A Quick Note On My Travel Blog for France

I've been meaning to update my travel blog for quite some time, but now in the aftermath of what happened on Friday 13, 2015, I have decided to postpone any more blogs on Paris. Instead, I will post what is possibly the most touching video I've ever seen.

 

It saddens me that we need to explain such senseless acts of violence to children, but in this video a father did just that while also teaching his child to choose hope over fear. 

Eiffel Tower

Virtual Tour using Google Maps

Thanks to Google Maps, you can see the view from the top of the Eiffel tower from the comfort of your own computer. But for those who can make the trip to France, there is no substitute for seeing it in person. There's nothing quite like looking out to the west, towards the United States, and seeing the world from another perspective.

The view from the top:

Be sure to check out each floor (3.5, 3, 2) and to click arrows to "move" around the tower. Top Floor:


Check out these Virtual Tours:
The Louvre

The Musée D'Orsay 

The Le Pompidou

The Eiffel Tower page
The Musée Rodin

Louvre

Virtual Reality Tour of the outside of the Louvre 




Check out these Virtual Tours:
The Louvre

The Musée D'Orsay 

The Le Pompidou

The Eiffel Tower page
The Musée Rodin

Pompidou Centre

Pompidou Centre (The National Museam of Modern Art of the Georges Pompidou Centre)

Virtual Tour with Google Maps

Be sure to use the arrows to move around and +/- to zoom in and out.'

Here is a street view of the Pompidou Centre. 

Here is another view of the Pompidou Centre. 

Check out these Virtual Tours:
The Louvre

The Musée D'Orsay 

The Le Pompidou

The Eiffel Tower page
The Musée Rodin

Butterfly streamers

How to Make Beautiful Butterfly Streamers:

I created these streamers when I was inspired by the Japanese wedding tradition of creating one thousand cranes to wish a couple happiness and prosperity. As the legend goes, when someone folds one thousand cranes they are granted a wish or prosperity. To create my own twist on a tradition for my wedding, I chose to substitute cranes with butterflies. Butterflies represent transition, growth, rebirth, and eternal love-- so it was a natural choice for me. If you want to choose a different animal or shape to create something unique for yourself, here is a link to a website with many different origami shapes.

Getting Started:

Items you will need:

• Ribbon-- I used plastic ribbon but this can be substituted with cloth ribbon
• Scissors
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• One or two colors of glitter glue
• One or two colors of paper

Now start folding your butterflies:

For variety I created three different sizes. This is optional. The small butterflies were very hard to fold, but they look adorable and are worth it.

I have included some vague instructions on how I folded these butterflies, but you can find more detailed steps on this website for origami.

1. Cut into a square
2. Fold in half horizontally
3. Fold top part in half again horizontally
4. Fold in half vertically
5. Fold each half diagonally
6. Fold inside out half way horizontally, pinch both horizontals inside the center
7. On one side fold down, these are the wings on the back
8. On the other side fold tips of the butterfly flaps inside

Step 6

Step 4 

Step 5

Step 7

Finished Butterfly

Now just repeat one thousand times-- or maybe just twenty times or so. It really depends on your patience level and how much time you have. It is something you can do while watching TV. I watched a Netflix marathon of my favorite sci-fi series, and at the end of each episode I had over twenty butterflies completed. 

Next, "glitterfy" your butterflies:

1. First I started by arranging the two colors and different shapes into piles.
2. Then I started coloring the white paper with gold glitter, and the blue paper with blue glitter.
3. Feel free to mix it up. I added a few dots of opposite colors to get a wide variety of butterflies. I even added some sequins to a few of them.
4. Put them aside and let them dry.

Experiment and try adding both colors.

Now make your streamer:

1. Cut your ribbon to your desired length. I made mine a little less than twenty feet because I want them to stream down the balcony at my wedding reception. You don't have to be as ambitious. Six to ten feet will work just fine.
2. Heat up your glue gun.
3. Pick the spot you are going to hang your butterfly. You want to start about one to two feet up the streamer so that you can use the ends to hang it up. Place a dot of glue onto the ribbon.
4. Put the butterfly on the ribbon with its back touching the glue. Be careful not to touch the glue, or to wait too long to apply the butterfly. This glue dries fast and is very hot.
5. Once the glue has dried repeat steps three through five. You can vary the direction, side of the ribbon, and spacing between butterflies. 

 

Add glue to ribbon. Place butterfly on glue. Wait for it to dry. Repeat.

Next : 

How to make adorable and unique flower girl baskets 

Ten Tips For Traveling to Paris

by Kelly Felsted Mitchell

Among the lessons learned were that: Bathrooms are not free, Moulin Rouge is not as cool as it is in the movie, and you should watch out for those peddlers on the streets selling stuff off of a handkerchief. The would-be shopkeepers might run you over when they swipe up their wares and run from the cops. From the many, many, many trials and errors that I endured, I have learned more than I ever could from any tourist travel book. So, in order to spare you, I have thrown together 10 things I didn't know about traveling to Paris, as well as the dirty secrets you really need to know.

