Morning kids. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, the patron saint of our school; it’s weird seeing stuff about it here in France along with green beer. Apparently everyone wants to be Irish for a day. Coming from Thunder Bay, I would be remiss without acknowledging St. Urho too! So what I’m deducing is that March 17th is a big excuse for people to party and drink…fair enough.
Anyway, I am feeling rather decent, but still tired. I think I slept okay, but yesterday was an exhausting day. And a long day; I was up before most of the kids at 5:30 and didn’t get to bed until after midnight. My math skills, as my wife will tell you, are subpar, but that works out to an 18+ hour day. Even though I napped on the bus, it would appear that it was insufficient given the situation. We were able to sleep in a bit today, but I won’t feel better until we start moving and get the blood flowing.
Sadly, today is our last day on the trip. Ten days seems a lot of time, but it goes by so fast! We have a busy day planned, with a bus tour in the morning, some walking in the afternoon and we finish with a boat ride on the Seine in the evening. We’re going to do our best to enjoy every moment, though it will be a long day again, since the river cruise doesn’t start until 8:30. I’m sure everyone will sleep well on the plane tomorrow.
Alright, so it’s midnight, I have to be up at 5:30 and I’m just settling down to finish this post. I am beat…it was a long day! My phone is telling me that I walked 17km and did nearly 25,000 steps. No wonder my feet hurt.
My walking began bright and early, as I had to find a nearby bank machine for a few last euros to get me through the day. It was a bit crisp, but it was a refreshing walk for a few blocks. From there it was on to the bus, which would take us downtown for our guided tour. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours, and we saw many of the important sights and attractions of the city. We made photo stops at the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and Les Invalids. I think the kids got their fill of typical tourist photos!
Arc de Triomphe, March 2019.
Eiffel Tower, March 2019.
Les Invalides, March 2019.
Once the tour ended, we broke for lunch. The kids had about an hour to do some shopping and grab a bite to eat. Myself and Ms. Caza wandered down to a local street market, which was amazing to see. The fresh produce, fruit, meat and fish vendors had some unbelievable products for sale. We settled on a nearby restaurant where we had a very enjoyable meal.
Paris Market, March 2019.
Once we were back together again, we headed over to the Louvre, about a 20 minute walk away. Students under 18 have free entry to the museum, and most took the opportunity to see great works such as the Mona Lisa. Myself and Ms. Caza waited outside for the kids to return and then they had another short break to pick up some souvenirs at nearby stores on Rue Rivoli.
Louvre, March 2019.
Louvre, March 2019.
Since we were on free time, Sebastian had planned to meet us at Notre Dame. That meant we had to make our own way the 2km to Notre Dame, which was about a 30 minute walk. I was in charge of leading the group, which did cause me some concern, not about the route, but rather the potential to lose someone. Our route was fairly simple; east on Rivoli and then south on Pont Neuf, across the Seine, along the river then south to Notre Dame. We arrived on time with everyone in tow…mission accomplished! Maybe someday I could be a European tour guide-I know all useless information!
Paris, March 2019.
At Notre Dame, we took the opportunity to enter the cathedral and briefly see the inside. Afterwards, we let the kids look around a bit before we met Sebastian at the statute of Charlemagne for our walk to dinner. Our restaurant tonight was the Auberge Notre-Dame, a short distance south across the Seine. The meal consisted of chicken in some kind of sauce with mushrooms, rice and green beans. Dessert was apples in a rather runny liquid, which like dinner, was meh. Not the worst EF meal, but definitely not the best.
Notre-Dame, March 2019.
Notre-Dame, March 2019.
Statute of Charlemagne, March 2019.
After dinner we had some time to kill, so we spent it walking around the Latin Quarter of the city. The weather during the day had been all over the place; sun, showers, wind and cold. We missed a good downpour in the restaurant, but when we left, it was pretty cold. We wandered for almost an hour, and then made our way to the boat pier on the Seine.
St. Michel, March 2019.
I have done this boat tour several times before, but it never disappoints. Despite the chill in the air, it was a great experience for everyone. The highlight was obviously when we passed the fully-lit Eiffel Tower, which made for an amazing photo op. I spent most of my time outside the glass enclosure, recording video of the tour, until my gloved hands became so cold that I decided to call it quits.
Eiffel Tower, March 2019.
From the Seine it was a short walk to the Metro station for a short ride to our transfer point to the RER, which took us to our hotel. We arrived back just after 10:00, which meant we were out for more than 13 hours. Many kids the kids were falling asleep on the train, which told us they had thoroughly enjoyed the day.
On that note, I going to bed. I have to be up in 5 hours and I still need to finish uploading this post. I am going to be very tired tomorrow. I’ll be back in a matter of hours with all the info on our final day of the trip. Until then…
Poverty, Agony, Distress & Want! 