Day 7: The Palace of the Sun King and the City of Lights

 

Today was a very busy day.  We began our day with a buffet breakfast at the B&B hotel.  The options were fairly traditional, but they also had scrambled eggs and sausages.  The hotel is modern, as I think I mentioned, and the kids all really like it.  Sadly, tonight is our last night here.

We left after breakfast and began our journey into the city.  We did, however, hit some really bad traffic. Our destination was the Arc de Triumph where we planned to meet our city and Versailles guide, Irene.  Local guides are a bit of gamble.  Don't get me wrong, I've never had one who was not knowledgeable, but I've definitely has ones who struggled to connect to the kids on the bus. I was not optimistic, but Irene quickly challenged my expectations. She is a native Hollander who moved to Paris 15 years ago to really put her French language skills into practice, but she never left.  She told us about her struggles being tall in a country where women are not usually that big.  Her jokes hit on every note and all of us were quickly hooked into the tour.  It was a master class in guiding.

Irene leading our tour this morning.

The Arc de Triumph

Throughout the bus tour, we drove past most of the highlights in any Paris tour book.  The kids were taking pictures throughout and I am sure there are some instant classics on their camera rolls.  I tried to snap a few, myself, but wasn't happy with most of them.  When we arrived to the Hotel Des Invalides, we had a break for coffee and "peepee" (as Irene called it).  The kids mostly got coffee, but I tried a hot chocolate.  It was a cool spot.

The Hotel des Invalides was originally a hospital for French soldiers. Now, it includes a military museum and some rehabilitation units for those in need.

Back on the bus, we departed for Versailles.  Irene was to be our guide as we visited the palace as well.  The group was oddly divided into a group of 5 and a group of 29.  It had to do with our booking issues with EF, I think.  I went in with the small group first.  While we toured the interior, the other group was able to tour the Gardens.  Both are super impressive.  

This ornate clock is one of several hundred in the palace that still work.

This is a painting of Louis XIV's children.  Look at the face of all the kids and you'll see the Sun King.

Marie Antoinette and her children

Irene was able to talk us through the Palace without any issues.  We used whisper headsets as the facility was quite busy, but she knew exactly what stories to tell and what pieces would interest us the most.  I really enjoyed listening her talk about Marie Antoinette.  She makes an argument that Marie was wrongly vilified in history for the destruction of the French economy.  I tend to agree.  The main argument is that no one had ever taken the time to explain to Marie that her spending was causing hardship for the French people.  As a young Queen, no one ever said "no" to her.  If you don't know that you are doing something wrong and no one tells you to stop, then Irene says, that you should not be held fully at blame for the consequences.  As I said, her work within the museum was wonderfully done.

Our group finished in the Palace and went into the Gardens. I am embarrassed to admit that I forgot to take pictures, argh!!! I also heard that the second group's tour into the Palace was disrupted a bit by large groups, quarreling security staff members, and maybe even a little boy who lost his passport.  I know it sounds intriguing, but I honestly don't have all of the details.

We began our return drive to Paris for dinner and passed the little Statue of Liberty again.  I liked this photo! Again, however, we faced some pretty bad traffic.  We eventually arrived at Flam's.  It is a quick service restaurant that serves traditional pizza-like food from eastern France.  I've been with kids before, but after our visit in Rome, pizza-like food can't really hold up, lol.  Needless to say, as with all of our meals, some kids really loved it and others weren't huge fans.  The dessert pizza-thing was my favorite.

Pizza-thing with shaved white chocolate and raspberries.

I am guessing that Lindsey like it...and Kyle, no so much.

After dinner, we headed towards the Pont Neuf and our Seine River Cruise.  As I mentioned the other night, we've been blessed with amazing weather and the evening was no exception.  It was just beginning to cool off when we arrived, but the sky was clear.  As the sun set on the City of Lights, you could only see the bright smiles of our travelers from Saugus. Our group was intermixed with quite a few other school groups and tourists, so I couldn't get pictures of everyone, but I am sure, by now, that you've seen some shots of theirs.

John and I under the Tower

A few of the girls allowing me to crash their photo session.

A group as we passed under a bridge.

Three of our chaperones...without their help, this tour would not be a success.  Mr. S also deserves recognition!!!

Another group posing for a picture

Three of the boys clearly having a blast!

We arrived back to the dock and disembarked.  Our newest bus driver was waiting for us and we began the trek back to B&B.  There was some slight traffic, but we made it back fairly quickly.  Our seventh day had come to an end.  With only one full day remaining, I am starting to shift into reflection mode.  I have to take some time to thank all of the Chaperons.  Gail, Dawn, Tina, and Guillermo have been an amazing team.  Escorting 29 kids through busy city streets and squares is not easy...but they looked like seasoned veterans.  Managing the bustling city centers and monuments, with all of the distractions the kids face, can be daunting, but I did not have to coach these folks up...they simply rocked.

Additionally, Joanna has been a really good Tour Director.  She has been cool under pressure, understanding when someone was late, and flexible in a way that doesn't make you feel like you've made a mistake.  Flavia, who is training under Joanna, has also been great.  She flies home to Sorrento tomorrow and we will miss her happy personality and infectious laugh.  A few kids totally snapped pictures of her tonight when we said good bye.  

Also...I want to thank the parents and guardians of these kids...they really have been great.  We have had a few speed bumps, but nothing has derailed us.  They have been polite and respectful at every turn.  I have thoroughly enjoyed traveling with each and every one of them. Some people I know wondered why I would pick up the task of traveling so soon into the post-covid era (I hope I'm not jinxing us), but the reason is clear...it is kids like these ones.  They do deserve to see the world. You are all part of that..and for that, I thank you for trusting your kids to this process.  I hope it has been worth it.

I don't know how many more of these trips I have in me before I retire from them.  They are tiresome and exhausting.  This isn't a complaint, by the way, it is just a matter of fact.  We are up early every day, we log thousands of steps each day, and we don't go to bed until much past our bedtime.  As hard as that can be, however, it is also very rewarding.  I needed to have my spirits refreshed and I am hoping this trip has lit the spark that I needed.  The last picture in tonight's blog is of the banks of the river Seine.  You can see quite a few people lounging along the banks.  They are all kinds of people.  Some are having a romantic picnic, others are dancing, some are reflecting by themselves.  I sat on the boat watching these folks and forgot about the troubles of the past two years.  I reflected back to 2015 when I was one of the people sitting on the banks with some bread and cheese watching the boats cruise past.  I thought to the future and wondered if any of the Eurotrippers would be on those banks in the years to come with their college friends or their spouses.  It is hard to tell, but it was fun to think about.  Our evening closed and I had a conversation with some of the girls sitting on the boat near me. Sam said something about not wanting the trip to end because of all of the good times she had had. I loved hearing it, but I told her that good things need to come to an end; that's how we know they were good times.  If they never ended, they wouldn't be special.  We have one more day to make good times!!!  

Thanks for reading and trying to comment...I have no idea why it isn't working, but I am enjoying the comments on Facebook and I appreciate all of the feedback.

Mr. Lavoie, currently sitting in the lobby writing his latest blog entry yet...as the clock strikes quarter to 1...but with a smile on his face :)