Ruhee S.:
Bonjour! Aujourd'hui est le premiere jour dans au Paris! We started the day up a little earlier than normal. (OK, a lot earlier than usual. My roommate and I were up at 3:30 AM to be exact.) We arrived at King's Cross and generally most kids might be tired at this hour, but a few kids along with Mr.Hannigan and Emelia visited Platform 9 and 3/4!!! I'm a huge Harry Potter fan by the way. We arrived in London and went to a cafe for a quick lunch, then headed around the Latin Quarter. Soon enough we reached the glorious Notre Dame and it was extremely breathtaking. After this we chose to split into two groups, one going to the Arc de Triomphe and the other going to a French Revolution museum. I chose the Arc lead by Ms.Gerber and Ms.Barret, and we ended up just walking around the entire area which was incredible! Dinner was at a local bistro and then our Louvre treasure hunt began. Although I was quite opposed to the treasure hunt because I think people should just look around rather than scramble in our already limited time, I found it to be quite fun. After an exhausting walk back to the hotel, I know I'll sleep soundlessly tonight.
Scott G.:
Today we woke up super early to catch the Eurostar. We spent 2 and a half hours on the train. It was very exciting going through the Chunnel on the Eurostar. When we arrived we got right onto the streets of Paris. We spent some free time getting lunch and looking at the cool things on the streets. My group went to Shakespeare and company which is a very interesting book store. After lunch we got to go into Norte Dame. We had a choice of what to do after Norte Dame and I chose to go to the prison in which Mary Antoinette and Louis the 16th. After that we did A LOT of walking and made our way to the Louvre. We did a fun scavenger hunt in the Louvre and saw some amazing art. We finally got onto the metro and then walked a mile to our hotel. We had a very exciting and exhausting day. We all will be going to sleep early tonight!
Daniel A.:
Today we had to wake up EXTRA, EXTRA early so we could catch the train for the Chunnel. After the 2 hour long high speed train ride, all of us got off to unload our luggage on a bus headed to the hotel. Then we went on the underground metro and had lunch and visited Notre Dame. We ended the long day with the biggest scavenger hunt I've ever done in my life, which was in the louvre museum (biggest museum in the world). Me and my friends trudged along tiredly as we tried to find artworks in the huge building. But every time we found a painting, we had a blast trying to mimic what was happening in the painting (View Young's phone for comedy gold). Finally we get on the subway and travel to our hotel, once we got off, it felt like we were in Steven King's book "The Long Walk" (kudos to those who read it), and walked like zombies toward our final destination for the day.
Young L.:
Today, as our Eurostar coach passed through the English countryside and into France, my memorized list of all stations on the District Line of the London Underground became useless, as we were beginning a new journey into a new nation. Becontree, Blackfriars and Glaucester Road became La Défense, Louis Blanc, and Stalingrad (crazy names, huh?), and we (the students) became disoriented once more. But we feared not! For we had hands to follow (AKA our esteemed guides and chaperones), maps, and our wit. And it turns out that's just about enough.
We got off the Eurostar at about 10:20, Parisian time, and took the metro into the Latin Quarter where I had a crêpe (cooked by a terribly kind man who kindly reminded me to repay food with cash when I stupidly walked away from his stand with his food sans payment) and a Croque-Madame (short story: French waiters are somewhat brazen and intimidating, but at least they give you food). We then walked to the illustrious Notre Dame Cathedral, where we discovered the genius that is the architecture behind flying buttresses and the technology to support domes as huge as Notre Dame. Also: We visited the Jardin de Luxembourg and watched mini sailing ships named after nations fight in a pond. It was very entertaining.
And finally, after a dinner of beef and fries/chips (who knows at this point?) we found ourselves in the Louvre, chasing down a grocery list of museum items to win a scavenger hunt. A peer of mine has compared it to a Stephen King book where adolescents walk until only one is alive. I am not so disposed to be so bleak, but I do see his point. We were split into groups, and my particular group walked in a circle three times to find an engravement of Assyrian hunting lions, which we never ended up finding. Our feet fell like jelly by the time we walked to see the Mona Lisa several miles (and floors) later. It turns out that Mr. Hannigan is correct in stating that The Madonna of the Rocks is, indeed, the superior Leonardo Da Vinci work. But that is merely an opinion, or so I am told.
I have been told that we walked ~10 miles today, and it seems believable. But at the same time, it doesn't quite seem like we could have walked that much in one day. It seems we have truly accomplished a lot… In any case, it is time for another day of even more. Good night!
No comments:
Post a Comment