Paris with My Mom

It's official. I love Paris! After returning from my third trip to the beautiful city, it's confirmed! As most of you know, I went to Paris last week with my mom to take her to school. She is studying French at the Sorbonne for the next four months and I know she is going to have a wonderful time!

Our week together was so special. Mom's apartment is really cute, located in a very nice part of town. One day we went for a walk and within 15 minutes, we were at Notre Dame! Another time I wandered down another direction and happened upon one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen in my life. It was amazing! There was a zoo, a green house and the most gorgeous flowers and plants. The walkway was lined with trees that practically touched the sky and hung over the road. It was breathtaking.

During my time there we visited three different cities that were just a train ride away from Paris.

Our first trip was to Rouen. This city was home to Joan of Arc. She was imprisoned and killed here in the 1400s. We went to the Rouen Cathedral, which was so beautiful. The impressionist painter Monet rented an apartment across the street from the cathedral and painted the church at varying times of day and in different seasons. Overall, he painted at least 30 depictions. While we were there, we went to the Musee Beaux-Arts, which had several impressionists paintings, including one of Monet's Rouen Cathedral paintings! It was neat! The streets of Rouen were cobblestone and there were several pedestrian streets that we wandered down. The buildings were hundreds of years old. It was amazing! I loved Rouen!

Our second trip was to Chartres. This day was an adventure because when mom and I got to the train station that morning, we had no idea where we were going. We had a Eurail pass, but unfortunately in France, the pass is not all it's cracked up to be. Most trips still require a reservation, so it was difficult to find cities that still had availability, especially on the same day. So, we ended up booking tickets for a few days later and then catching a train to the small town of Chartres which was just an hour away from Paris. Mom actually went to Chartres when she was in high school on a church choir tour around Europe. Her group sang in the Chartres Cathedral, so it was neat to go back there with her!

When we first stepped out of the train station, we saw a ferris wheel, so obviously we had to ride it! Then we went to the cathedral and the neatest part was that they were in the process of restoring the building and cleaning all of the marble. The part that they had finished was gorgeous! It was so neat to see this 12th Century church looking the same way as it did when it was first built! The grounds around the cathedral were also beautiful. Chartres also had many pedestrian streets and it was fun to shop around. I bought a beautiful teapot to add to my collection. It was a little pricey, but so worth it!! I love it! We also happened upon a motorcycle rally. I'm not sure what was going on, but it was entertaining.

Our final train trip took us to the eastern city of Strasbourg. This city is in the region known as Alsace-Lorraine and it is right next to Germany. My mom knows a little bit about her heritage through her birth mother and one of the things she knows is that her family was originally from this region. We aren't sure which city they lived in, but we know it was nearby. So, it was really neat to go here with mom and see a part of our heritage! We accidentally climbed 400 steps to the top of the cathedral (miscommunication that led to a beautiful view!) and we took a boat tour of the city that was really pretty! All in all, it was a neat place to see!


And, on top of all of that, we still found time to go around Paris! I went to visit the American Church of Paris with mom, which is where she plans to attend. It was neat to worship with fellow believers in France. I think only about 2% of the French population are Christians, and so this is obviously a very unreached country. It's amazing that it has some of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen, and yet there are so many there that don't know the Lord. It breaks my heart. I have been praying for opportunities for my mom to be able to share the Gospel with those she meets.

I also got to meet up with some of my DBU friends who were on a "Band of Brothers" trip around Europe. They were in Paris for a day, and we were able to meet up at the Eiffel Tower. I love being able to meet up with friends in different parts of the world! It's always neat when that works out!

