SPRING BREAK PART 3

Day 3 was a day of travel.  We just kept stopping and visiting places when we could. Our first stop was Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye in Poissy, France.  

After spending time there, we got back in the bus and drove to Bayeux in Normandy to visit one of my personal favorite piece of art, the Bayeux tapestry.  This 70-meter long tapestry tells the story of the Battle of Hastings.

We continued our day with a trip to the D-Day beaches and the American Cemetery and Museum.

We finally got to Caen for our night there. We went to dinner (which was really weird) and then were allowed to have some free time.  This basically meant that we could wander the streets for an hour at night.  We ended up meeting a woman from Texas, and managed to get on the roof of our hotel.  Definitely a fun day :)

xoxo, Leena

SPRING BREAK PART 2

Day 2 in Paris was an interesting one.  We started off with a fascinating bus tour (that I slept through) followed by an educational trip to the Pantheon (which we weren't allowed to go into) and then lunch at a cafe (the highlight of my day).

We then headed to Notre Dame Chartes, the first cathedral to use flying buttresses. Aside from the hilarious name, Chartes was really cool.

After Chartes, we drove back to Paris for dinner and a night at the famous and wonderful Eiffel Tower. 

We also met Rico from Hannah Montana (he has really long fingernails)

xoxo, Leena

SPRING BREAK PART 1

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been so lame! I just returned from my spring break trip last night and I've finally gotten around to writing a blog post.  

I went on a trip over spring break with my AP Art History class.  We visited France and London and spent the whole time looking at art and architecture. It was an amazing trip.

I decided that y'all would probably enjoy going through the trip day by day with me (or at least I thought that would be fun) so I'll start that today.

 We landed in Paris at 5:15 in the morning.  Definitely not ideal, but a few Redbulls and a nap on the bus made it not that bad.

 We dropped off our bags and headed over to the Louvre, where I was the token American and pulled out my selfie stick for a picture with the Bieze fam (my teacher and his family) and my friends Annie and Sarah.

Us and Bieze kids (they are freaking adorable)

 Once we finally got into the Louvre (which took a beautiful hour and a half), we walked around, found some really cool stuff (aka the Rubens hall and the Stele of Naram-Sin).

Here are my friends. The guy is Callen, and the two girls are Annie (brunette) and Sarah (blonde).  They are close friends of mine and the people I spent the entire trip with :)

A lot of the art was really cool, but my favorites would have to be all of the sculptures. Annie thought this one looked like a selfie :)

We then popped over to the Pompidou, France's biggest modern art museum, to see a Jeff Koons exhibit. (For those who don't know, Jeff Koons is an awesome sculptor and artist who creates these killer pieces that comment on American society and values.)

But we had to stop on the way to ride the Carousel.  

When we were at the Pompidou, we had to do this meeting in front so that we knew when to meet back and some information about the art. So picture like 38 American tourists standing in a big huddle.  This guy in these drawstring pants comes over, and decides its a great time to flash us! It was admittedly funny but also really really weird and our tour guide and our teacher started yelling at him in French. It was hilarious.

So after the Pompidou, we went to Notre Dame Paris, which is this huge Gothic cathedral in Paris. 

 Overall, my first day in Paris was exhausting but fantastic, and I loved it!

xoxo, Leena

INSTAX CAMERA

I received this camera for Christmas from my parents and I absolutely love it! I mean, who wouldn't? It's so freaking cute! I brought it to my New Year's Eve Party (pictures still to come), and everyone loved taking cute little souvenir photos on it. I love the different films and borders I can buy, as well as how portable the actual camera is.  Seriously a great investment :)

xoxo Leena

MUSEUM TRIP 2

Mirror selfie ft. art

 Wow, my city is gorgeous 

 Selfie ft. art pt. 2

 Man or art exhibit?

 We're adorable 

 Really photogenic stairs?

 Elevator selfie

Genki

So I finally took Carson to the museum with me. It was certainly an interesting experience. I love going to the museum, mostly because I like to look at the modern art and the 60s-era furniture. I'm taking an AP Art History course right now, so I guess I've learned to appreciate art more. I just think it's really relaxing.

Carson had never been to the museum with me, so he was certainly in for a treat. Lucky for him, there was a giant jazz concert in the main wing, and he loves jazz, so he could listen while we walked. They were actually really good! 

After the museum, we went to dinner at Genki, the best noodle restaurant ever! It looks like a little hole in the wall, and is actually in a strip of nasty little bars, but the food is delicious. They have gourmet sushi and noodle bowls. Seriously, its delicious.

This week so far has been really stressful. For you non-Americans, junior year in American school is really hard. Not because the course load is vigorous, but because you have to get the highest possible GPA before you apply to college. I am hoping to get some pictures taken this weekend for future posts so that I can have those ready for y'all!

How have y'all's weeks been?

xoxo Leena

INSTANT GRATIFICATION

So I know these are pretty late, but here are some of the Polaroids I took on New Year's Eve at our party. We had a lot of fun, and by the end of it, I'm pretty sure it was totally worth it.  Although we had some ups and downs, a party pooper, and a needy attendee, I think our party was a success! 

1. Carson, my adorable boyfriend, wearing the sweater I got him for Christmas
2. Annie, a super good friend and a super fun girl :)
3. Andrew, Cal, and Connor chilling out on the ping pong table
4. Lexy, our gracious host
5. Kevin, Carson's best friend (pardon his hand!)
6. Will and Lindsey 
7. Annie and Marguerite (so cute lol)
8. Me and Carson (look how adorable we are)