Paris!

Bright and early on Wednesday morning the group assembled at the Gare de Mulhouse to take the train to Paris. Our departure was not without its worries as Emma's family mistakenly took her to the Gare de Colmar. Fortunately, all was well as her correspondante successfully (and speedily) got Emma to the correct train station in time...

We arrived at the Gare de l'Est in Paris and took the metro to Pyramides which was a short walk from our hotel in the first arrondissement. We checked in and unpacked and quickly headed off to the Musée Rodin. We then took the metro to the Champs Elysées and explored the shops and took in the sights. Wednesday evening we headed to Montmartre. We took the funiculaire to the top and were treated to a magnificent view of Paris at night.

Thursday we visited the Musée d'Orsay and went to the theater to see La Leçon by Ionesco. Afterward we quickly ate dinner in the Quartier Latin. We then took a boatride (bateau mouche) on the Seine. In spite of the chilly temperatures and a brisk wind most of the students insisted on taking in the sights from the top of the boat in the open air.

Friday we walked through the Palais Royale and visited the Cathedral of Notre Dame. We even witnessed a demonstration (une manifestation) just like a chapter in French in Action! The afternoon we spent visiting the Louvre. Later we headed to La Tour Eiffel where we stood in line for quite some time before taking the ascenseur to the second level. There we were once again treated to magnificent views of the city in all its splendor. Once we were back on the ground several of the students treated themselves to crepes and Philip bought a huge cotton candy (barbe de papa) that several others helped him to enjoy. The group had dinner near the hotel and an early check-in so we could be up early Saturday to take the 8:24 train back (this time) to Colmar to be reunited with our host families. Both Claudie and Debbie congratulated the group on their punctuality, their unflagging good spirits, and their willingness to keep up a brisk pace so that we could experience as much of Paris as possible in the short amount of time we had at our disposal. Chapeau!