Days 1 & 2 - France (June 6 and 7, 2019)
Hurray! There were a lot of smiles, nerves, and even a few tears, but the day is finally here!
We had two first time flyers! Can you imagine getting on a plane and getting off in Paris? What a great story to tell!
It was pretty surprising how fast they loaded up the plane and emptied it out. I was pleased with a direct flight to Paris as sometimes layovers can be a struggle. But we all made it on the plane!
I watched a few good movies and even snuck in a few hours sleep on the plane. On our descent into Paris, I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time from the plane! You have to squint, but it’s directly under the blue part of the wing of the plane.
Paris has stepped up their ‘welcome’ signs since the last time I was here.
Here are some of the interesting things on the way from the airport, including Heidi trying to steal a few minutes of sleep, and the whole group at the hotel:
We took the RER A into Paris (our hotel is in zone 3) and met up with our Tour Director, Solène. I really like her. She’s spunky, energetic and French. 😊
That Notre Dame 👆🏼 is made from Legos. But if shows what the roof used to look like. We then walked past La Fontaine des Innocents. It used to be a cemetery, but they decided to clean up a lot of Paris and moved the bones down to the Catacombs, when they did.
We also saw the outside of the Pompidou Center and the Stravinsky Fountain too, and were able to make our way through the Latin Quartier.
This is th Tour Saint Jacques. It’s part of a pilgrimage process that goes from France to Spain.
We walked past a fountain that Napoleon III erected, and then saw the Concergerie. It was the first castle in France, and also the place where Marie Antoinette was held prisioner before she was beheaded.
We passed by the outside of the Sainte Chapelle (Louis IX) and saw a few peeks at Notre Dame.
It is pretty impressive that so much of it is till standing after the horrific fire. But rebuilding will be interesting!
We got to peek inside l’église St Séverin and my students enjoyed it.
After a few more pictures of Notre Dame, we headed over to dinner.
The dinner was called a ‘complete salad,’ and it was good! The dessert was a Basque cake with a light lemon and almond cream inside of it.
A few more beautiful things to see on our way home, and then took the RER A line back to the hotel for an early night.
I really enjoyed watchching my students experience Paris as we walked around. Despite the intermittent wind and rain, it was a fun start to the trip!
Here’s my cute group at the airport:
We had two first time flyers! Can you imagine getting on a plane and getting off in Paris? What a great story to tell!
I am so grateful to have Heidi on the trip with me. We are going to create a lot of great memories together. Starting with this one:
It was pretty surprising how fast they loaded up the plane and emptied it out. I was pleased with a direct flight to Paris as sometimes layovers can be a struggle. But we all made it on the plane!
I watched a few good movies and even snuck in a few hours sleep on the plane. On our descent into Paris, I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time from the plane! You have to squint, but it’s directly under the blue part of the wing of the plane.
Paris has stepped up their ‘welcome’ signs since the last time I was here.
We found our ride and met up with another group who had a delay. We got on the bus to go drop off our luggage, before heading into Paris!
Here are some of the interesting things on the way from the airport, including Heidi trying to steal a few minutes of sleep, and the whole group at the hotel:
We took the RER A into Paris (our hotel is in zone 3) and met up with our Tour Director, Solène. I really like her. She’s spunky, energetic and French. 😊
That Notre Dame 👆🏼 is made from Legos. But if shows what the roof used to look like. We then walked past La Fontaine des Innocents. It used to be a cemetery, but they decided to clean up a lot of Paris and moved the bones down to the Catacombs, when they did.
We also saw the outside of the Pompidou Center and the Stravinsky Fountain too, and were able to make our way through the Latin Quartier.
This is th Tour Saint Jacques. It’s part of a pilgrimage process that goes from France to Spain.
We walked past a fountain that Napoleon III erected, and then saw the Concergerie. It was the first castle in France, and also the place where Marie Antoinette was held prisioner before she was beheaded.
Our Tour Director, Solène explained the clock was from Charles V. The story is told that he won a great battle. By the creek, there were lilies (fleur de lys). He then decided the fleur de lys would be the symbol for the royal household of France. He was also the same king that moved the royal palace from the Concergerie to what is now the Louvre.
We passed by the outside of the Sainte Chapelle (Louis IX) and saw a few peeks at Notre Dame.
It is pretty impressive that so much of it is till standing after the horrific fire. But rebuilding will be interesting!
We got to peek inside l’église St Séverin and my students enjoyed it.
After a few more pictures of Notre Dame, we headed over to dinner.
The dinner was called a ‘complete salad,’ and it was good! The dessert was a Basque cake with a light lemon and almond cream inside of it.
We then walked over to Le Procope, which is the oldest coffee shop in Paris. It was established in 1686. Heidi was really interested in visiting it too. We wanted to grab a quick drink, but they were serving dinner already, so you needed a reservation to get in. But we could talk a few pictures.
A few more beautiful things to see on our way home, and then took the RER A line back to the hotel for an early night.
I really enjoyed watchching my students experience Paris as we walked around. Despite the intermittent wind and rain, it was a fun start to the trip!
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