HOME!

We’re baaaaaaaack!  Well, at least over the U.S.  We are flying home right now and are currently over Minnesota.  We figured I would write one last post for the blog before shutting it down.  I am waiting for Ms. Huff to send her final email before posting this. 

We woke up this morning at 8 o’clock am with a LOUD call from the hotel.  We didn’t have to leave the hotel until 9:50 so we were able to have time to pack, have a leisurely breakfast, and meet in the lobby.  We boarded a bus for the airport, where Pauline recapped our tour with us, going day by day through the events, museums, and meals, finally asking the students what their favorite things were about their experience in Europe (you’ll have to ask them what they said :^).

We arrived at the airport and said goodbye to Pauline.  We had a while in the airport before our flight so the kids played cards, wrote in their journals, and passed their journals around for others to sign and give phone numbers so they may keep in touch in the future (some of them want to have a 2012 Eurotrip  40^th Anniversary trip in 2052.  We’d like to say we’d be up for that too, but we’ll be 80 then).  They were talking about bringing (gulp) their own children to Europe then. :^)

We finally boarded the plane to London and had a very short, uneventful flight of 45 minutes.  In London, our gate was moved, so we had to go through security again to get to another terminal.  However, this time, we had plenty of time to spare.  Then we took off again, on another 777, headed to DIA.  The kids have spent most of their time talking and watching movies, trying to stay awake.  We think that most of them fell asleep at some point or another.  It is, currently, 1:26am Paris time.  We encouraged them to stay awake as long as possible so they would get a good night’s sleep tonight.  It may take them a few days to recover from the time change.  By the time you get them home tonight, it may be about 4am Paris time.  We hope none of them have soccer practice at 7am tomorrow. 

We also wanted to let you know that we will have all of the photos that we took on a DVD for you all sometime within the next week or two.  We will leave them at the school for you to come pick up at your leisure and will email you when they are ready for pick up. :^)

On a personal note, I would like to say thank you for trusting us with your children.  I know it is a rather large deal to send your son or daughter almost half way across the planet to somewhere they have never been where people speak a different language.  I greatly appreciate your trust in us to bring them back safely and to look after their well being while there.  I hope that they have learned about different cultures and people, as well as food ;^).   I also hope that their eyes have been opened to the world and that they are now always aware of differences in people and have developed a tolerance for those differences.  This has now been my second trip to Europe with Andrea and students, and I can’t think of a better way to travel there.   Again, thank you so much (and thank you for the more than generous gift :^).

The pleasure was all ours.

Finis

Paris Day 2

HOLY VACHE! (That means cow…not that other word you were thinking :^).

What a perfect ending to a darn near perfect trip (coulda been a bit warmer in France).  Since it is almost 1 am at the moment, we are going to make this one pretty brief. 

We woke up, ate breakfast, and got on the bus.

We went to Versailles, south west of Paris, to view this “home” to Louis zee 14^th, and his grandson, Louis the 16^th.  Upon entering, the students received an individual mp3 player and was assigned a character from each “status” of people at the time, allowing them to tour with the perspective of one of many “tour guides;” the peasants, the bourgeoisie, clergy, nobles, or the king and queen.  We saw all the main sites in the building open to the public including the Hall of Mirrors (one of their favorites).  Outside we were able to overlook the gardens, but with lunch quickly approaching, we didn’t have time to explore the gardens (just one more reason for the kids to return someday).  We then had the opportunity to use the knowledge we gained from their mp3 character tour guides to further our knowledge of the French Revolution in a role play performed with Gerardo, a gentleman who works for an educational historic acting academy, as we re-enacted the French revolution as the character from our tour.  It was fun to watch the kids feel comfortable enough to dress up and act for each other, all the while learning about the need for democracy in France.

Then lunch.  We had a salad for appetizer, a meal of stewed beef and rice, and a REALLY good dessert of chocolate pie with white cream glaze and caramel.

Then on the bus again to Monmartre, the bohemian artist district of Paris.  On the way there we drove by the Moulin Rouge.  Once there we climbed the steps (lots of them…practicing for the Eiffel Tower) to Sacre Coeur (a cathedral that looks like ice cream made with sugar cubes (the stones are all white).  After touring the interior of Scare Coeur, the students were able to roam Monmartre to see the local artists work, and perhaps, buy some of their work.

Then we took the Paris metro (no, I did not experience PTSD) to the Eiffel Tower.  One of the elevators is currently broken, so we walked up the steps to the second level, and rode up to the top in an elevator (talk about tiring).  We stayed on it long enough to see it light up, and then get back down and off at a distance to see the whole thing sparkle about 10pm.

Then metro,

Then hotel,

Then sleep.  

We leave tomorrow from the hotel at 945 am.  We should be landing on time as far as we know.

Sleep well, and we’ll see you tomorrow. :^)

Paris Day 1.5

Fantastique!  What a day!

The kids woke up today at 7am ready to go.  Again, after a breakfast of assorted breads and cereals (and cheese!) we jumped on the bus for a tour of Paris with our tour guide Caroline (from England, but lives in Paris). 