My last day in Paris I spent strolling the streets around the Seine and taking in all of my favorite sites! My mom had orientation and so I decided I was just going to walk around the city. I went over to the Louvre (which is closed on Tuesday, in case you were wondering! I didn't know until I got there) and walked to the Tuileres garden. It was so pretty! I found a chair right by a fountain and in front of me was the Arc de Triumph, to the right was Sacre Coure, to the left was the Eiffel Tower and the Musee D'Orsay and behind me was the Louvre. It was magical! As I was sitting there, I was reading in a travel book that you could get into the Musee D'Orsay for free at 5 o'clock, because they close at 6, and it just happened to be 15 minutes until 5. So, I walked across the street and went right into the museum. They have the best collection of impressionist art anywhere in the world! I went to the newly remodeled wing and walked around, seeing paintings from my favorite artists. Then, I went back outside and strolled along the Seine and ended up at Notre Dame Cathedral. I went in and they were having mass. It was so wonderful. I didn't understand what they were saying, but it was such a beautiful time of worship. I serve a mighty God and I loved being able to worship Him in one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world. Then, I grabbed a chocolate crepe and walked back to mom's apartment. It was perfect!.
  

I loved being in Paris with Mom and getting to spend a week with her! I am so excited about her adventure over the next few months! I know it's going to be unforgettable! We all miss her already, and it was hard to leave, but it was a great trip! I am so thankful God gave me the opportunity to go. Until next time, Au Revior!

Taking My Mom to School

Well friends, I'm two weeks away from my next adventure. I will be flying with my mom to Paris, France, to help her settle in for her semester-long studies. Many of you know that Mom has been working on her master's degree at UTEP. Well, she found a way to study abroad for the fall, which will provide her with the ability to intensely study the French language, culture, and history in a way that many of us would only dream about. I am so proud of Mom! She is so brave and driven and I can't wait to hear about all of her experiences! When Mom told me that everything had been approved and she would be officially going to Paris, I graciously volunteered to take her to school. She needed someone to go with her and help her get settled, and you know, I am willing to do that! :) Here is a link to my mom's blog if you want to read about her passion that has lead her to this journey.

So, we leave in a couple of weeks for Paris. We are going a few days before her program starts so that we can explore the French Riveria. Mom gave me my choice of where I would like to go within reasonable distance from Paris, and I chose the Cote d'Azure because I thought it would be neat to stay in France and see a new area. I've read that the beaches are gorgeous, the waters are crystal clear, the views are breath-taking, and the Old Town feel is like nothing else. We will spend a day in Marseilles, and then two days in Nice, with a day trip over to Monte Carlo. Then, we will be back in Paris for three days before I head back home.

Nice

Marseilles

I've never been to Paris in the fall (this will be my third trip to my favorite city, though). I can't wait to see what it looks like this time of year! And I am so excited about exploring Mom's new neighborhood and helping her figure everything out!

Mom will be there until the end of January, but she will have several visitors during her time away. Lorin is going to see her in December and then Dad is going for two weeks right after Christmas to celebrate their 30th anniversary. My friend Ashley is also going to visit Mom for a week in November. I know she is going to love showing each of us parts of Paris that she loves as she makes one of her favorite cities her home for a while. We are going to miss her so much, but we are all so proud of her and thankful that God has provided this awesome opportunity!

So, stay tuned! I plan to post a few times while I am away to share our stories. If you know me and my mom well, you know that great adventures are going to be had!

Our trip to NYC in January 2010

Close to Home

The war on the border is starting to hit closer to home for me. I was reading my Dad's blog tonight about how this week there was another gunfight in Juarez that spilled into El Paso. A stray bullet actually hit Bell Hall at the University of El Paso. No one was hurt, thankfully, but my mom is now a student at UTEP and will be on that campus several times each week. It's such a scary thought to know that she is directly "in the line of fire."

El Paso boasts that it is the 2nd safest city in America. Seriously, they boast about it. It's all I heard both times I visited, and yet it is across the border from one of the most dangerous places in the world right now. I read in the paper yesterday that more than 1,800 people have been killed in drug related incidents in Juarez just this year. Hearing about something like that halfway across the world is horrible, but honestly sometimes I don't grasp the reality of the situation. Hearing about something that is happening just 2 miles away from where my dad, mom and sister are living is VERY real to me.

