Day 10 kids and guess what? You probably guessed wrong, so I’ll tell you…I’m sick. Ugh, I knew this would happen. You get rundown physically, your immune system can’t keep up and bam! My throat is a bit sore and I can feel it in my lungs. It’s okay, I’ll tough it out (really, what else am I going to do). It’s the Dadistel way right?

Today is our last full day on tour…it’s very fitting that it’s Good Friday, the most solemn day in the Christian calendar. I think there are a lot of mixed emotions; it’s sad to be on the last day of the tour, but I think for a lot of us maybe it’s time to start thinking about home. I know that I miss my wife and my kids and it would be nice to see them again. Our agenda this morning starts with a bus tour of the city of Paris, followed by a pizza lunch, the Louvre and then whatever we have time for.

The bus tour was great as always. Our tour guide was Stephanie, who was very knowledgable about the sites. After about an hour of driving, we stopped at Les Invalides for a break and a photo op. From there we drove to Place de Trocadero, which is “the” place to get photos of the Eiffel Tower. Back on the bus, our final stop was the Arc di Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées. Leaving Stephanie and the bus behind, we got an up-close view of this amazing landmark before leaving for lunch.

Les Invalides selfie, April 2017.

Eiffel Tower selfie, April 2017.

Arc de Triomphe, April 2017.

Lunch today was covered by EF and was at a place we had eaten on previous tours, Flamme’s. I didn’t realize it was a chain, and the location we ate at was not the one we’ve visited before. Flamme’s is short for Flammekueche, which is an Alascian style pizza. It has a very thin crust, and is topped with some form of white sauce and various meats and veggies (bacon, onions and mushrooms). It’s all you can eat, which I know the kids appreciated. It was finished off with caramel, chocolate and apple desert flammekueche, which was delicious.

Flammekueche, April 2017.

Flammekueche, April 2017.

After lunch we walked the two kilometres or so from the restaurant to the Louvre. It’s was very pretty in the warm temperatures and vibrant colours of spring through the Tuileries Garden. Unfortunately our visit to the Louvre was extremely brief; two hours is only enough time to see a few things in the enormous museum. Since I was there twice already, I followed Ms. Caza on her mandatory journey to see the Mona Lisa.

Louvre, April 2017.

Louvre, April 2017.

We’re on the bus heading away from Paris…it’s always sad on the last day leaving the city. It was a nice end to the day. From the Louvre, we walked a short distance to Notre Dame Basilica. It is such a beautiful church, which made a big impression on the kids. I’ve been there on two other occasions and I’m still struck every time. The only thing that has changed is the security around the basilica, with police checkpoints and armed military patrols in the square. It’s a sad reality of the times we live in.

Notre Dame Basilica, April 2017.

Charlemagne, April 2017.

From Notre Dame we hopped the Metro to our restaurant for dinner. This by far was our most stressful ride. It was packed, and more people kept coming on the car my group of 9 were in. When we got to our station, Gard du Nord, we had to push our way out of the car; the kids followed my instructions to a tee-polite and aggressive. Dinner tonight was at L’Orange Vert, a short distance from the Metro station. It was okay; salad, carrots and a type of Sheperd’s Pie. After dinner we walked to our pick up point for the bus transfer back to the hotel.

It was a long, but productive day. According to those wearing Fitbits, we did upwards of 23,000 steps. My legs, ankles and feet are killing me! I guess I’ll have lots of time to rest them on our flights back home tomorrow. On that note, I better turn in. I still feel crappy and it will be another long day. I’ll be blogging the whole way home so I’ll be back tomorrow night with all final news. Until then…