Fishers and Family

 This week has been a blast. Adam's brother Aaron flew in from San Antonio to hang out for a while. The first night he got in, he performed a couple of his new songs in Provo. It was great to watch, and family and friends came out to support him. The week was pretty relaxing, filled with shopping, eating, shooting, and watching movies. It was great to hang out with Aaron because we miss having him around.

Sunday was a great day. Our mission president and his wife returned home from Montana and Wyoming. They served for 3 years, and we were happy to have them back. They spoke in Morgan, Utah, a small town where the church was packed with at least 100 missionaries who had served with them. It was a mini mission reunion for us. After church they had a party at their house and it was great to see people we haven't seen in years. The Fishers are an incredible couple—we couldn't have asked for a better mission president. I can't wait to see even more mission friends in October. It was a great week filled with friends and family that we love so much. 

So much fun!

The greatest couple. We look up to them in every way. 

Our Mission President, Craig Fisher.

Julie and her new husband Gary, she was my mission companion twice. We had a blast!

An amazing sister from the mission, I just love her to pieces!!

My sistas!! 

Adam and Aaron, getting ready to go into the concert

Aaron performing downtown. He was amazing!

Anniversary!

Today is the day. Our 1 year anniversary! Looking at our wedding photos really does make us feel like we got married yesterday. This year has flown by, and we both agree that it has been the best year of our lives so far.  

Before you get married, some tell you that the first year is the hardest, and we felt like we rarely heard something positive. We are not sure why it is so hard for some, but our marriage has simply been fun. I mean, sure, sometimes life (school, work, bills, natural disasters) can get in the way, but we are best friends, and the best thing is to be able to spend everyday with that person. 

This time next year we will both have graduated, and we will be on our way to law school somewhere. After an eventful first year of marriage, it's extremely exciting to think what this next year will be filled with. 

Today we are heading to have fun, relax, and go to a friend's wedding. We are so grateful and thrilled to have had such a successful and wonderful first year of marriage. 

Post Paris

"Life is about shooting forward."—Adam Prestidge (I just made that up.)

Well, we've had a few days to recover from our jet lag, which we again discovered is very real.

After spending two weeks in Europe, it is interesting to be back in Lehi, Utah, where there are far fewer people and much more open sky. Seeing new and different places always adds a new perspective to the world around us.

We really appreciate everyone who read our blog while we were traveling, and we hope you enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun for us while we were over there.

Now it's back to reality, where the prices don't require an exchange rate and no one brings you room service.

But the good news for us is that we are headed to Africa for two weeks in August for a safari with the rest of the Prestidge family! We have enjoyed our travel-blog so much that we are excited to continue it while we are far away on another adventure!

Stay tuned. We hope you will enjoy: "Adam and CheyAnn! Live from Namibia!"

Last Day at the Zoo!

Well, today was our last day in Europe... and it was a crazy one. Why? Because it was Bastille Day, the French version of the Fourth of July. Which meant that everything was absolutely jam packed with people everywhere. It was an total zoo! Except that at this zoo, there are ten million animals and they are all on the loose all day and night! Everywhere we walked we were surrounded by tons and tons of people. It was a little too much for us.

For most of the day, we just relaxed and didn't do too much. We didn't really leave the hotel until after two. I felt a little bit lazy, but we ordered room service breakfast, so that counts for some effort. Then we went to the Luxembourg Gardens, which is a hot spot for Parisians to sit around and live off of the socialist government. There were lots of people playing and benches and ice cream and that is just a really good combination for a fun afternoon of chilling and people watching.

For Bastille Day, they shoot fireworks from off the Eiffel Tower! I know, it sounds really fun to ten million Parisians, too. So, we decided to avoid the downtown crowds and head up to the Sacre Couer, which is this sweet basilica located on the highest point of Paris, so it has great views. I don't know why I assumed this wouldn't be as crowded, but I was very, very wrong, and it was very, very crowded. Even though we were at the highest hilltop in Paris, it was so jam packed that the only view we could find was clinging to a fence and peeking over some buildings to barely see the very top of the tower. But hey, we saw fireworks on the Eiffel Tower, so that's cool enough.

