Countdown to Paris: 2 Days

I love Paris in the springtime; however, the high is currently in the 40s. Still, here I go. Tuesday, March 26th I will be on my way to Paris. Stay tuned for more posts from the blog...

Normandy, Mont St. Michel, and Chartres

The last two days have been packed, and I've spent 38 hours straight with 18 teenagers. To say I'm exhausted is an understatement. I am loving the peace and solitude of Fabienne's apartment. However, this was perhaps my most fun two days because I saw things I've never visited before. (except Chartres) They did not disappoint.

First on the list was the American cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy. This was certainly a memorable and very touching experience. We watched a short film about five of the soldiers buried there, as well as the French people's reaction to what the Americans did, and then we walked out to the beach. The guide explained the lay of the land, so to speak. She showed us on a giant map where the different divisions landed, how far they are from where we were, etc. And then we walked over to the cemetery. There are just under 10,000 soldiers buried there. After the war when the families were asked whether they wanted their deceased family member's body transported back to the US, 60% said yes. The other 40% wanted them to be buried in Normandy. Of course, thousands others were never found, and they are memorialized on a wall on the edge of the cemetery. It was appropriately cloudy, cold, and windy as we walked through the cemetery, pausing to read some of the names. The guide said there were 44 sets of brothers buried there, as well as a father and son. She also regretted that we had only over an hour to visit because she said she wanted to tell us more stories about some of the people. I pointed out that we could stop at every grave and there'd be a story. The students were all respectful while taking it all in. Some shared with the group where their own family members had served. It certainly was a harrowing experience, and one that we won't forget.

Thankfully we were hungry so that we could move on and get our spirits up for the rest of the trip. We ate at a typical French restaurant bordering the beaches. We ate croque-monsieurs, frites, pizza and even mussels. Delicious. Then we headed to St. Malo. This small Normandy town features boutiques, crepe stands, cafes, and ramparts bordering the sea. We had free time here to explore. The view from the ramparts was beautiful, and the small cobblestone streets were picturesque and oh so French.

Finally we arrived at Mont St. Michel that night. I can't even begin to describe how fantastic it is. It almost looks like something out of a medieval Disney movie in the sense that it doesn't even seem real. Cobblestone streets, tiny passages, endless numbers of stairs, quaint boutiques, creperies, and of course the beautiful abbey at the summit. Thursday night we ate dinner and then walked around the town for a little while, but as it was so dark, we couldn't see that much, except of course the illuminated abbey. Friday morning after breakfast we had a little over an hour to meander around. It was magnifique! One could easily get "lost" wandering around, trying out different stairs or passages. But that is the fun of it. In a sense, it reminded me of Venice in the way that you can't get off the island, there are no cars, it's quiet in the mornings, the smell of the salty sea surrounds you, and you can wander around aimlessly forever. Of course, trade in gondolas for about three hundred stairs and gelato for nutella crepes. The view was beautiful. And we lucked out with a sunny, gorgeous, even hot day, on the Mont. The visit to the abbey was also lovely. We grabbed a quick lunch and then sadly had to leave for Chartres. But it was Superbe! Incroyable! Fantastique! Definitely my favorite thing we've done so far on the trip.

Lastly was the visit to Chartres. Chartres is a small town about an hour outside of Paris, known for it's stunning cathedral. The cathedral is a mix of different types of architecture, most notably Romanesque and Gothic on the outside, and add in a little Renaissance and Baroque on the inside. The tour was long, but we learned a lot about how the stained glass windows were paid for by guilds, and how the style of architecture inside changed as the king changed. After this, we did a quick walk through the town and finally ended at a creperie for dinner. Then it was back to Paris.

Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday

Well it's been quite a busy two days. Tuesday we went to the Musee d'Orsay in the morning. That was ok, but not my favorite visit to the museum. The tour guide talked too long at each painting, and so we only saw about eight. But there was also a big exhibit that went to Chicago, so I think a lot of the good stuff was missing. I did see my favorite painting by Renoir though, so it wasn't all bad.

From there we went to the Jardins des Tuileries for a picnic. How French! The weather was gorgeous, and so we enjoyed sitting out in the sun. We walked to Place de la Concorde after and were smack in the middle of Fashion Week. How fabulous. The only thing we saw were some really interestingly dressed people, but all week I've seen odd hairstyles, outfits, etc. because people are going to the fashion week events.

