Day 11: Sunday, October 9, 2016: Paris
We will have travel cards today to explore the city. We will visit the Louvre in the morning, then we will have a picnic and journaling time in the Luxembourg Gardens. We will attend Evensong in Notre Dame Cathedral, then head to Montmartre for dinner. We will end the day with a visit to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower. (B)
Notes from the travelers:
It was a sunny day in Paris! We did everything I had hoped to fit in based on what the students wanted to see--we went to Montmartre in the morning and rode the carousel outside of the Sacre Coeur, spent several hours in the Louvre, journaled in the Luxembourg Gardens, took photos of the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero, attended Sunday evening mass in Notre Dame while sitting beneath the Rose Window, and ended the day with a climb at night up the Eiffel Tower. Whew, long but lovely!
Notes from the travelers (Grace L.):
Today we began our adventure in Paris. We woke up to a delicious Parisian breakfast complete with an array of cheeses, meats, and fresh squeezed orange juice. After our breakfast, we hopped onto the train to go to the beautiful French carousel. The horses were immaculately pained to perfection and adorned with ornate details, indicative of the eye to detail that many European structures possess. The carousel was perched before a beautiful castle-like building on a steep hill, crowded with many brides and grooms, tourists, acrobats, locals and an impressive exercise group. We strolled through the hillside, stopping by food vendors and appreciating the view of the city as we made our way up and down the tree-lined stairways. Next we once more headed to the train station to catch our metro to the Louvre. Navigating many tunnels and hopping aboard many trains, we finally reached our destination, thanks to a joint effort of the class to navigate our way to the museum. Before making our way into the Louvre, we had a few moments to enjoy the premier shopping destination of the world, picking out souvenirs for family and friends. At the entrance to the Louvre, we were greeted by a massive all glass pyramid supported by metal beams, a mere hint of the artistic beauty that awaited us inside of the museum.
The Louvre was shockingly massive, beautiful both on the inside and outside. The outside strongly resembled a palace, complete with bleached stone and extravagantly carved details. The inside featured endless rooms filled with paintings and artifacts from every era. Some rooms were transformed from floor to ceiling, making it seem as though one was walking into history itself. A group favorite was the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Some other unique areas included ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Greco Roman statues, the code of Hammurabi, and jewels from the French royalty. We were also able to enjoy a view of the Arc de Triumph from the windows of the Louvre. After a lengthy walk through all the amazing works of art through history and some difficulty navigating the huge museum (it's very easy to get lost in the Louvre), we stopped by for lunch in the shopping mall adjacent to the museum. Some of us feasted on McDonald's, missing our American cuisine from home. The rest feasted on macaroons in every flavor imaginable. Afterwards, we hopped onto the metro again and made our way to the Luxembourg Gardens. Basking in the sunlight, we journaled under the trees overlooking a sprawling lawn surrounded by beautiful pink and purple flowers. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower was visible, and we appreciated the beautiful historic French buildings surrounding the lawn. Once more we rushed to the metro and headed towards a gorgeous viewing place for the Eiffel Tower. After taking time for many pictures, selfies and taking in the full glory of the tower, we headed towards Notre Dame cathedral for mass. Walking towards Notre Dame, we were greeted with a cold blast of air as evening began to set in. The sheer size of the cathedral grew as we drew nearer and the impressive carvings in the stone grew in detail. All of us were awestruck with the beauty of the cathedral as we walked into the mass. Unlike most masses today, the mass at Notre Dame incorporated a significant amount of Latin, a fun way to test out Latin knowledge as Trinity Latin scholars. The singing was in perfect harmony and the architecture and stained glass windows added to the beauty of the mass. Every corner of the church reminded us of God's amazing creation and how we are made in His image to create beautiful things for Him. As we walked out of the church, the air sent chills down our spine as we were met with an unexpected coldness. We grabbed a quick meal at an outdoor panini stand and began our trek to the Eiffel Tower itself. Although we were supposed to take the train all the way to the tower, our train unfortunately stopped part way and we had to exit the train and walk the remainder of the way to the Eiffel Tower along the Seine River. Everyone was eagerly documenting the walk to the tower on their phones, eagerly anticipating the sight before our eyes. Once we got to the tower, we were all breath taken by the glowing golden tower. Strolling below the tower, we looked up to see the levels and levels of wrought iron bars intricately laced together to form the structure. After a quick elevator ride up, we looked over the railing to see a full panoramic view of Paris, streets of lined trees and gorgeous buildings rich with character and unique architecture. We soaked in the view of the city from the second floor of the tower and throughly enjoyed our time at the Eiffel Tower. Occasionally, the building would light up with a blinking light show, sparkling and dazzling our eyes. The evening came to a close as we made our way down the Eiffel Tower and said goodbye to our beautiful view of the city. We took our final ride on the metro for the day and headed to our hotel for some much needed rest. Everyone enjoyed our full day as we attempted to experience all the sights of Paris in a day.
