Bonsoir et désolé (sorry) - I have been awful at staying on top of my blog this trip. We are so insanely busy and the Wifi at our hotel in Paris is very slow when it comes to getting photos onto the blog, so I have been opting for sleep instead.
Remember that heatwave that hit Europe two weeks ago? Well that has long gone, and we have actually been pretty darn cold here - especially since most of us expected temperatures in the upper 70s/lower 80s and packed mostly shorts, dresses and light clothing. It has been in the low 60s and even 50s at night...I'm not complaining, mind you. I would much rather run around in 60 degree weather than 90 degree weather. We all just wish we had come a little better prepared clothing-wise!
Since I've missed several days, I will briefly summarize our days below. Tonight I will just blog and will attempt to get some photos up in the morning after they load overnight.
Saturday: Bus Tour, Panthéon
We arrived in Paris and went on a bus tour of the city to help get our bearings. We made a couple of stops, including the Place des Vosges and at the Mur de Paix (Wall of Peace), from which you can see the Eiffel Tower.
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| The Group at the Mur de Paix |
The bus dropped us off at the Panthéon were we spent some time visiting dead people. I was very excited to go here since 4 new people interred here in May were significant figures of the French Résistance (2 of the 4 were women). The "greats" of France are buried here - Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas...the names go on and on. In fact 71 of the names are France's greatest MEN. Until the end of May, there had only been one woman buried there -Marie Curie. Now the score is 71:3.
Sunday: Versailles
Everyone was in awe of the Château, but the moment we stepped outside to tour Marie Antoinette's Hamlet and the gardens, it began to rain. Then it began to pour. The students were amazing - they were clearly cold and wet, but no one complained.
We were supposed to go on the river cruise this night, but it was too cold and rainy, so we postponed it until Monday.
Monday: Louvre, Opéra Garnier, Champs-Élysées, Seine River Cruise
First thing in the morning, the Lewisburg students met up with Lille, our former foreign-exchange student from Germany. She traveled here just to spend the day with her Lewisburg friends, which was really a special treat! Then it was off to the Louvre. Our guide, Myriam, got everyone to the Mona Lisa, then the students went in their groups to various areas that interested them. The students must have really enjoyed it because 95% of them said that they wished we had longer than two hours there, as they felt it was not enough. I think it makes a huge difference that they studied a lot of the art/art movements in AP Euro and they knew what they were looking at.
After our all to brief stop at the Louvre, we made our way to the Opéra Garnier, home of the Phantom! We had a wonderful tour and saw some incredible architecture and design. As much as the students loved the intricacies of the Opéra, I think they were sorely disappointed to find out that there is no lake beneath the Opéra;.
We walked from the Opéra to the Champs-Élysées where they were breaking down the seating from the previous day's Tour de France. Some students went with Bill to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Others chose to do a little shopping along this most famous of streets (guess which group I was in?!)
After dinner, we made our way to the Pont Neuf and climbed aboard a Bateaux Mouches to cruise the River Seine. Always my favorite part of the trip, tonight did not disappoint. Although we had very chilly weather, we also had the most beautiful sunset!
Tuesday: Saint-Denis Basilica, Montmartre
First, I must apologize - there are no photos for today. I left my camera in the hotel room because I was just tired of carrying around. First, we went to the Basilica at Saint-Denis. We took a tour of this incredibly beautiful Gothic church which holds the remains of all but four of France's monarchs.
Then, we had a solid afternoon of free time. Some students went shopping, others ate their way around Paris. But we were very impressed that the groups of students could easily navigate their way around the Métro!
Dinner was at one of our favorite restaurants - La Poutre. The students were introduced to several of France's most well known dishes. They tried onion tart, beef bourguignon, and many even tried frog legs and escargot! Ooh la la!
After dinner, we enjoyed dessert crêpes and explored Sacré Cœur Basilica at highest point of Montmartre. Some students went with Bill and Ray to watch the Eiffel Tower glimmer, while a few of us who were exhausted decided to come back to the hotel (it was nearly 11 PM, so don't think we're too weak!)
Tomorrow is our last day in Paris. I will work on getting pictures on later, but until then, au revoir!