We then went to the Lido, the classy cabaret on the Champs Elysees. I learned that you never wear green on stage in France (of course, I had to wear a green shirt) because Moliere was wearing green on stage when he fell down. People thought it was part of the play, but in fact he was dead. So...unlucky. Also, you can never say "rope" or "rabbit." These come from sailing traditions. A lot of sailors worked in theatres because they could climb up to the rafters and work the backstage drops. Saying rope was unlucky on a ship, and that tradition carried over to the theatres. And as for rabbits, once there was a boat sailing on the ocean. The men had brought rabbits to eat with them on the voyage, but the rabbits escaped, ate the wood of the boat, and the boat sank. So....unlucky. Anyway, it was fun to see the backstage areas of the Lido, but the most fun was the rehearsal on the stage. At first it was a group number, but at the end it was a couple dancing. The girl must've been made of rubber. The final pose was her with her head touching her feet, arching back in a complete circle. The man picked her up, lifted her over his head, still while she was in the circle. Then suddenly he threw her up in the air, and she fell/slid down him as a circle around him. I hope I wrote that clearly enough. It was unbelievable! The best was that after that, Deborah said, "Hey, Shay, go show her how it's done." Yeah, right.

After the Lido, we went to the Latin Quarter to hang out, shop, explore pedestrian streets, and generally meander for about two hours. And then we met all our French buddies at a Moroccan restaurant for dinner. I was surprised that I liked the food. Of course, I didn't add any spices to my couscous and chicken. Haha. How bland can you get? We didn't get in until almost 11pm, and I had a slight headache, so I went straight to bed.

This leads me to Wednesday. Appropriately, we spent Ash Wednesday in two cathedrals. First was St. Chapelle. Built in the 13th century by Louis IX, this gothic cathedral was made to house relics. It is not very big, but most impressive. Three of the four walls are all stained-glass windows, and the fourth wall has a giant rose window at the top. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was breathtaking. This was my first time visiting it, and I was not disappointed. It certainly lived up to my expectations.

Then we went next door to La Conciergerie. This used to be a palace, but was transformed into a prison during the Revolution. Prisoners were held here until they were carted off to Place de la Concorde to be beheaded at the guillotine. Most notable among them was Marie Antoinette. There is a recreation of her cell and a chapel on the site of her actual cell. Had I thought about it, we should've all eaten cake in the cell. That would've been so appropriate. Alas.

Last on the tour with the kiddos was Notre Dame. No matter how many times you see it, it's still quite remarkable. This time I enjoyed sitting in the relative warmth, listening to organ music, and not having teenagers ask me questions or say my name. It was wonderful.

The kids went off with their buddies, and I joined Fabienne and her two friends Sabrina and Marlene for lunch. They are both really sweet and funny, and I hated having to tell them goodbye. Fabienne, who is still not feeling totally well, went home, and I went shopping on Rue de Rivoli. This street of shops runs from the Louvre all the way to the Bastille. I was successful in finding French ensemble pieces as well as gifts.

Tonight, Fabienne and I ate a quick dinner : salmon and avocados and chocolate cake, and then headed off to the movies. We saw The Fighter, which opened here today. It was fantastic. Fabienne was happy there were subtitles what with their thick Boston accents. At times, I too was happy there were subtitles. Most amusing was a scene in which they go to a French film. They can't pronounce it correctly, and Amy Adams' character complains about having to read subtitles. That got a laugh.

Now I'm off to bed because I have to leave with the students at 7am for Normandy and Mont St. Michel. I'm not taking my computer, so it'll be Friday or Saturday before I write again. Yikes!

Happy Lundi Gras

It was not a very busy day today. First we went to the Eiffel Tower. It was sunny and gorgeous outside, so the view from the top was fantastic, but it was also colder today and windy at the top. We did not stay for very long up there. Toes and fingers frozen, we headed back to school. After lunch in the cafeteria, we went to the Louvre.

The Louvre was packed. There were more people there than there have been anywhere this whole trip. The kids took the Shay's Highlights of the Louvre tour, and then had free time to spend on their own. I always like seeing Liberty Leading the People and the Italian sculpture of Cupid and Psyche. Two of the students are currently in AP Art History, and we appreciated their explanations of some of the paintings. I think the kids should study art earlier on, because it is hard to appreciate all of the Louvre unless you know what you're looking at. Several times when they had a chance to sit down in the galleries, many of them would pull out the cell phone and play games. I can't believe that!! I'm so glad I'm not of that generation. Why wouldn't you want to look at the art?!