We wandered around for a couple more hours, taking our last snapshots and getting our last crepes. Mmmm, crepes! After a couple last views of the Eiffel Tower, we headed in to call it a night and a trip.

Our time in Europe has been wonderful, and now it is very near to its end. We fly out tomorrow (Wednesday) morning, and we can't believe it. It feels like we have been gone for a very long time!

I'm sure we'll write more and post some wrap up photos after we return, but I just want to say this has been an incredible time and I'm so grateful to have been here with the love of my life.

Thanks for reading and for your comments.

Happy Travels to All.

Waiting for the metro, with luggage. Too familiar.

Insanely delicious macaroons. The taste hits in delicious waves.

Luxembourg Garden, where everyone relaxes.

Watching some French ballers. I think I saw Tony Parker...

The Sacre Couer is breathtaking at night, absolutely gleaming.

This is only the small part of the crowd that we could fit in our picture. It seemed infinite.

On the steps of the Sacre Couer.

Watching fireworks from the fence!

CheyAnn's so hot she stops traffic on the Champs Elysees!

Contemplating mysteries of the universe, and crepes!

No it's not photoshop, we did get some good fireworks shots.

Au Revior, Paris!

Tonight was lovely—no camera, no heavy shoulder bags, no water bottles, no sunglasses, no maps, and no guidebooks. No crowds, no hot sun, no agenda. It was just the two of us out walking on a beautiful night in the most beautiful city.

Church and Culture

Well, it’s the end of another good day, and again, we’re paying out the nose for internet access.Paris is a very expensive city. With the exchange rate, you don’t realize that you are paying so much. “Six euros for some gelatto? Well, it is hot outside, and Belgian chocolate does sound really good… Six euro-bones? Sure!” In the moment, while you’re trying to understand the French without looking like a total idiot, you don’t realize that you’re paying almost ten bucks for a single serving of ice cream.

This morning we went to the Paris ward. It was truly a Sunday miracle to find the chapel, after we got off of the metro and I had no idea where we were. But the ward was great. Located inside of a small courtyard, set off from the street by large blue doors, the small low-ceiling room was packed with quite the mixture of people: tourists in their polo shirts who walk out after the sacrament, American students and ex-pats, and many African and Asian immigrants.The service was delivered in a mixture of French and English, with a Chinese convert sharing her testimony in English, which was interpreted over the pulpit into French. Coming from a linguistics conference where I presented on interpreting, I was quite interested in all of that wild and riveting linguistic action!

We really felt the Spirit in Church, and it was nice to chat in English with some friendly peers.We talked to a few Americans who were there for work, and they all said that Paris is a hard place to live, but they enjoy it.

After that, another hotel transfer to a very nice area, near the Louvre and the Vendome. The area is supposed to be very good for shopping, and it would be if you had about $50,000 to blow. Tres expensive.

The Louvre was great. Big, hot, crowded, and full of incredible art. It’s amazing that you can’t look anywhere without seeing several masterpieces from many different cultures and time periods. The volume and density of such spectacular art is overwhelming by itself. We’ve posted some pictures of our favorites.

Finally, a short story about the biggest disappointment of our trip, for me anyways. On our map that identifies cool shopping, there is a store near the Louvre called “Hunting World.” Ah!Yes. Hunting World. In my head, I pictured some fancy shop, dripping with masculine leather, exotic pelts, and fine guns, and all I wanted to do was check out some ridiculously priced double rifle and chat about Africa. When we found the shop, I was even more excited by the logo outside: a big map of the world with an elephant. Perfect.

But, when we walked in, I was shocked and dismayed to find not lion mounts and elephant tusks, but cheap perfumes and handbags! Hoping that somehow the $100,000 guns were kept in the back room, we wandered downstairs, only to be followed by some dude who was checking to make sure we weren’t stealing one of their crappy wallets. We could hardly get out of the small door on the way out because of the strong influx of BO-smelling tourists looking for a bargain on junk. When we finally made it out, we noticed a small sign that said “Now: Kimchang’s Tax-Free Boutique.” Thank you, France.