We will have travel cards today to explore the city. We will visit the Louvre in the morning, then we will have a picnic and journaling time in the Luxembourg Gardens. We will attend Evensong in Notre Dame Cathedral, then head to Montmartre for dinner. We will end the day with a visit to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower. (B)
Notes from the travelers:
It was a sunny day in Paris! We did everything I had hoped to fit in based on what the students wanted to see--we went to Montmartre in the morning and rode the carousel outside of the Sacre Coeur, spent several hours in the Louvre, journaled in the Luxembourg Gardens, took photos of the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero, attended Sunday evening mass in Notre Dame while sitting beneath the Rose Window, and ended the day with a climb at night up the Eiffel Tower. Whew, long but lovely!
Notes from the travelers (Grace L.):
Today we began our adventure in Paris. We woke up to a delicious Parisian breakfast complete with an array of cheeses, meats, and fresh squeezed orange juice. After our breakfast, we hopped onto the train to go to the beautiful French carousel. The horses were immaculately pained to perfection and adorned with ornate details, indicative of the eye to detail that many European structures possess. The carousel was perched before a beautiful castle-like building on a steep hill, crowded with many brides and grooms, tourists, acrobats, locals and an impressive exercise group. We strolled through the hillside, stopping by food vendors and appreciating the view of the city as we made our way up and down the tree-lined stairways. Next we once more headed to the train station to catch our metro to the Louvre. Navigating many tunnels and hopping aboard many trains, we finally reached our destination, thanks to a joint effort of the class to navigate our way to the museum. Before making our way into the Louvre, we had a few moments to enjoy the premier shopping destination of the world, picking out souvenirs for family and friends. At the entrance to the Louvre, we were greeted by a massive all glass pyramid supported by metal beams, a mere hint of the artistic beauty that awaited us inside of the museum.
The Louvre was shockingly massive, beautiful both on the inside and outside. The outside strongly resembled a palace, complete with bleached stone and extravagantly carved details. The inside featured endless rooms filled with paintings and artifacts from every era. Some rooms were transformed from floor to ceiling, making it seem as though one was walking into history itself. A group favorite was the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Some other unique areas included ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Greco Roman statues, the code of Hammurabi, and jewels from the French royalty. We were also able to enjoy a view of the Arc de Triumph from the windows of the Louvre. After a lengthy walk through all the amazing works of art through history and some difficulty navigating the huge museum (it's very easy to get lost in the Louvre), we stopped by for lunch in the shopping mall adjacent to the museum. Some of us feasted on McDonald's, missing our American cuisine from home. The rest feasted on macaroons in every flavor imaginable. Afterwards, we hopped onto the metro again and made our way to the Luxembourg Gardens. Basking in the sunlight, we journaled under the trees overlooking a sprawling lawn surrounded by beautiful pink and purple flowers. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower was visible, and we appreciated the beautiful historic French buildings surrounding the lawn. Once more we rushed to the metro and headed towards a gorgeous viewing place for the Eiffel Tower. After taking time for many pictures, selfies and taking in the full glory of the tower, we headed towards Notre Dame cathedral for mass. Walking towards Notre Dame, we were greeted with a cold blast of air as evening began to set in. The sheer size of the cathedral grew as we drew nearer and the impressive carvings in the stone grew in detail. All of us were awestruck with the beauty of the cathedral as we walked into the mass. Unlike most masses today, the mass at Notre Dame incorporated a significant amount of Latin, a fun way to test out Latin knowledge as Trinity Latin scholars. The singing was in perfect harmony and the architecture and stained glass windows added to the beauty of the mass. Every corner of the church reminded us of God's amazing creation and how we are made in His image to create beautiful things for Him. As we walked out of the church, the air sent chills down our spine as we were met with an unexpected coldness. We grabbed a quick meal at an outdoor panini stand and began our trek to the Eiffel Tower itself. Although we were supposed to take the train all the way to the tower, our train unfortunately stopped part way and we had to exit the train and walk the remainder of the way to the Eiffel Tower along the Seine River. Everyone was eagerly documenting the walk to the tower on their phones, eagerly anticipating the sight before our eyes. Once we got to the tower, we were all breath taken by the glowing golden tower. Strolling below the tower, we looked up to see the levels and levels of wrought iron bars intricately laced together to form the structure. After a quick elevator ride up, we looked over the railing to see a full panoramic view of Paris, streets of lined trees and gorgeous buildings rich with character and unique architecture. We soaked in the view of the city from the second floor of the tower and throughly enjoyed our time at the Eiffel Tower. Occasionally, the building would light up with a blinking light show, sparkling and dazzling our eyes. The evening came to a close as we made our way down the Eiffel Tower and said goodbye to our beautiful view of the city. We took our final ride on the metro for the day and headed to our hotel for some much needed rest. Everyone enjoyed our full day as we attempted to experience all the sights of Paris in a day.