After school, Fabienne unfortunately had a stomach ache and wanted to come home. This meant no gourmet meal for Shay. haha. Just kidding. I'm not that spoiled. I had leftovers. We postponed out trip to an exhibit on Dior til Saturday. So the fashion blog post will not be until the end of the week! Saturday night, Fabienne's friends want me and her to come over to their house for dinner. This is because when they met me in the bar at that concert, they thought I was awesome. Hellz yeah! And Gilles and his boyfriend Cedric, who is the French version of just Jack, will be going too. I'm looking forward to that after this long week of touring!

La Vie Parisienne

Last night, after dinner in a brasserie, Fabienne, Gilles (her gay guy friend), and I went to see La Vie Parisienne, a musical, at Theatre Antoine. The theatre itself was beautiful. It had posters of plays by Camus, Sartre, Tennessee Williams, and Shakespeare. There was the orchestra level, and then three additional balconies, none of which were very big, so it certainly had an intimate feel.

The show was a musical, with music by opera composer, Offenbach. The writers used his repetoire of compositions and added French lyrics. They'd pep up the melodies with faster tempos and additional instruments, beats, and a French twist on some of them.

The play itself was like theatre within a theatre. There were 13 actors, all dressed in very French black and white costumes, who sat on stage almost the entire time. It started off as if the actors had assembled for rehearsal of a play. In fact the set was just the bare stage itself, complete with the clock on the wall in real time, brick walls, exit lights, etc. Then they got their parts, and put the show on. Think Nick Bottom in Midsummer, but the entire play was like this. One actor was "on book" and a couple times fed actors their lines. In addition, when a scene was being played, there were other things happening in the company of actors "offstage." I say offstage, because of course they were still on stage. All the way upstage were what looked like prop rooms. In an show not like this, they would be covered with the set or a backdrop, but in this show they were exposed and used as actors changed clothes and put away props. There was even a moment where the girls in this room gathered around a mirror that had suddenly lit up just like in a dressing room, and they were getting ready to come on for their next scene. The stage manager was also a character, and his funniest bit involved the entrance of the characters with a piece of set. There was a drop that was a door and window to a cafe. When characters entered into the cafe without going through the door, the stage manager would come out and motion for them to enter again, this time through the door. They'd have to redeliver their lines as well, which got a big laugh.

The other incredible part was that aside from the entire cast being able to sing and dance, they could also play instruments, several of them played more than one. So when they were not in the scene, the actors were the musicians. The grand piano remained on stage, making it a part of this theatre within a theatre set. Several different people played the piano throughout. The main girl, when not in the scene, played the flute or the bass, another played cello, the stage manager was the percussionist, playing drums and some sort of Orff instrument. The violin player doubled as the guitarist, and the character who was the assistant to the stage manager surprised the audience by playing the harp. The stage manager would occasionally motion for the cast to accompany the song on an instrument of his choosing, and they'd act like they'd never played before, and then of course play it wonderfully. But they'd make a bit out of this initially acting as if they were trying to play for the first time. So of course not every song had the same sound because depending on who was in the scene, they wouldn't be able to play their own instrument. But as I said, many knew how to play the piano, so it was always available.

The show ended with a can-can number, and the actors moved seamlessly from dancing to playing an instrument, to dancing again, to playing a different instrument, and singing at the same time. It was an amazing finale.

The story itself was simple enough to understand, even though I didn't get all the French. It was about a Parisien guy who is trying to seduce a visiting Baroness from Sweden, but her husband is there, so the guy tries to get his girlfriend to flirt with the Baron, so that he may have the baroness all to himself. Of course, two other members of the cast try to seduce the Baron themselves. In the end, the girlfriend tricks everyone and sets up the Baron and Baroness, they realize they love each other, and the girlfriend can return to her Parisien boyfriend. So typical of a French plot. What I enjoyed most was how they were able to appear as a theatre company putting on a play, but that in itself was a play. They were all so talented! I had a great time and wish it would exist in English so that you could all see it.

I found this link on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJ86joSsFm0&feature=related
There's just a couple parts where the writer is talking that you won't understand, but if you watch the various bits of production numbers you'll see what I'm talking about. It's not a very long clip. Enjoy!