I know that God has called them to El Paso for such a time as this. Jesus is the only answer for healing on the border. I am a firm believer in Jesus' power. I believe He wants to do great things in the midst of this chaos and turmoil. And I am trusting that He has my family in His hands right this moment. If you think of it, please pray for protection over my precious family. It's hard to be so far away, especially knowing what is happening day to day in their area. Pray for healing in Mexico. Pray for an end to this war. Pray that God's love will be preached on the streets and that people will come to know Him in a mighty and powerful way.

My Dad quoted Psalm 91 in his blog, and I think it's a great passage to cling to:

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most Highwill rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,my God, in whom I trust.”

Bright Lights, Big City: Part Two

Now, to continue my escapades around New York with my mom - on Saturday we headed to the New York Public Library where mom was able to acquire a very special card. Can you guess what kind of card it was? You're right! It was a library card! She was thrilled beyond belief that she was eligible for such a rare jewel and proceeded to try and use it the rest of the day to purchase things, much to her delight and my chagrin. Also, while we were at the library, we saw the original manuscript from Voltaire's book Candide, which was celebrating it's 250th year in publication. Mom was thrilled to see this because Voltaire is one of her favorite authors.

Then we headed to Greenwich Village, just to roam around and see what we could see. We walked by the NYU campus, stopped in Washington Square park and then saw the Washington Mews which are these quaint little homes that were once stables in the 1930s and were converted (for strange some reason) into residential living. The street is gated and still has cobblestone roads, a sweet little glimpse into the past. Apt. 14A was to home to artist Edward Hopper and several other notable people that have slipped my mind.

Washington Square Park Arch

The Washington Mews

After our little exploration, we headed back to the Upper East side (have I mentioned that this is my favorite part of NY?) to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met). Here was saw four more Vermeer paintings - which made a grand total of 7 on our trip which is really rare considering there are only around 34 known Vermeer paintings in the world! We also saw more paintings from Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet and went to my favorite room - the Temple of Dendur which is from c. 15 BC and has been reassembled to appear just as it did on the banks of the Nile. This room is incredible and I could sit and stare for hours.

A painting by Vermeer

The Temple of Dendur

But alas, we couldn't stay for hours because we had to head back to Times Square to see another Broadway show, this time a play. We saw "A View from the Bridge" by Arthur Miller. It was starring Scarlett Johansson (who is making her Broadway debut) and Liev Screiber (one of my new favorite bad guys - from Defiance and Wolverine). The play hasn't opened yet, so it was kind of like a rehearsal for them, and it was so good! Since it was written by Miller it was naturally tragic (Death of Salesman anyone?) but it was so dynamic and interesting that I found myself very wrapped up in the plot and forgetting to try to figure out what was going to happen. Liev was AWESOME and Scarlett was really good too. Being the big celebrity fans that we are, mom and I stood outside after the play to get photos and autographs. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get as close to them as I did to Paul Rudd (back on our first trip in 2001), but I did get Scarlett's autograph and Liev's picture. Here's an interesting fact that I learned about Scarlett (I learned this by going to imdb.com after we met, haha). She is one week younger than me! I'm so thankful that my worth is not measured by my fame, fortune and celebrity status, because I've got nothing on her. Another free fact is that she is surprisingly pretty short - 5'4. I know that's not really THAT short, but she was a lot smaller than I imagined that she would be.

My official autographed Playbill
(her autograph is over the word bridge)

If you look closely, you can tell this is Scarlett, I promise!

Liev Screiber

This was pretty much the end of our fantastic trip to NYC. We were up the next morning at 4 a.m. to make our flights from LaGuardia to Chicago to St. Louis to Dallas. Then I drove the three hours home and crashed. In case you can't tell, I had an awesome time. I am so thankful for my mom and our shared love of travel. We had a great time talking, laughing and enjoying the sights. I couldn't have asked for a better travel partner! Maybe we'll make this an annual trip!

Bright Lights, Big City: Part One

My mom and I just got back from celebrating my Christmas present- a trip to New York City (the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, according to Jay Z) and we had an amazing time! We flew in on Thursday and left at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning, so we really only had two days to take in all of the sights, and believe me when I say we crammed the weekend full! My dad found us a great deal on a hotel just four blocks away from Times Square and only a block from Grand Central Station, and so we were really in the center of everything! The weather was pretty cold (I don't think it got above 28 degrees while we were there) but it was actually colder in Canyon, so we were feeling pretty good! :)

When we arrived, we checked into our hotel and then headed straight for Times Square. On our way there we stumbled upon our first adventure. We saw these big lights and camera crews and realized we were on the set of some kind of filming. We asked one of the crew members and he said that they were shooting a scene from the new CBS show "The Good Wife" with Juliana Marguiles. We didn't actually get to see any of the famous actors from the show, but we did see some guys dressed like Chicago Police Officers storm into a building!

Somehow on Friday morning, I convinced my mom to get up at 6:00 a.m. to run down to Good Morning America (did I mention that it was 20 degrees and snowing too?) so we could be on the set. There weren't many people crazy enough to do this, so we were able to get inside and see the taping of the whole show. We saw Emeril, George Stephanopoulos, Robin Roberts and Juju Chan. It was a lot of fun!

Then we went to Grand Central Station where we grabbed some lunch and headed to the Upper East Side to go to see the Frick Collection. This is an art museum which belonged to a really rich guy from the early 1900s named Henry Clay Frick. He built this incredible house on 5th Avenue across from Central Park and filled it with amazing works of art. We saw painting by Vermeer, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Monet and Gilbert Stuart, to name a few. Needless to say, it was pretty awesome.

The rest of the afternoon we spent walking around Central Park and 5th Avenue, which was neat to see in the snow. Some stores still had their Christmas lights up and it was really beautiful.

Ice skaters in Central Park

More Central Park

Christmas Lights on 5th Avenue

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Rockefeller Center

As I write this blog, I am listening to the soundtrack from the Broadway musical, Lion King, which we were able to see that night and it was truly FANTASTIC! I've heard people say it is like nothing you have ever seen and I have to agree! I had chills from beginning to the end!

This pretty well sums up Friday. I will try to blog again tomorrow about all of our adventures on Saturday. It involves more celebrities, so you won't want to miss out!

NYC: Merry Christmas to me!

I just got my first Christmas present! My mom booked plane tickets for us to go to NYC the first weekend in January and I'm so excited! I love the city that never sleeps and will jump at any opportunity to go there! I get to pick the musical I want to see, so I'm thinking "The Lion King." I have wanted to see it for a really long time and have heard wonderful reviews, so I figure I better see it while I have the chance! Mom wants us to go see a play by Arthur Miller starring Scarlett Johansen and Liev Schreiber. Sounds good to me! I love famous people! :) We'll be taking a tour of the New York Times, per my mom's request. I'm not sure what else is on our agenda yet - maybe Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty (I've never been to either!), there's no telling - which is really exciting. In case you can't tell, I'm thrilled! Yay for traveling! Yay for New York! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Mom's Birthday Celebration in Lubbock

This weekend I went to Lubbock to see my parents and to celebrate my mom's birthday. On Saturday morning, Mom, Dad and I drove to Whiteface to see my cousin Sarah, her husband BJ and their new little baby Ben. He is such a sweet baby with some really great parents! It was fun to see where the Brooks live and to get to meet this precious new addition to the Lowrie family!

Then that afternoon we went to Mom's favorite restaurant, Outback Steakhouse, to celebrate.

Dad headed back to Canyon and Mom and I enjoyed hanging out, talking, playing games, swimming, and watching a movie. It was a lot of fun to have some one-on-one time with Mom! This morning we went to church at FBC Lubbock (my papa's old church) and for lunch we had a surprise treat - my sisters Jamie and Madie met us on their way back from Rock the Desert with their friends. Here's a picture of the group at lunch - celebrating Mom's 49th bday (see the #49?).

Me, Jamie, Kalyn, Kade, Josh, Mom, Bailey, Danessa, Cristal and Madie

Fun weekend! Happy Birthday Mom!