Versailles and the Eiffel Tower

We are getting in bed...hopefully, everyone else is already asleep, actually!  It has been a very busy day!  The students dos a fantastic job getting up and ready this morning!  After breakfast at the hotel, which was an experience in itself, we boarded the bus and picked up our first local guide.

Francois gave us a beautiful guided tour of the city.  We drove for about an hour and a half as she pointed out important buildings, famous cafes, and more.

On the tour, we saw the Pantheon where many famous people are buried, including Marie Curee, Alexandre Dumas (author of The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo), and Victor Hugo (author of les Miserables).  We passed the Dome Church - the burial site of Napoleon and the Vendome Hotel, aka the Texas consulate building, which was in operation for only one year during the days of The Republic of Texas!

We've seen much of the Seine river which runs through Paris.  However, it is very high due to much flooding last week!  It just makes us feel at home! :)

We saw the tunnel where Princess Diana died and the flame statue over it which was a gift from the US in 1989 as a thank you for the restoration project three years earlier in the Statue of Liberty.

We saw the Opera House, where the famed "Phantom" of the Opera was born.  We also passed the Arc de Triomphe which was built by Napoleon to commemorate his military victories.  And guess where it is... The Champs-Élysées!!

We ended our driving tour at the palace of Versailles.  We ate lunch across the street at a little cafe.  By the way,  many of the kids have decided they like Croque Monsuier.  You can ask them about it later!  After lunch we divided into groups to take turns on a guided tour of the palace with Francois and a walk in the beautiful gardens!

Many of the students have been surprised at the amount of money spent by royalty!  The palace was once the hunting "cabin" of the kings until Louis XIV, the Sun King, made it his home.  The rooms are incredibly ornate.  We saw some interesting art with great stories, but we all loved the Hall of Mirrors.  It is gorgeous, but it is also the location of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles which ended World War 1.

After Versailles, we had dinner and then went to the Eiffel Tower!  It was not super busy, and we were able to get tickets to go to the top!  31 of our 43 went all the way up, but most everyone else went at least to the 2nd floor.  It was amazing.  The air felt great, and we enjoyed trying to find the places we'd seen throughout the day!

Lastly, we rode the metro and tram back to the hotel.  We are experts at the Metro now.  People know to watch out for us because we rush to get on and off to be sure we are all together!

Tomorrow, we go to the Louvre for a short visit and then we're off to Nice.  Unfortunately, the train operators are on strike tomorrow.  (There is always someone on strike here!). So, we are not going to ride the train.  Our great Tour Guide has arranged a bus to drive us to our destination.  So, we are looking forward to the rest as we travel!

I hope you are enjoying the pictures!  Have a wonderful day/night!

Jacqueline Hughes