If only I spoke Welsh...

We spent a day in Wales and saw the Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey.  It was a bright and sunny day making for the best pictures:

Tintern Abbey

The group

Chepstow Castle

J'adore Paris

Paris is now one of my favorite cities that I have visited thus far.  Sadly, I only had 24 hours to see all that I wanted.  I saw a majority of the sights: the Eiffel Tower, Champs d'Elysee, Arch du Triumph, the Louvre, Moulin Rouge, and Sacre Coeur.  I also visited an amazing pastry shop and restaurant named, La Duree.  They have the best macrons ever!  We also got to go on the Fat tire Bike Tour at night so we saw the sights all lit up. 

Tour Eiffel

Louvre

Mona Lisa

Arch du Triumph

Louvre at night

Worship with the Monks

Once we dominated the Swiss Alps, we were off to stay at a Monastic Community called, Taize, in France.  This is no ordinary Monastery, it was open to the public to visit and to worship with the monks.  As part of our Christian Worship class, we visited and stayed in the community for a couple of days.  It was a very enriching experience.  The community was very simplistic and that is exactly what makes it so appealing.  You can go there and forget all about material possessions and focus on worshipping God.  We would pray three times a day and would work during the afternoon by contributing to everyday responsibilities around the church or other buildings.  People come from all over Europe and the world to visit this place.  We met Asians, Germans, Americans, and many French visitors.  For them, this is the one place and time for them to worship the way they want and to be open.  They all come from different areas that don't necessarily have churches on every corner, like we do.  Makes you take a second look at your attitude towards time of worship.  The fact that people from all over the world can come together and put differences aside to simply worship together is so inspirational.  Extremely eye-opening.

  

Skiing Down the Alps

After Strasbourg we headed to Switzerland.  My opinion of Switzerland can be summarized in one simple word...  GORGEOUS!  It is the most beautiful place I have ever visited!  No joke!  A definite reminder of God's creative ability.  Loved it!  We strolled around Interlacken and then headed to Wilderswil (pronounced: V-ilders-vil), where we stayed in a lovely hotel nestled in the mountains.  The next day I hit the slopes... that's right, the Swiss Alps!  It was awesome!!  Such a cool experience!  Photos for proof: (btw these pictures do not do it justice!)

Swiss cheese fondue... mmmm!

On the Lift

View from my room

Bonjour!

Our class trip was spent in France and Switzerland.  We traveled to Metz, Verdun, and Strasbourg, France the first couple of days of our trip.  In Verdun we visited the Ossaire and the Douaumont, where the soldiers of WWI fought and are buried.  It was a very emotional day as we saw the trenches in which they fought as well as monuments to commemorate their efforts.  Strasbourg is a huge political city--the Council of Europe is found here.  We got to tour the assembly room in which some of the most important decisions are made in Europe.  It is a really pretty city as well; I enjoyed walking around Petite France and other areas in town.  Here are some photos:

  

Council of Europe

After lunch in Verdun

The Douaumont

The Ossaire

Another Week in England

This past week I got to see and do many things. I went to tea with a couple of friends at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford. It was delicious and well worth the time and money. On Saturday I spent the day in Salisbury and Stonehenge. Although I am glad I saw Stonehenge, it wasn't all it's cracked up to be. It is astounding that the stones are still in their original positions--for the most part. So crazy! The fact that we still are clueless as to why or how the stones are there is fascinating. Here are some photos from this past week:

Our beautiful tea spread

All dressed up for high tea

How did these get here??

The group

Beautiful Florence

Our last place we stayed was Florence, Italy.  Such a pretty city!  We only got to stay there for a day but really enjoyed it.  We went to see David at the Academia and saw the Duomo and climbed the dome to see the city from the top.  There is also a leather market and other markets around the city and we did lots of shopping there.  So much fun!!  Here are some photos:

A snuck picture of David 

The Duomo Cathedral

At the top of the Dome

View from the top

Some famous door near the Duomo (it is a replica, the original is in a museum)

There was a beautiful bridge where we watched the sunset