Au Revoir Paris !

Père Lachaise Cemetery - Paris

Yesterday was our final day in Paris. I will miss my favorite city, but am happy to be coming home to see my two younger children - I miss them! 

We spent yesterday morning at the Musée d'Orsay looking at various Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works of art. It is a beautiful building as it was intended to be a railroad station but that did not happen. Instead of wasting some lovely architecture, it was turned into a museum.   I would post photos, but the d'Orsay is one of those places with strict no photo rules. We were permitted to take one photo, though, through the clock tower.

D'Orsay Clock View

We strolled back through the Tuileries gardens by the Louvre. Now, I have always liked the French, but after seeing this, I think they are freaking genius. I had planned to buy Bill a riding mower one of these days, but now, I think I'll just buy him a goat! He was tethered, and just munched away the grass throughout the gardens. Brilliant.

Goat Mower

After some lunch, we headed over to the Opéra Garnier for a guided tour. This was the first time Bill and I had the opportunity to tour the Opéra Garnier, and it did not disappoint! Of course this building was made famous by the book turned musical Phantom of the Opera. Our guide let us know that there is no lake beneath the building, although there is a large tank of water (in case of fire). Additionally, the chandelier did not fall, but the counterweight to the chandelier did fall and kill a woman. We learned all kinds of interesting facts not only about the building, but about life during the late 19th Century. We did not see the phantom, but we did see his box!

After the opera, we had a block of free time and spent that shopping until dinner. After dinner was a little more shopping, but most just went to the Seine and took in Paris in the evening one last time. 

Group hug with Larry

This morning, a group of us went to Père Lachaise cemetery where we visited the graves of some famous people. Those who did not go with us either chose to revisit a favorite area of Paris or just sleep in.

Before we let the students go last evening, we warned them that if they did not go with us in the morning, they had to be back at the hotel for our 3 PM departure and that the bus WOULD leave without, then they would be responsible for getting home on their own. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say as several smiles spread across their faces...we could see the wheels turning, trying to figure out how they could "miss" the bus and stay in Paris. Bill was quick to remind them that they would be homeless and jobless and that their parents would cut off their credit cards, so I am fairly certain everyone is coming home! ha ha

We leave our hotel in an hour, then head to Charles de Gaulle and will fly out at 7:30 PM Paris time (1:30 PM your time). We will see you all very soon...I'm sure you are excited to see your loved ones, and they are excited to see you and share with you their wonderful adventure in Europe! Thank you for following along! Au revoir!

Last Night in Paris

Since this was our last night in Paris, we all stayed out a little longer shopping and taking in the city one last time. This, of course, means it is late, I am tired, and will post today's happenings with photos tomorrow. We are taking the students to Père Lachaise first thing in the morning, then I will post something after that. Bonne Nuit!

Monday in Paris

Today began with a trip to the Invalides. Louis XIV built the Invalides as a military hospital, but today it is predominately a military museum, with only a small portion functioning in its original capacity. 

Les Invalides

But before we went inside the museum, we went to the chapel which holds the most famous Frenchman's remains. Of course I am talking about Napoleon Bonaparte!

The dome inside the Invalides chapel

The altar inside the chapel

Since we only had limited time at the military museum, we split up according to interests. Most students went to the medieval section, others went to the French Revolution & Napoleonic era, and a few of us went to the two world wars. It is such a fascinating museum - we all wished we had more time there!

After that, the group went shopping at Les Halles then went on to Saint-Denis Basilica. All but four French monarchs are buried at St-Denis and there are even remains of some of the Merovingians and Carolinians. The students loved it and many were excited that they saw the heart of the dauphin (Louis XVII) who died during the French Revolution - the doctor who did his autopsy secretly stole the boy's heart and petrified it - now it is in a glass jar in the crypt near the remains of his parents.

We ate another amazing meal, then headed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We stayed there and took lots of photos...until we saw lightening. We figured it probably wasn't such a great idea to hang around on top of one of the tallest landmarks in Paris, so we called it a night for the sight-seeing.

Bill, Gabrielle et moi

Lewisburg Students (& moi) 

Selinsgrove Students (& Bill)

Bill et moi

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Everyone by the Arc 

The kids and Larry

Tomorrow we go to the Musée d'Orsay to see the Impressionists, then the afternoon, we go to the Opéra Garnier...perhaps we will see the Phantom?

All About Town Sunday

Bonsoir! It was another very warm day in Paris, but it was cooler than yesterday, thank goodness! We spent our morning taking a bus tour of Paris. It was a great way to see the city. We made a couple of stops, but the one most enjoyed may have been the Eiffel Tower.

Our group poses in front of the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower

Pavit et moi

My "artsy" shot of the Eiffel Tower

After the bus tour and some lunch, everyone went to the Louvre...well, except me. I snuck off to the Mémorial de les Déportées. I have been wanting to see this for about a year, and could not when I was here in January due to the snow. This memorial was created to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of Jewish people deported from France to camps like Auschwitz-Birkinau, Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbruck, etc. during the Nazi Occupation.  I wish I could show you the photos of the actual memorial, but I had to pinky swear that I would not post them online. Seriously...those are the rules. The best I can offer is an outside shot ...