My favorite part of town

First off, I love that I have a favorite part of town in Paris. How chic. And Montmartre it is. This morning, after barely enough sleep, we ventured to the Moulin Rouge to start our tour of the artsy, bohemian part of town. From there, we climbed the hill up to Place du Tertre. Walking on the cobblestone streets, I thought, "how could one possibly do this in heels?" And yet, there the French women go, in heels and coats and red lipstick looking oh so fashionable. We continued past Place du Tertre to Sacre Coeur. After our visit inside, I let everyone have two hours of free time to sit at cafes, have crepes, and do souvenir shopping.

I took some pictures first, listened to a man playing an accordion (of course), bought some souvenirs and post cards, and then sat at a cafe right on Place du Tertre to write my postcards, drink a cafe au lait, and watch as people walked by. As the kids would walk by, they'd show me what they bought, but several of them said, "oh I thought you were a French person." Yes! Success! I've tricked my own travel companions.

They all went home with their hosts after we made it back to the school, and I came to Fabienne's, where she had delicious food ready for me for lunch. We had a mix of chicken, rice, mushrooms and creme fraiche. And bread and cheese as well, naturally. In the afternoon we hung out, and I am getting ready to go pick up her gay guy friend Gille, who I met last year, and we are all going to dinner and the theatre. What else would you do with your gay guy friend?! We're going to see "La Vie Parisienne" a satiric opera/musical comedy. It should be good.

More tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures!

Vendredi

This morning, the students and I all attended classes with our French hosts. One of their four classes was fencing lessons. The fencing teacher at the school happens to be the coach for the National French team as well as one of the organizers for the Olympics fencing competitions. So, I'd say he's pretty good at fencing. The kids enjoyed his instruction and having the opportunity to scream "en garde"!

Other classes included French, history, math, Spanish, and English. When we all reconvened, they had a lot to say about the differences between St. Jean and Country Day. Most notably, the students don't change classes, but stay in the same room, and the teachers come to them. I was not a fan of that system at all, as I was constantly following Fabienne up and down stairs to different rooms. Because the students are already in the room, when the teacher enters, the students stand up, say hello, and then sit after the teacher sits. I told our kids that we definitely had to start that tradition at Country Day! One freshman boy smiled and said, "No one would do that." Another difference was that the French teachers lectured a lot and the students took notes. In the language classes it was more interactive, and our kids were impressed at the difficult vocabulary they learn in English-for instance the words dilapidated and old haunt. They also enjoyed participating in a skit where they were the French person wanting to immigrate to America, and the French were trying to convince them otherwise. (This is because they are studying Ellis Island and immigration to America in English class) This was amusing because of the reasons they gave to go to America. As Antonio said, "We have football, hamburgers, and Megan Fox." And the French retort was "Our food is better." But Fabienne and I noticed that the French students did not give very convincing arguments to stay in France and not to immigrate. This is probably because they all want to visit the United States. As Sam struggled to help his partner come up with reasons not to go to the US, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I honestly can't think of any reasons you wouldn't want to go."

After lunch at school, we headed off to the Arc de Triomphe and free time on the Champs Elysees. The woman who took our group ticket at the Arc was quintessential rude French. We all had to go in together, a group of 18 plus me, and I made sure that there weren't any other people mixed in, so by the time I got back to the front of the line, I arrived at the entrance at the same time as a student. The woman spoke to him, but then saw it was a school group and started yelling at him, "Where is your chaperone?" Of course, he had no idea what she was saying, but I raised my hand and said, "I'm right here." (all this is in French, by the way) So she said, "Well you need to be at the front of your group." So I said, "Yes, well this student inadvertently stepped in front of me." So she says all miffed, "You should pay better attention." Ugh. What I really wanted to say was "It's people like you who give your entire population a bad rep!!" But I didn't. I just proceeded up the 284 steps. I must say, I did tell the students that while this is the only exercise I do all year, most of them play Varsity sports, and yet they were huffing and puffing all the way up! The views from the top were spectacular especially since today was another sunny and gorgeous day. Once we got back on the Champs, they had an hour and half to wander into all the shops. Favorites included H&M, Mercedes and Peugeot show rooms, Lacoste, and the crepe stand!

