Zion National Park

How sad is it that I've lived in Utah for 11 years and have never been to Zion National Park? Answer: VERY SAD. People come from all over the world to see the natural beauty that is only an hour from my house. Well, no more! Zane, myself, and our French friend, Fred (oooh, how's that for alliteration?) hiked Angel's Landing last Sunday. The weather was surprisingly cooperative for how hot it normally is this time of year. Here are a few pictures of our climb (though they hardly compare to the real deal).

France 2010

As most of you know, Zane was able to study business in Paris for 8 weeks. He had a great time, and when he was done my parents and I joined him for 2 weeks in the beautiful country. Everyone who sees us asks enthusiastically, "HOW WAS FRANCE!?" to which we respond with blank stares and maybe some drool. How do you tell someone that France has been the accumulating finale to 4.5 years of non-stop schooling since the day you got married and that it is the only thing you've been looking forward to since the day you said "I do"? France had become a symbol of being done for so long that a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower and eating more baguettes than should be humanly possible is all a haze. In short: we had a great time. In length: the best part was finally being reunited and spending time with my parents in a place with so much culture and history that pictures don't do it justice. But I'll try...

Dad bought this World War I French helmet at an antique flea market. This is taken in our Paris apartment looking out over Sacré Coeur. I was the only one with a small enough noggin' to wear it.

Zane often accuses me of daydreaming. He says I get this far-off, vacant stare and he knows he's lost me. We stumbled upon this familiar expression in the Louvre. Evidently it's timeless.

Here's the view of the Louvre from the 3rd story. It was the only rainy day that we had in Paris, which was lucky. What was unlucky was that everyone in Paris had the same idea of staying in doors... on Bastille Day when everything else was closed... and it was a free entrance day. It was crowded, but still wonderful.

(Can you tell I'm playing with the layout of pictures on here? Hey, it's my first time.)


Zane and I at L'Arc de Triomphe. (video)

I saw a sign that said "Soldes" in a shoe shop window. For the first few days in Paris, I thought that "soldes" meant "sandals." Then I started noticing that EVERY store had the word "soldes" in the window and dumb me - I thought that every store was selling sandals. Nope. "Soldes" means "SALE." I should have put this together sooner. Here's Mom and I in a jewelry/hat shop. (Notice no sandals.)

The beautiful town of Honfleur. It's a small fishing village that many Parisians come on the weekends. Lots of cute restaurants, cobblestone streets, flower boxes in windows, and a few drops of rain.

We are able to visit Monet's Gardens in Giverny. We toured his home and gardens which included the famous water lilly ponds. It was so beautiful - you can see why he was inspired by it.

A typical pastry shop. Um... I'll take one of each, s'il vous plait!

Somewhere right now, in the French country, there is a small town named "Vouilly" with a population of 178 people. There are probably twice as many cows. We stayed in this building where during WWII, the first press camp was set up for daily correspondence. The owner has a friend who collects and keeps all of his WWII vehicles in the quiet, dark, undisturbed stable. He gave us a personal tour of these awesome cars, jeeps, ambulances, and motorcycles. These are priceless pieces of history which he refuses to lend to movie producers because of the damage that would undoubtedly be done. Very cool. This is a general's car - there are only 2 running left in existence.

Here are more pictures without commentary. Like I said - the days all started to blend together. Beautiful site after beautiful site.

Zane and I took thousands of pictures. The answer to "HOW WAS FRANCE?!" is "freakin' awesome."