Memorial of the Deportees of France 

We made our way up some of Paris' steepest hills to Montmartre. This is the area where the greats of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism lived and worked. The students went inside the Sacré Coeur (another place with the no photo rule) and then enjoyed some free time before dinner.

Picasso's Studio

We ate at one of Bill's and my favorite restaurants - La Poutre. We had the quintessential French meal - beef bourguignon - and the students thought it was delicious. 

Larry explains Montmartre

We took students to see the famous (or infamous depending on your perspective) to see the outside of the Moulin Rouge. No one went in...the cost of tickets begins at around 100 euros! 

Can-Can Anyone?

I will try to post again tonight...I know you are all eager to read and see what we are doing. If I don't, don't worry - it doesn't mean there is something wrong. It just means I'm old and tired! À bientôt!

Sorry!

Please forgive me skipping Sunday's entry...unlike the young whipper-snappers we are with, I do get tired! The fast pace finally caught up with me and I needed to get some sleep last night. I promise I will post about yesterday later today, so check back soon! Sorry!!

Versailles

Bonsoir! We spent most of our day at Versailles - the palace of the Sun King (Louis XIV).  The students were impressed and perhaps a bit overwhelmed with the enormity and opulence of it all. I could describe every detail, but who wants to read all that?! Instead, I am going to just let the photos do the talking for today...enjoy!

In front of the Château

Le Jardin

The Hall of Mirrors

The King's Bed

The Room of Peace

The view from Marie Antoinette's room

Marie Antoinette's Bed (along with the walls, all hand embroidered!)

The top of Marie Antoinette's bed

Marie Antoinette and her children

The Gardens

Marie Antoinette's Hamlet

Le Moulin (the Mill) - MA's Hamlet

Shay and Courtney in the Hamlet

A bridge in the Hamlet

Gabrielle, Shay, Hannah, Courtney, Sophia, & Pavit

Hannah & her umbrella under the umbrella tree

Two rabbits...the ball of white fluff is actually a rabbit!

The farmhouse at the Hamlet

Sarah, Courtney, Dan, and Gabrielle

The Peacock struts to show us who's boss

Oink

Fountain of Bacchus

Warn the Ducks

Omaha Beach, Normandy, France

This morning, we visited the D-Day beaches via the American Cemetery.

Larry explains D-Day using the maps at the American Cemetery

While the students walked down to Omaha Beach, Bill, Gabrielle and I made our way to the site of Bill's great Uncle Edward's grave.

Grave of Bill's Uncle Edward

View of the English Channel from the American Cemetery

View of Omaha Beach from the American Cemetery

It is both moving and humbling to see the thousands of crosses and stars of David. I think we all felt a great sense of gratitude toward these men.

A small sample of the crosses that mark the graves of thousands of Americans

We left the American Cemetery and explored some German bunkers with artillery.

A poppy inside the barrel of some remaining German artillery

Kyle, Nick, Bill, Glen, Ben, and Tim standing by a German bunker 

Dan and Tim inside a German bunker

From there we went to seaside town of Arromanches and learned about the harbor that the British towed over from England and built in a matter of a couple of weeks to get food and supplies to the troops who had invaded on D-Day. We ate lunch by the beach and enjoyed a little down time before we moved on to our final destination - Paris!

Arromanches, France

We arrived in Paris around 5:30, checked into our hotel then went out for dinner. We ate at one of Bill's and my favorite restaurants Bistro Victoire. The students ate confit de canard - duck legs - most of them for the first time. It was unanimously voted the best meal so far (even our picky eaters loved it!) We could hear them planning on where and when they could eat duck next. So, you all better warn the ducks of Selinsgrove and Lewisburg that they may want to head south a little early this year!
After dinner, we headed to Pont Neuf and enjoyed a river cruise up and down the Seine. Everyone enjoyed it and it was a nice introduction to Paris. We saw three large groups of people dancing (swing, salsa, waltz) in the quay next to the Seine. Several students have decided that they want to go down and join in tomorrow evening. Weather permitting, of course.

Sarah, Emily, Courtney, Brook, & Kate enjoy the Batteaux Mouches 

Nick & Sophia on the Batteaux Mouches

Kayla, Pavit, Shay, Hannah & Wendy on the Seine

Tim, Nick, Bronson, Gabby & Becca

Tailah, Sarah, Lauren, Sedona, Dan, Kyle, Glen, Ben, Luke, & Jesse

Academie Française

The Eiffel Tower

Tomorrow is Versailles, which is one of our favorite places. However, if the Weather Channel is correct, we will run into a challenge we have not yet encountered. It is supposed to be 92 degrees and rain/thunderstorm all day. But, the Weather Channel has said that it is going to rain every day we have been here, and it has yet to happen!
I must bid you all a bonne nuit and get some sleep. Plus demain...au revoir!