since August. Its so nice to have them here and they are so helpful and awesome. The first two nights we had to stay in a hotel but were then able to move into our apartment which is right next to the hotel. More on the apartment in the coming days.

The first night in our new area we headed out to the streets and of course my Asian roots and instincts took us right to a little Asian town within Brussels!!! Best news is its right by our apartment and there are about 5 Asian supermarkets, a couple Japanese traditional and pop-culture shops and then some other Thai and Viatnamese Noodle Shops! We are really in the best part of the city! I love how my inner Asian soul always leads me to the good Asian spots!!! It will make the next three months so much better (but probably more expensive) having such good access to celestial food.

If you can see there is a bunch of Chinese characters on all the signs on this street!

Of course the first thing we did the next morning was go to every single Asian market checking the selection and prices. We will have those shops down by the end of the three months and know exactly which one to go to for the best price for each item! All in all, our life in Brussels couldn't be any better than this!





Don't worry Erika, I have your chicken feet already for your meal once you're here!