After school, Fabienne and I went to a restaurant near the school for dinner. I had eggplant something with salad and fried ham. It was so good. Then we went to a bar near the Opera House to hear a band play and meet up with some of Fabienne's friends. The band was called Calamity Jeanne. Like Calamity Jane, but Frenchified. The band consisted of one electric guitar, a guy on percussion, and a singer. We ended up finding out the drummer and singer are married and the sister of the drummer was an old friend of the friend of Fabienne. Whatever. Anyway, suddenly I was like connected to the band. Best part of that was the sister/sister-in-law brought her three year old to see her aunt and uncle perform. Meanwhile, she was pregnant with twins and in a bar!! So, pregnant, and toddler in tow, surrounded by smoke, alcohol, and a crowd of people. We left there at about 11, came home, and now I've got to go to sleep because I take the kids to Montmartre tomorrow at 8:15.

Versailles, Napoleon, and a boat cruise...oh my!

This morning I met the kids at school, and we headed out to Versailles. They enjoyed Marie Antoinette's room the most after the Galleries des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors). Despite the fact that we often found ourselves trapped in Japanese tour groups, we managed to squeeze through the gold-drenched rooms of the castle, and get out to the gardens. I had to kill some time before lunch, so I led the group thru one of the maze-like gardens. Then I went in two circles. They were not fans of that! When we finally came out of the maze, we were back on the main path, and this one boy said, "Are you kidding me? We could've just walked right here!" Whatever-fresh air is good for them. It was there that I realized I was wearing a scarf that Libby, a student on the trip, gave to me for Christmas about 3 years ago. We took a picture commemorating this discovery. The whole group ate lunch at La Flotille, a restaurant on the garden grounds. We all had mushroom and ham omelets, salad, fries, and a pear tarte. Delicious. The kids liked it as well, and even were able to sit and eat for an hour and a half. They are becoming French so quickly! We walked back to the castle when they had to have a break and sit on the steps. I made fun of them for all being Varsity sport athletes, and yet I was the only one walking quickly and not needing a break.

After Versailles, we went to Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried. Wow. Obviously someone thought highly of himself. He had a whole church built just to house his tomb, which is located under the giant rotunda. It is ginormous. And when you walk in, you have to go to this circular wall and look down at it. You can go down a flight of stairs and be eye-level as well. On the bottom level, all around the walls are carvings of him in the walls in different religious/god-like scenes. Napoleon complex much? One student, Sam, wanted to know if it were too much to expect something similar for his own tomb. I assured him, no. We then had an hour to explore other parts of the museum. It's all a military museum with several different exhibitions inside. I chose to walk through the WWI and WWII part. Several students also did this one. I thought the WWI stuff was very interesting just because I don't know as much about WWI as I do about WWII. The WWII part was interesting as well because it told the story from a French perspective. Of course, early on it became more about England and the United States. All of the uniforms were American, and the pictures were all of Eisenhower, McArthur, and Churchill. So I felt as if I were in the DDay Museum, only with less stuff. They eventually moved to the Resistance, but it was underwhelming. The most interesting thing to me was a sign pointing the way to different streets, but all the "streets" were named German things or were German offices. The French name for the street was written very small underneath.

Les Invalides is basically just set back from La Seine River, so we walked up to the river and hung out on Pont Alexandre III. It's my favorite bridge in Paris. We took pictures, did some dancing, and then headed over to the Eiffel Tower. We bought crepes to eat and took them on our boat cruise, which leaves at the base of the Tower. Though it was windy on the water, we braved the cold to sit outside where the pictures are better and where you can wave and blow kisses to the people walking on the banks of the river. Always fun.

At last we met the hosts at school at 6:30. Fabienne and I took the metro to her apartment, ate dinner, and watched a French sitcom. It was amusing, but certainly not something I'd watch on a regular basis. It was a series of vignettes and no one in one vignette knows the other vignettes' characters. How do they have a plot out of that? Well, they don't. So typical French. It's just people sitting around and talking.

Tomorrow I get to be the guest "question answerer" in Fabienne's English class in the morning, and in the afternoon we are off to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

We've arrived

The flight was long, and I didn't get a lot of sleep, but we all arrived in Paris this morning excited to be here. No one's luggage was lost either. We went to the French school and were greeted with a snack of pastries, candy, and cakes. The students all met their hosts, who were wearing either Saints jerseys or Country Day apparel. While they had one last class, we went on a tour of the school.

During the tour, the kids and I were surprised to find out that the library at the school stays open until 7pm for all students, and til 11pm for older students in more rigorous courses. Of course, the kids go to school until 5:00 everyday. They can then work in the library if they need to, may eat dinner at the school, and then return to the library until 11. Whaaatt? These are very dedicated librarians! Also a tour highlight-the place where they practice high jumping and pole vaulting. It's on top of a terrace, three floors above the cement courtyard. The mats were right up against the fence/barricade, and we all gasped in horror thinking about if you just went too far on that jump you'd be flat as a crepe on the ground below.