We’re really tired of restaurants and cafes and waiters who aren’t very friendly. I miss American waiters and the way they dote all over you like your long lost friend. After burning ourselves out on café food, we’ve been on a diet heavy in cheese and crackers, yogurt, and nutella. Tres bien.

In case you made it all the way to the end of this post, please leave a comment, because we’re anxious to know who is actually reading this.

We went to church in the Paris ward.

Outside of the Paris ward, very urban, right off of the streets.

Inside the courtyard of the church property, after sacrament.

A view of Paris from inside the Louvre.

Jillions of people, but it was still incredible and gorgeous.

The Wedding Feast, like the biggest painting ever...

The Chubbiest Baby Jesus ever painted. Holy Rolls.

Super-ornate incredible sculpted ceilings. Why paint your ceiling when you can have giant angels carved on it?

The Venus De Milo.

CheyAnn's favorite, Winged Victory. She has wanted to see it for many years.

The Winged-Bull-Man. Really big, and among several others.

Paris at night, overlooking the Seine.

Le Grand Tour: Wandering in the Gardens

Today we gave the Palace at Versailles our grand tour. Between the palace and the gardens, we were there for six hours! The palace was incredible. Our eyes were blinded by all of the gold that covered everything. The King's bed chamber was just an entire room of floor to ceiling gold, which was pretty much the theme throughout the palace. I guess when you're the King you can decorate however you want: "I like this, but does it come coated in a layer of pure gold?—Great. Then I'll take 600 please."

We spent the majority of our time in the glorious Gardens of Versailles, the personal backyard of King Louis XV. Just consider a guy who drenches the most elaborate palace in the world in solid gold, and then imagine what he would do with 2000 acres out his back window. It was an enormous, beautiful paradise, perfectly manicured in every direction. We got lost, several times. We walked for hours all around it, and it was wonderful. The King built a huge series of canals, so big that he and his buddies would play on the 32-cannon ship they floated on it. The ship is gone, but we still enjoyed a lovely picnic at the water's marble edge.

We wandered around, escaping the crowds of the palace, where ethnic tour groups fill the walkways, moving together like a large, highly-viscous blob. But out in the garden, it was just the two of us walking along. In this beautiful countryside setting, we felt like we were the only people in France. We both agreed that so far, it was our favorite moment of wonderful trip.

As usual, I'm on the verge of crashing while I type. The day continued with more walking (over six hours total today), a train back to Paris, Notre Dame, and pizza in the Latin Quarter.

Only a couple days left! On with the adventure...

Inside The Versailles Palace

The Hall of Mirrors. It was amazing!

Lots and lots of GOLD!!

CheyAnn on our long journey to the King's Gardens.

Another favorite picture of Adam.

The whole garden was so perfect.

The King's Colonnade Grove—another random extravagance in the Gardens.

The Grand Canal.

Just chillin' listening to the classical music.

We loved this walkway. Just perfect!

Ice cream and the country, what more do you need?

Silhouettes captured at our favorite spot in France.

A Long Day and a Glorious Palace

Versailles Palace - a view from the "backyard"

The most incredible backyard ever

And the driveway...

CheyAnn is the little black and white speck, just to add some perspective...

Beautiful picture, and nice garden...

I am finding a recurring theme of nightly exhaustion! It’s a little after nine, and I can barely keep my eyes open. We checked out early this morning, threw down with a stubborn hotel chick about dinner (as I was expecting), and caught a train from Amsterdam. Transfer in Paris, and we’re here in beautiful, quaint, Versailles, home of the greatest palace in Europe.

We arrived pretty late, so we just poked around the magnificent gardens for a bit. You hear that it is the most incredible palace ever, but even then we were still blown away by the grandeur of it. Tomorrow, we will tour inside of the palace, take a million pictures, and head back into Paris. Our trip is going by so wonderfully—we’ve totally lost track of time, which is the best feeling.

As for me right now, I’ll be fast asleep before the sun goes down, and knocking on King Louis’ front gates bright and early tomorrow morning.