Wednesday, June 20th - Paris, Notre Dame, Le Louvre, Eiffel Tower

This is our big day in Paris. First, we travel by bus with a certified guide giving us the history of the monuments and sights of Paris. Touring by bus is actually a great way to see the city. Yes, it is touristy, but if you really want to see as much as possible, it is the way to go. We were able to stop at the Eiffel Tower and take a few pictures.  Quick, quick, click, click!

The group in front of the Eiffel Tower. 

After the bus we were dropped off by Notre-Dame. Our first stop was to the sandwich shops to the right of Notre-Dame. Can’t get enough of those Jambon-fromage! One visit that is always on my Paris list is the ice cream shop of Bertillon. Crossing behind Notre-Dame to the island of Ile St. Louis you will find the best ice cream in the world! We all tried some different flavors. Of course, my choice is always Cassis.

 The girls at Notre-Dame

We walked back toward Notre-Dame for our visit to the cathedral. Notre-Dame is awe-inspiring. I imagine not only the number of workers that made this possible, but also the numerous people who have come to worship here. Hayley wants to return here for mass when we come back to Paris. I think it really touched the students.

After Notre-Dame we got on the Metro to head to the Louvre. What is Paris without the Mona Lisa? Visitors are always amazed and the enormity of the Louvre. When you visit, you must look at the ceilings as well as the paintings on the walls. Remember that this was the residence of the kings before Versailles and Napoleon also had his apartments here.

I took the group to the antiquities after the Mona Lisa. We saw Roman pottery and Egyptian mummies, scriptures and sarcophagus. Mental saturation can happen in about 2 hours. There is just so much to see. So we took the time to sit outside around the fountain of the pyramid. One more site to see…Our guide spotted Flo Rida, an American rapper. Sophie was able to get a picture of him. He had quite an entourage!

Flo Rida and Sophie!

Our guide Yasmina then took us to the Palais Royal. Here are the black and white striped pillars. This is a fun place for kids and adults!

In front of the Louvre

The day was not yet over! Dinner on the Champs-Elysees! This was a great evening because I was able to see Gwen who lives in Paris. She is the daughter of my dear friends Sabine and Jean-Gabriel. She is a fashion model in Paris. Our dinner was excellent. All of the meals so far have been very good.

Now to the Eiffel Tower to see the view of Paris from the top! Luckily our guide was able to get us to the front of the line with our reservations; otherwise we would have been in for a 2 hour line. It is quite impressive as you travel up the sides of the tower. You can see all of Paris fro, the top. The kids took plenty of pictures. And of course, on the way down we took the stairs. My calves were burning! By the time we got to the bottom it was about 10:00pm. What a day! Although I recommend visiting Paris for 3-5 days, you can see a lot on 1 or 2!

The girls at the Louvre