At noon we all went home with our "Frenchies." I gave Fabienne presents, and then in order to try to keep me awake, she took me out shopping. Hmm, why not? What else would I do in the first three hours of being in Paris? I didn't actually buy anything, but it did keep me up. The weirdest part of this outing was that Fabienne casually said to me "I have to stop by the Pharmacy to bring back medicine." I responded, "Oh, did it not work or something?" in a befuddled tone. She said, "Don't you take unused medicine back to the pharmacy in the U.S.??" "um, NO!" So apparently, even if the box is open, you can't throw away any medicine. You have to take it to the pharmacist. Over the counter, prescription, etc. Fabienne say they recycle it. Oh my god!! I'll never take French meds. Ok, ok. She said they didn't give it to people. But I'm not so sure. She thought it was odd that we just throw them away, even if the box is unopened. I asked, "How do they know someone didn't poison it?" To which she said, "Huh? Why would you do that?" See, clearly France is not full of crazies who go around tampering with medicine and give it back to the drugstore to be recycled. But is it?!

I am now anxiously awaiting her to get back from a meeting, cook dinner, and go to bed. I'm becoming delirious. More tomorrow when I can think more clearly.

Paris encore

Tomorrow I'm off to Paris with 20 kids. Mon dieu! Sacre bleu! Will I survive? Will they? Will we all return intact and alive? Stay tuned as the story unfolds over the next 14 days.

"I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles"

The last day in Paris was one full of laughter. I think I laughed harder today than any other day remembering funny things we've done the whole trip and of course laughing at ourselves throughout the day. We've had such a great trip, and today was a great way to end.

We started on Rue de Rivoli for the sales. There were so many people, this time mostly Parisian. We got a couple of things, but no big splurges. Then we went back to the Champs where Crawford and I had to pick up macarons at La Duree, the best macaron shop in the world. The picture above is of their pastries. Everything there is amazing. Lily and Nicole had sampled them earlier this week. Then we trodded back to the hotel, exhausted again from walking in the heat. We took a long time to pack our suitcases. I didn't think Crawford's was going to close. He had to kneel on it, and even then I could feel the zipper creeping along, struggling to close. But somehow he did it. The girls too packed all their stuff and are sleeping tonight in the clothes they'll be wearing on the plane.

Tonight was my favorite night so far in Paris. We met Fabienne in the late afternoon and headed to the Louvre. We spent a while seeing Mona Lisa, Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, Venus de Milo, and much much more, including the Egyptian exhibit. It was amusing as the kids walked thru the large painting hall as if there weren't anything on the walls. Fabienne and I had to call them back to see the Delacroix one. Actually I think it's just they haven't studied it yet and so didn't really know what to look at. But we attempted to have several short art history and Louvre history lessons.

After walking briefly past the Palais Royal (another reference to Charade) and the Comedie Francaise, we went back to the Champs Elysees for dinner at Chez Clement. The restaurant serves typical French food in a countryside decor. Mostly it's copper pots and silverware hanging from the ceiling or as the light fixtures. We had escargot as the appetizer. That was my first one ever. Lily and I had to hold hands while we ate it. I was glad she was there with me! I liked the flavor but not the texture, and so don't think I'll be eating snails again anytime soon. Of course, I had to try it once. Crawford loved them and ate about 8 total. Fabienne taught us how to eat them and then dump out the sauce and dip the bread in it to eat. We all ordered roasted chicken and fries except for Fabienne who got beef tartare. She let us try it. We agreed that it tasted like pepperoni, but we took issue with eating raw meat. Those French will eat anything!

As a typical French "dessert" we had a camembert cheese plate. We were so full after this, but Crawford, Lily and I wanted one last crepe nutella. So we all went to the Cafe George V (5 in roman numerals, not the initial V. like Nicole thought) for dessert. It was delicious. We said goodbye to Fabienne and to Paris and went back to the hotel. Nicole and I have plans to pick up croissants and pain au chocolat early in the morning before heading to the airport. One last French pastry before we go! Well I say one....

Thanks for reading. Can't wait to see everyone. Au revoir et a bientot!