1.) If you are under 26 and/or an Art Student, be sure to let the ticket sellers know. With your ID you can get in half-price and sometimes for free in many museums including the Louvre, Musée D'Orsay, and Le Pompidou. Click here for a list of many popular and lesser-known sites in Paris.

2.) Most tourist attractions have attendants that speak English. Even though I took my best shot at using French to converse, they could tell that I was not fluent and they responded to me in English.

3.) There are ATMs everywhere that will convert American money into Euros, but be weary of the fees. Your bank and their bank will charge a premium for this. You can go to the airport to get some of the best exchange rates for your given currency, but sometimes it's best not to carry all your cash at one time.

4.) Something that I bet most people don't know, is that Paris will give a sales tax incentive to tourists from countries outside of the European Union. You will need to bring your receipts and make sure your purchases are 175 Euros or more, then and they will give you a refund on the tax-- so you will be shopping tax free!¹

5.) Don't pack too much-- especially if you plan on using public transportation and taxi cabs. I learned this the hard way. I was staying for the summer, and I pretty much packed that way. I had two bags that I rolled throughout Paris between hotels. Sometimes the hotels would not hold onto my luggage until check in, which was 3 pm. I ended up going to the metro stations and renting a locker for the day so that I could tour the sites unencumbered.

6.) Speaking of hotels, make sure you get them booked ahead of time. Many of the hotels in Paris book up quickly, especially during the weekends, so a little planning will save you from the grimy grips of a one-star hotel. Speaking of which-- if you are in one of the less-prime hotels, make sure you have your own private bathroom. Sharing bathrooms, especially in a squalid hotel, is probably one way to catch a souvenir that you don't want to take with you. If sharing is unavoidable, go ahead and splurge on some Lysol and toilet seat covers.

7.) Have plenty of coin change. If you've never been to Europe you probably don't know that it is common to see paid bathrooms at many public locations. The men's bathroom is usually cheaper than the women's (unfortunately we still don't have equality, even in our bathrooms). You also usually need coins for the subways, and around almost every corner you can find a refreshing beverage machine that only takes coins.

8.) The payphones do not take coins. I know it is almost unheard of to use a payphone now a days, but paying those extra international rates was not an option for the poor starving student that I was. Because the payphones did not take coins, I had to go to a corner store to buy a phone card that had a special chip in it. It was not easy making phone calls but at least I could keep track of how much money it was costing me.

9.) If you are planning on taking the Eurail, buy passes ahead of time. They give discounts to people outside of the country, but charge the standard price of city-to-city tickets for anyone buying locally. Also, make sure to reserve your spots. You can reserve as early as 60 days in advance.

10.) There are so many things to do in Paris, be sure to go to the sites on your bucket-list first. I can not stress this enough. It is not possible to go to every art museum, restaurant, tomb, cathedral, garden or castle all in one week. If you are lucky enough to be in Paris for several weeks and get to see all of the sites on your list, make sure to go to all the lesser-known places as well. Don't forget to check out my post on the top 10 popular and lesser-known sites in Paris

This, of course, is no where near an all-inclusive list of dirty secrets and need-to-know information. Some day I'll get around to writing all my not-so-lustrous pearls of wisdom, but for now I will leave it at this.

---

Sources:
¹ Tax-free shopping Paris- Paris tourist office. Paris Tourist Office. 13 Apr 2015 <http://travel-trade.parisinfo.com/practical-guide/Tax-free-shopping>.

Pictures:
1.) Hermann-130146. Free Photo: Moulin Rouge, Paris, Red Mill - free Image from Pixabay - 392147. 27 Jan 2013. Pixabay. 21 Apr 2015. Moulin Rouge] 

2.) EdiNugraha- Free Photo: Louvre, Pyramid, Paris - free Image from Pixabay. 26 October 2012. Pixabay. 21 Apr 2015.[Louvre, Pyramid, Paris] 

9/10.) Hans-17565. Free Photo: Railway Station - free Image from Pixabay - 167593. 7 Jul 2013. Pixabay. 21 Apr 2015. [Railway Station] 

The Top Popular and Lesser-Known Sites in Paris

Here are my top favorites but there are many more. Be sure to check out my traveling tips before embarking on your journey.

Map of the Metro sites of Paris: (M)

1 The Eiffel Tower:

2 The Louvre and Pyramid:

3 Musée D'Orsay:

4 Pompidou Centre:

5 Arc de Triomphe:

6 Jardin of Luxembourg:

7 Notre Dame:

8 Hotel des Invalides:

9 The Sacre Coeur and Montmartre:

10 Musée Rodin: