Happy 14th! :)

I actually didn't do anything really touristy today- didn't leave the house at all. But I did, however, get all registered for classes at BYU. I'm taking American Heritage, Intro to English Language, Intermediate French Part I, Healthy Living, The Book of Mormon, Beginning World Dance, and French Choir. I needed at least 14 credit hours to keep my scholarship. (5 out of the 14 credit hours are for French classes- can you tell I'm feeling a little handicapped?) The classes are still open to play around with till about the first week of September, so if anybody has any suggestions, let me know. One thing I'd like to do is take Beginning Swimming instead of the dance class for my PE credit if I can catch a spot that opens up. I figured I'd get the American Heritage over with before I started tackling the fun math/science classes.

Today I met Pierre Gracis, Claire's younger brother. He's really nice, and very talkative and sociable. He got here last night, after driving all the way from the North end of France. Friday, we're all going to drive back down to Vallauris to drop me & the kids off and to celebrate Claire's birthday. Then, he's going to drive down even farther, all the way through Italy into Sicily (there's some sort of ferry that carries cars across), where his girlfriend lives. He told me all about Italy today, and he's got me converted. (Not that I wasn't already)

Ok- so today is the 14th. The night before, they hold a big fireworks show on the shore of the Garonne (a river that goes through Toulouse, one of the four largest rivers in France, along with the Seine, Loire, and Ronne rivers) and a huge ball/dance afterwards. Then, morning of, there is a huge parade through Paris that is broadcast across the nation and that most everyone watches (kind of on the same level as the Maceys? Thanksgiving Parade), and then at night there are more fireworks all over. We didn't actually go out to see any fireworks, but I saw a few on TV, including the ones that they do from the Eiffel Tower. This picture is courtesy of Wikipedia.

Rachel and Samuel, here's your history lesson for the day: If you remember Marie Antoinette, who was married to Louis XVI, you might have heard a bit about the French Revolution. Rachel, you might have read the Royal Diaries book about her, which described her lessons and endless training in manners, posture, dance, cards, and etiquette. Unfortunately, however, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI hadn't been very well trained as leaders of their country, and because of their over-extravagance France's already weak economy (from their help with United State's Revolution) suffered a lot. People were either aristocrats or paupers. The poor finally openly rebelled by attacking the Bastille, a prison in Paris where Monarchs often locked up people that they didn't agree with. This was the beginning of a gory but important time for France, which ended in the formation of a Republic. What they celebrate every July 14th isn't all the guillotinings but the freedom that came as a result of the rebellion. (Feel free to correct me if I got anything wrong)


Oh- and I finished my little cross stitching project. Kinda cute :)

This is a cool clock in Toulouse, first from a distance then up close. It's based off of 24 hours instead of 12. Cool, huh!