After sleeping for about 5 hours, we got up and went to the Eiffel Tower. We were in a great spot in line, and the minute it opened they closed the very top. This was due to elevator problems. They said it would be several hours before it was fixed, at minimum. Since this was our third attempt, we decided to go up anyway to the second level, which is still high up there. On the picture that appears to just be a close up of the tower, take a close look to find three men hanging from the metalwork. They are currently repainting the tower, which requires basic mountain climbing equipment and a desire to be hanging from great heights. Add this to the list of jobs I never want. Paris looked beautiful of course from up high and the lack of crowds was nice too.

From there we went to the Musee Rodin to see Rodin's most famous sculptures, including The Thinker and the Gates of Hell as well as many statues of intertwined hands and people. The marble works inside are all wonderful, but the more famous ones outside are fun to admire and to photograph creatively. I thought the three guys looked as if they were doing the Single Ladies dance, so I joined in with its signature move. We figured The Gates of Hell was also known as Lily's front door, so here's a picture of her going home. haha. And of course Crawford is certainly the more interesting thinker. How lucky that he just happened to be thinking in the exact same pose as the man on the pedestal.

We then went to the Opera Garnier. Paris' opera house best known as the setting for The Phantom of the Opera might be my favorite building in the city. Nicole said she liked it the best of everything we've done so far. It is decorated to the point of being gaudy, but somehow manages to pull it off. The grandeur of the grand staircase is matched only by the hall of chandeliers overlooking the city below. We were steps away from the Galleries Lafayette at this point. We went up to the 6th floor in the department store to eat lunch while looking out big windows onto the rooftops of the 9th arrondissement. Galleries Lafayette has nine floors in its main store. While the top floor sells wedding dresses, the third floor exclusively sells "seductive clothing." Crawford picked up a couple of things while we were there.

At this point we were so tired that we all came back to the hotel and took long naps. 5 hours of sleep is not sufficient for Paris in the heat and crowds. After resting, we ate dinner with Fabienne on the Champs. Fabienne taught them about how to order un carafe d'eau, which is free tap water. Nicole wanted ice as well, and ordered both beautifully in French. They bring the water in a large carafe and the ice in an ice cream bowl with a serving spoon. Coming off her fabulous ordering, Nicole made a faux pas and poured the water directly into the bowl of ice and used that as her glass. The rest of us drank the water out of the nice glasses that were provided that were not in fact bowls. Fabienne, ever so French, is not a fan of ice and could not believe that Nicole would 1. pour water into a bowl to drink and 2. want that much ice in her drink at all. We definitely all backed Nicole on #2.

The last picture is of me and Fabienne at the very moment she tickled me in the side. As I'm the most ticklish person ever, it made for a great picture. Tomorrow is our last day. The big sale period starts tomorrow, so we are going to Rue de Rivoli to go shopping and tomorrow night we'll go the Louvre.

Montmartre and Versailles

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We started today off at the Moulin Rouge. Always a good place to begin anything. We then walked up the hill to Place de Tertre, the artist's square of Montmartre, winding our way down cobblestone streets to Sacre Coeur. The church is beautiful inside, but you aren't allowed to take pictures. Oh well. I actually prefer Sacre Coeur to Notre Dame I think because it feels more like a church inside and less like a touristy cocktail party. No one is allowed to talk in Sacre Coeur. I mean, Notre Dame is fabulous, but Sacre Coeur also has a great story behind it. It was built by the poorest people of Paris around 1870 and its unique Greek architecture style make it more interesting to me.

After visiting the church we had lunch at a cafe near Place de Tertre-crepes and sandwiches-and then did some shopping in the souvenir shops. I always like wandering around Montmartre as it is my personal favorite spot in Paris, especially the square with the artists. It's so bohemian.

In the afternoon Fabienne drove us to Versailles. Unfortunately the chateau was closed on Mondays (no one thought to look that up) but the gardens were open. And frankly, the gardens are the best part. There were people trimming the hedges all around with large plywood cut outs to get each plant perfectly shaped. Lily noted that that would be the worst job in the world. We stopped at the cafe on the grand canal for a drink and a rest from the shade. Upon returning to Paris, we had dinner with Fabienne on the Champs and then tried again to see the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was again closed because of crowds. So our new plan is to wake up early and be there a half hour before opening! Lastly, I included a picture of the space by the tower where there is a giant screen set up to watch every World Cup match. Definitely lots of interesting characters there. And on that note, I must go to bed if I'm going to be waking up early in the morning!