March 13, 2011

My, my, we are back in our host families after three wonderful days in Paris. While at our little hotel, we had unsuccessful internet access and I had to suspend any posts on the blog. So sorry for that!! Here are three entries by Taylor, Katelyn and Greg for each of our three days in the City of Light.

Day 1
Our first day in Paris was chock full of activities. After grabbing baguette sandwiches for a picnic in the park (Jardin des Tuileries, in front of Le Louvre Museum), we explored the Louvre. It was incredible! Next was Notre Dame and then we went to an early-ish dinner in the Latin Quarter. All 12 of us (students) fit in one small restaurant, and since we were the ones at the time, everyone sang Happy Birthday to me - it was so nice! Next we walked down the road to the theatre and saw a short comedy (La Lecon by Ionesco). To end the night, we went on a boat ride on the Seine and saw a lot of cool bridges and buildings and the Eiffel Tower from a close distance. It was then that it really hit me - we were really in Paris! What a wonderful birthday! --Taylor

Day 2
We began our day with a great breakfast at the hotel (croissant, hot chocolate, coffee or tea, breads and jam) then made our way over the the Musee d'Orsay. The museum used to be an old railroad station and houses a majority of the impressionists collection in Paris. There was a great Van Gogh exhibit and many other paintings and statues. After some free time shopping and eating lunch at cafe, we visited Le Jardin du Luxembourg where we saw familiar scenes from our French book in class French In Action. Then we took the metro to the Centre Pompidou (Beaubourg) and rode up several escalators to get to look over the entire city. After dinner at a Chinese restaurant (our choice of food!) near the hotel, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower. We went to the top, yes all the way up, and the view was beautiful, especially at night. Riding a carousel and snacking on crepes was the perfect way to end our second day. --Katelyn

Day 3
On the third day, the Lord said...
It occurs to me that we have had some fortuitous timing on this brief trip. Aside from the tour boat under the bridge incident (ask your children about the details...) and the nice little moment of nostalgia when we caught the last ride on the merry go round by the Eiffel Tower, we happened to bump into a famous actrice, Emma Stone, while examining famous artifacts in a famous palace turned museum, Versailles. Unfortunately for me, I was preoccupied with a nosebleed at the time and was thus unable to make a proper introduction. Other than that, the third day in Paris was pretty interesting.
After having seen the magnificent art and architecture of Versailles, we triumphantely retrieved a confiscated half full soda bottle from a gang of skeptical security staff and went window shopping for 400 euro designer clothing on the Champs Elysees, where we bought some very expensive cheese sticks from the slowest fast food restaurant known to mankind. Fourteen train stops later, we took a special slanted elevator up a small mountain (read the funiculair) and saw the Sacre Coeur Basilica and its surrounding artsy neighborhood streets and shops. Unfortunately, we had to return to our hotel shortly after for we had to retire early so that we could get up at some ungodly hour in the morning for the return trip to Guebwiller. Regardless of the time spent travelling between locations, the final day in Paris was certainly a well-spent one and I hope to hold onto the memories far into the future. Au revoir. --Greg (Happy Birthday today to Greg!)

Scroll down to see lots of Paris pics.