Wednesday in Paris

We are in Paris!!!  7:30 AM departure and a 2.5 hours trip to Paris (lot's of traffic getting into the city!).  We dropped our bags off at the hotel and met with Fabien, our guide, and Solen, Josie's exchange student from last semester.  Unfortunately, the weather was miserable today with a fair amount of rain, but we braved our way through it!

First, we went to the Champs-Elysées for some shopping and lunch.  Then we climbed the spiral stairs up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.  From the top, we could see all over Paris.

Next, we went to see the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro.  We walked down to the Seine and got on a bateau mouche (boat) and went down the river and back.  We passed the Eiffel Tower, many of the bridges including le Pont Alexandre III and le Pont des Arts.  We also passed the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, and Notre Dame.

 





After the boat ride we went to the Marais district and spent some time in the cafes and shops.  We walked to the restaurant and had a dinner of salad and flammekeusche (similar to pizza, but cream-based and from the Alsace region), and dessert pizzas.  We celebrated Jasmine's 18th birthday with a special dessert and the whole restaurant sang happy birthday in English and then in French!