In France!

All went well with getting us to the airport on time. A big thank you to Mr. Yancey and the transportation department with getting us a bus and a driver. Michael Edelstein from NETC (our tour company) even came to see us off.

Our flight was packed, but everyone managed well. We negotiated Charles deGaulle Airport and got through passport control with no hitch, just a long line. Stella, our wonderful tour director welcomed us just at the exit to baggage claim, got us on our comfortable bus and whisked us to our hotel.

The Hotel Amiral is on Avenue d’Italie, in the 15^th Arrondissment of Paris. It is not far from the Latin Quarter. Even though we felt as if it was well after check-in time, it was only 10:30 in the morning in Paris. We stowed our bags in a locked room and went out to begin to see Paris.

We took the Métro to the Place Monge and walked through the Latin Quarter. When we entered Place Panthéon, we saw a promotional demonstration from Orangina and got free raspberry Orangina. We searched out a charcuterie and a sandwich shop for a picnic lunch in the Jardin du Luxembourg. These gardens are behind the Palais du Luxembourg, which is the home of the French Senate. We sat in the sun, ate and relaxed.

After, we split up. Reid and Carrie went to the Jardin des Plantes to see the zoo. Abby, Hayler and Stella did a walking tour of the quarter and visited the Pompidou Center. Beth, Randy, Kaitlin, Chris, Paige and I opted for the catacombs.

The catacombs are underground passages that go all over under Paris. It is where the stone for Notre Dame and some of the other major buildings of Paris was quarried over the centuries. The tunnels are not all mapped and snake all over the city. In the early 19^th century a portion of them became ossuaries. Cemeteries after centuries of bodies were polluting the ground water of Paris. So the bones of several cemeteries were dug up and housed in these tunnels. Complete skeletons could not be kept intact, so leg bones are stacked together, arm bones, skull, etc. It is consecrated ground, but one can pass through the narrow passageways.

We waited in line for over an hour, but the sun was warm, the conversation pleasant and we had no schedule. The tour was interesting. The 139 steps down and the 83 up were challenging. We took the Métro to Place d’Italie, and walked back to the hotel.

Juliette, our French exchange student from last year met us at the hotel, and she, Katilin, Chris and I had a drink at the neighborhood café together. We caught up with each other, and we were delighted to learn she is coming back to Madison this summer!

The group from California we are traveling with arrived at 7pm, and we all walked to dinner together at 8. The food was wonderful, a chicken and mushroom dish in a light brown sauce, and the most amazing baked, sliced potatoes! The dessert was a tangy lemon meringue pie most of us could not finish.

The walk home finished us off for the night.

Sunday began for me with a walk down the Avenue d’Italie and the Sunday market was being set up. Too bad we were off to other places, it looked to be amazing.

After a wonderful breakfast, we awaited our bus for a rolling tour of Paris. Imagine my surprise when who should come into the lobby but Caroline, my lovely tour director from Nice! After hugs and kisses, she explained she was conducting our morning bus tour. It was such a delight to see her and spend some time with her. Her style with the tour and the kids is engaging and amusing. She has such a great rapport and knows her material so well, it is amazing.

Caroline left us in the capable hands of Stella. We went to see Notre Dame Cathedral. The stunning gothic cathedral that took over 200 years is incredibly impressive. It being Sunday, mass was in session. Sundays they run masses back to back all day long. Reid and Carrie availed themselves of the opportunity. The rest of us quietly viewed the displays and the amazing rose windows. From the exterior, the flying buttresses make for dynamic architecture.

Paige, Chris, Kaitlin, Beth, Randy and I opted for lunch on the Ile St. Louis, at a sidewalk café. Kaitlin, Paige and Chris all got their first taste of curry in the curried chicken and rice dish they ordered. We underestimated the time required for a three-course Sunday lunch, and had to take crepes à porter (to go). Still, we were 15 minutes late meeting our group. Reid made sure we were aware.

A walk along the Seine with our California comrades brought us to the Louvre. We walked down Rue de Rivoli so that we could enter directly under the famous glass pyramid. Stella took us to see the Victoire de Samothrace (Winged Victory), Delacroix’ Coronation of Napoleon and Liberty leading the people. We then entered the room to see the beautiful Mona Lisa (La Jaconde). The painting is small and protected behind UV and bullet-proof glass. There was quite a bit of jostling to get up close. People from all over the world wanted a close up view, and many of them do not stand politely in line. But seeing the lovely lady in person is an experience not to be missed.

We divided up at that point. Paige and I wandered around a bit through the Renaissance Italian masters until we bumped into Hayley and Abby. Together, we went on a quest for the Flemish Renaissance masters. We walked through rooms and rooms of ancient Greek and Etruscan artifacts, took a few wrong turns, spoke with a lovely French museum guide, and Finally found Rembrandt, Van Dyke and their cronies.

The power of seeing these works in person, viewing the brush strokes, witnessing the use of color and light is at times overwhelming. I cannot overstate the significance to me personally, much less to my students who have so recently studied these very things in the classroom. This is learning made real beyond any textbook, lecture or demonstration.

We then did a walking tour of the 2^nd Arrondissment. This is the wealthiest part of Paris. We passed the Comédie Française, walked through the courtyards of Cardinal Richlieu, and toured Place Vendôme, the home of the famous Ritz Hotel.

While Reid “Tebowed” in front of a Ferrerai parked in front of the hotel and Chris took photos, Carrie entered the famous lobby. She said her shoes sunk three inches into the carpet before no less than three doormen greeted her with a terse, “Bonjour,” signaling her retreat. We walked past the Opéra and the Madeleine Church on the way to La Dorée, the home of the most famous macaroon in the world. Several of us bought some and they agreed that it was heaven in a cookie.

From there, a long walk brought us to “La Grande B” our restaurant for the evening (“We must cook, but we were born to rotisserie”). We had a wonderful salad of red lettuce and endive with a garlic vinaigrette. The main course was a roast pork and sliced potatoes. Dessert was crème brulée, a huge favorite.

The hit of the evening was Kaitlin discovering that she is anything but a wine connoisseur. Her mother said she could have a glass. She barely made it beyond a sip. The look on her face was priceless!

We then proceeded to the Pont Neuf (meaning New Bridge, even though it is the oldest bridge in Paris) and our boat ride on the Seine. We sat on top and were treated to a nighttime ride along the river, seeing the sights we had come to know from an entirely different perspective. We got to see the Eiffel Tower light up and glitter in her own special fashion. We passed the French Parliament, the Grand Palais, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the famous Ile Ste Louis. It was a cool, brisk evening, but one full of great image

At last the Métro took us to the Amiral and our beds.