Day 7: The Palace of the Sun King on a Sunny Day in France

It is so hard to believe that we've been traveling for a week already.  It seems like we just got started and I'm sad to think that the end is in sight.  We had an outstanding day today.

I had a pretty difficult night last night with the Wifi at the hotel.  I am a fairly tech-savvy guy, but it took me forever to realize what the problem was.  In my hotel room, the wifi worked brilliantly with my phone.  I was able to upload a ton of pictures to Facebook without any issues or concerns.  Once, however, I tried to connect the laptop, I couldn't keep the connection active.  I was so frustrated, but I had to get some sleep.  I appreciate your patience.  I tried to get up a little early and get a head start on breakfast.  In the lobby, my lap top worked without issue...and so, here I am now, at the end of another great day, in another lobby, typing away.  I love it. :-)

We gathered our belongings this morning at the start of another long day.  We boarded a new coach for our guided city tour of Paris.  Laurent, our guide, and Sergio, our driver, did not know each other and there was a little confusion of how to turn off the radio while Laurant told us about the City of Lights.  It was not reassuring, however, when we learned that this was Sergio's first time driving a coach through the city.  He actually did a great job.  Driving in front of the Lourve is such a tight fit for a coach bus, but Sergio completed the task like he had been doing it for years.

From the Bus, you can look straight through this little Arc d'triumph and see the Place de Concorde and the big Arc d'triumph.

Laurant was a great guide.  He was so knowledgeable.  I often wonder if I could do guided tours of Boston on a coach bus, but when I see a European professional at work, I realize I do not know enough about our city to do it justice...yet.

As we drove around Paris, I tried to point out other sites of interest to the kids, but it is so hard to take great pictures from one side of a bus.  That is one of the reasons why these tours are so good.  We always get a city tour followed by free time.  We are then able to think about what our group wants to see and then go see it.  Laurent pointed out things from all different eras of Paris' history and I am looking forward to seeing where the interest lies among the kids.  We eventually turned onto the Champs Elysees.  This is one of the most expensive streets in Paris.  There are stores like Louis Vuitton, LaCoste, and McDonalds.   As you drive down the road, you can see the Arc d'Triumph approaching.  Laurent told us its height, but he also told us that twelve, thats right 12, roads converge into this rotary surrounding the Arc.  He said the biggest car usually wins, lol.  Well, we were in a bus driven by a guy who had never been to Paris before.  I was a little nervous, but Sergio pulled through without any issues:

Our tour ended at the Eiffel Tower.  While we had been there the night before, Laurent reminded us that there are never enough pictures with the pride of Paris.  The kids appreciated the different vantage point and took lots of new pictures.  The chaperons got into the action as well...as some of you have seen on Facebook.

Sunshine, Caroline, and Caraline

The Chaperons; Me, Jacqui (Our Fearless Leader), Leanne, Chris, Patick, Bethany, and Kate!
A moment later we tried jumping with limited success, lol.

We also visited the Hotels des Invalides and Napoleon's Tomb...The kids are striking their best Napoleon poses, lol

At this point in our day, we decided to leave Paris.  We hopped onto the Metro and departed for the Palace of Versailles.  I first visited the Palace 22 years ago. I was a much younger person and didn't quite appreciate the importance of the place back then. I've been back several times and was super excited that Ms. Alongi had decided to add it to our itinerary.  We arrived a little earlier than expected and broke off to grab lunch.  Some of the kids ordered food from a local Starbucks while others sat for a traditional French dejeuner.  The chaperons got pizza, lol.

They all look so European!!!

  At this time, I was able to access some Wifi and found that my dear friend, Franck was able to meet with me.  Franck stayed with my family over 20 years ago. It was his first visit to the United States and he stayed for 1 month.  I remember those days fondly.  I was able to visit him 1 year later (Still a high school student), but we hadn't seen each other since.  The kids and chaperons departed for Versailles, but I stayed and waited to see Franck.  It was really very special.  We were both filled with emotion and spoke about how wonderful it was to see each other again.  I am returning to France this summer and Franck has already invited me to stay with him for part of my trip.  I have also extended the offer of staying with me to him and his family.  It is strange that so many years can pass, but the friendships that we had made are eternal.  It is the same type of thing I hope that our kids feel.  I would like to think that 20 years from now, some of our travelers will bump into each other at Hannafords and they will stop and chat about the times they spent in Europe.  Franck and I walked into the gardens of Versailles and chatted.  It was so great to see him and I have a strong suspicion that it will not take 20 years for our next visit.

Franck and I in the Gardens of Versailles 

Eventually, Franck had to return to work.  Our visit was short, but it was one of the highlights of the day for me.  I took some time to reminisce as I walked the garden.  I am glad I've grown into someone who cherishes the little things and I hope that is a lesson that I put forth to the kids while we travel.  Some of them met Franck and I was happy they could see this connection and I hope they realized how cool it was for me.

The kids really seemed to love Versailles.  They almost all said they wanted to live in the Palace, lol.  It is huge and the Gardens are bigger that anyone could imagine.  In fact, that is a sentiment that I heard so many times from many of the students.

A bunch of the kids relaxing by one of the many ponds at Versailles

Our day was ending and dinner time was quickly approaching.  We headed back to the Metro and ate at a little restaurant in the Place D'Italian.  Most of the kids really liked the Beef Bourguingnon, but the hit of the evening was the crepes for dessert.  After dinner, we departed for Montemart and Sacre Coeur.  It was really busy, but it was also really beautiful.  The artists of Montemart are really good at what they do and the Gellato taste pretty good too.  We pushed ourselves pretty hard today.  We are all a little sun-burnt and pretty tired.  Tomorrow looks to be a little easier as we will be visiting the Lourve.  I was talking with some of the kids and they were worried about the potential line we might have to wait in tomorrow.  I broke it down like this, "How long would you wait to see one of the most famous people in the entire world?"  "Tomorrow," I said, "You will meet the Mona Lisa."

The group, congregating outside of Versailles

The Eiffel Tower from Montemart

My attempt at a panoramic photo of the Paris skyline

 
I wanted to take a quick minute of your time to thank you all for the positive feedback I am receiving regarding this blog.  It really means the world to me to know that family and friends can follow our journey.  I like technology.  It gets a bad rap sometimes...and rightly so, but when used correctly, modern technology brings us closer.  The readers of this blog understand that.  I also got a taste of that today when I met my friend Franck.  We have been friends for 20 years, but it was Facebook that allowed us to contact each other and set up our reunion.

Well, we have another great day in store for us and I must bid you adieu.  Good night.

Mr. Lavoie, currently struggling to keep his eyes open as he types these last few lines...