Untitled as of yet *edit* Title: To You Who Waited At Home

I came home after two years abroad

and expected you to be different--I was.

But you are steady and patient

like stone and mortar, built piece by piece

and dried in the sun,

and I am always all aflutter 

like lacewings above petals or book pages

in the wind.

I hate time because it shapes me

like clay and so quickly I don't know

who I was two years ago.

It was a wrong I did to you,

but always I'll remember: you,

solid in the road, like a pillar of an old temple,

still standing after all the people have died

or gone away.

--Kimberly Wang 5/17/09

Old Family Pictures

Oh, the nostalgia of viewing these photos.

A Blog Re-Vamped V. 2.0

Hey Blog,

So now that I am back and settled from my EuroTrip, I don't have any more fascinating posts about my travels. Thus, I think it's time for my blog to get a bit of an update. Now, if only my camera didn't take forever to upload photos....

Stay tuned!

Kimi

Paris Day Two (Part Two of Two)

Dear Diary,

Late in Paris on the first night, despite our exhaustion, my friends decided that we had to go to spent the evening in Paris. So we dressed up and headed out. My camera died at the end of the first night so thank you to Xochitl for the pictures!

The girls all dressed up and ready to go. Cheers!












The Eiffel Tower by night! It was lit up blue to celebrate the European Union.














The group at the foot of the tower.












The infamous carousel.














On the carousel. It was amazing.














Carnival Food! I had a banana and chocolate (Nutella) crepe. Yum!












Versailles! Look how beautiful the grounds are!












The palace.












Fountains for days.














The group.













Fountain with the horses emerging from the water.












Symphony of water. The water spills over the ledges. It's really a sight to behold when the whole thing is going.

















Fountain of Victory
















Fountain of a god emerging from the earth. It's pretty sick actually. Very cool.













We then went to this charming little outdoor market and they had lots of CHEESE. Stinky cheese.











Xoch and I enjoying our baguettes and cheese. Yum.





Sorry this post is so short, I had to steal all the pictures because I had no camera. But that was Paris. Yay! My next post will most likely be from the comforts of my own apartment in Irvine. Tomorrow we go to London and then we go HOME!



Stay tuned.

Paris Day One (Part One of Two)

Dear Diary,

I have returned from Paris and I am reconciling myself to the fact that this is my last week in Europe. I can hardly believe it but in four short days, I will be back home in sunny, sunny California. I miss home like crazy but I will miss it here too. It's been a wonderful trip but before I launch into my farewells, I'm going to talk about Paris.

Paris really is just as wonderful as it's cracked up to be. It did not disappoint in any way and it's so beautiful I KNOW I must return someday. We saw the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, the river Seine, Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter, and all the sights.

Paris really is for lovers and I have made a vow to return there someday for my honeymoon at least.

A first glance of the river Seine and beautiful Paris.











The Latin Quarter.











The tiniest house in Paris! It's just that door and the window.















The tower! I will never, ever, ever get sick of looking at this tower. So, expect about a hundred pictures of this tower. It's lovely.














Another view.














Yet another view.












And another. It's like artwork, really. You get the point.










Whee! I can't believe I'm in Paris!!















The girls blowing kisses.













Viv and I. Love ya. :)














The metro station for the Eiffel Tower

















The metro line








The streets of Paris are so charming. Everywhere you look is a scene out of Ratatouille. Haha.












Viv and I chowing down our first crepe. Cheesy but delicious.










Notre Dame!











There was this guy who would give you a madeleine for 50 cents and you could feed the sparrows. And there were lots of sparrows!








In the words of Simon, our tour guide, "A-MAY-SING!"











We're hunchbacks. What? You can't tell?












Condemning blank stares from the apostles.











Pretty church












The museum of modern art in Paris. It's built inside out. Ahh...how artistic.










A cool fountain outside the MoMA but it wasn't working. :(











We got flower shaped gelato. I got fragula (strawberry) and mango! I'd like some right now.









To the Louvre! Anyone seen "The Da Vinci Code"?











Winged victory.












Botticelli.











Very typical piece of church artwork. These are everywhere in all the museums.















Very cool.











The Coronation of Napoleon. It's HUGE!!










Psyche and Eros











The Venus de Milo














Da Vinci
















John the Baptist

















More Da Vinci















Yep. That's her. Mona Lisa. They made us all stand 20 feet away and they covered her with a glass box so this is the clearest shot I could get.













Hermaphrodite! But I do wonder how the artist managed to make that marble cushion look more comfortable than my dorm bed.











Cassatt











More Casssatt









Degas.












Monet.












Vermeer. It's tiny!











More Vermeer.











Ladies and gentlemen, the Louvre.













...and my lunch! It was delicious!









The Arc de Triomphe. Napoleon promised his soldiers they would return to Paris under this declaration of victory but it wasn't finished till 30 years after they got back!










But the detailing is magnificent. That's the European Union flag.









We took a river cruise down the river. Beautiful.








Paris part deaux is yet to come.

Stay tuned!