  We drove by a lot of places that we don’t have time to explore, such as the Arc de Triomphe, L’Hôtel des Invalides, L’Opéra, and Champs-Elysées.  Our bus tour also took us to Trocadero, where the students were able to get off the bus for a bit to take pictures (some very creatively) of the Eiffel Tower.  

The next stop on our tour was L’Hôtel des Invalides (a military hospital where Napoleon’s tomb it located), also allowing the students more photo opportunities.  The last and final stop on the bus tour was Notre Dame (not the one with the football team), a gothic cathedral with wonderful stained glass windows, flying buttresses, and rich history.  Legend has it that if you step on the bronze star near the entrance (also the geographic center of the city…well, it used to be), that you will return to Paris someday.  Guess what?  They all stepped on it (you’re on your own for that trip :^).   

After touring the inside of the cathedral, the students went to the back courtyard and learned how flying buttresses work with an activity from Ms. Huff.  Across the street from Notre Dame is a wonderful line of cafés that specialize in sandwiches, hot dogs, and croque-monsieurs (a toasted ham sandwich smothered with…yep, you guessed it… CHEESE, GLORIOUS CHEESE!)*  After browsing the stores nearby, we walked to the Louvre (pronounced Loov…not Loov-ur…those are slots on closet doors), where we saw classic masterpieces such as Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and the coop de grass (that’s French for pièce de resistance)**, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.  The students also saw the “basement” of the Louvre which contained the original foundation of the Louvre, built during medieval times.  

 After our adventure in the largest museum in the world (and trying to find a bathroom), we exited by climbing the staircase under the glass pyramid.  From there we walked to Pont Neuf to take the students on a Bateau Mouche (French for big boat :^), for a cruise around the Seine (Say, that reminds me of a joke, “to jump off a bridge in Paris, you’d have to be inseine.”  Say, that reminds Andrea of another joke, “What do you call a dehydrated Frenchman?   Pierre.”)*.  We hope you are laughing harder than the kids did, and please, no eye rolls.  The cruise pointed out all of the sites visible from the river, and talked about the history behind them, including the “kissing bridge” (Ooh la la). 

  Our evening ended at a fabulous Crêperie.  We had a salad for an appetizer, our choice of several different dinner crêpes, and ended with our choice of a dessert crêpe.  We successfully navigated the metro (without any pick-pocketing incidents…Ms. Huff won’t let Mr. Beckett carry anything in his pockets anymore) back to the hotel for an early night as we have a 630am wake-up call in the morning.  At the end of our day, Pauline asked the kids, “What do you think?  Do you like Paris?”  And they all answered with a resounding “Oui!”  Some even said they “love” it.  A couple of them are planning their honeymoons here already (I’d make them pay for that on their own if I were you).  

Tomorrow, for our last day of adventure, we are visiting Versailles, Monmartre, and are going on the Eiffel Tower in the evening.

Dormez bien.

Paris Day 1!

Guess where we are?  Paris!

We started this morning with out a wake up call from our hotel (ask the students about the showers here), but all of the students were up on time and ready to go after a quick breakfast.  One of the first things we noticed was that it rained in Carcassonne overnight.  We got on the bus and headed to Toulouse, la Ville Rose (the pink city).  It is called that because a lot of the buildings were built with pink brick.  When we got off the bus, it was raining and fairly cool, but the kids all had jackets or hoodies and did very well.  The only comment that we heard was from Ms. Huff who said, “It’s raining, but it’s raining in TOULOUSE!” :^)  Also always the optimist.  The kids really didn’t seem to mind the weather at all as we walked through older parts of the city to see a Basilica that was built in 1209 (and we thought the US had history!).  We went inside the basilica and had to be very quiet.  It is Sunday after all, and mass was in progress.  It was very interesting.  Afterwards the kids were able to roam the center of the city for an hour or so to find lunch and some snacks for the train to Paris.  The Capitol Plaza was hustling and bustling with people in celebration of the Rugby tournament going on in the city.  Apparently Toulouse won a game last night, so people were out celebrating with flags and song.  When we were in the city market, where you can buy rabbit and pigeon ready to cook (Kenna felt vindicated), a group supporting a local team walked into the center and began chanting and singing for their team while onlookers clapped in rhythm.   Then it was back to the bus for our ride to the train station.  Once there, we all got our bags and bit Adieu to Luis, our bus driver (from Spain, but raised in Australia), and boarded the train to Paris.  The trip was about six hours, but the kids passed the time with their ipods, iphones, ipads, while Ms. Huff used her ilids (oh come on… I thought that was clever).   The train took us over most of France, from the southwestern to the north-central region where Paris is located.  The country-side was beautiful with rolling green hills, livestock, and miles and miles of vineyards.  We arrived in Paris about 9pm our time, and travelled to the Hotel Brescia via minivan.  It is a very charming, quiet (at least until we arrived :^) hotel in the heart of Paris.  We are only a couple of kilometers from the Opera House and a few more meters from the Hotel des Invalides (where Napoleon is buried).  The kids are in their rooms and are getting a good night’s sleep for tomorrow’s tour of Paris starting with a 7am wake-up call and breakfast at 8pm.  We will be going to the Louvre (pronounced Loo-vray for you western types) tomorrow.  The students are very excited for that, as well as Notre Dame which we passed on the way to the hotel.

Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow.  Stay tuned…