Here is the blog from week one! Our students did a great job putting it together.
-Caroline and Ebony
Day 1: Jardin aux Tuileries
These pictures are from our first day in Paris. We had landed at Charles de Gaulle airport that morning, and the group was extremely excited to meet France and Parisian culture. We ate lunch at a small, intimate café in the Troisième Arrondissement (3rd neighborhood of Paris). This was very significant because it was our first exposure as a group to French food and our first opportunity to view the “hustle and bustle” of Paris from the sidelines of a café, as many Parisians do everyday. We then spent some time at the Jardin aux Tuileries (garden) where we had the chance to walk around viewing beautiful greenery and sculptures.
— Henry
Louvre:
We went to the Louvre museum with one mission: to find the Mona Lisa. After spending quite a long time battling other onlookers for the best view, we explored the rest of the museum which included other paintings as well as sculptures. We sat down for a few minutes outside the famous glass pyramid built for the museum to give our legs a needed rest. After that, we walked to dinner together.
-Sadie
Day 2: Scavenger hunt picnic
Around noon on our second day in Paris, Caroline and Ebony gave us a surprise: we all had to go to an outdoor market and get ingredients for a picnic lunch! After shopping for items we were assigned to find in groups of four people, we took the metro to a garden, where we met Ebony and Caroline for the picnic. We ended up with baguettes, fresh fruit and vegetables, quiche, cheeses and meats, juices, desserts, and a great time.
— Grace
Day 2: Eiffel Tower
A trip to Paris wouldn’t be complete without visiting the Tour d’Eiffel so we checked visiting the iconic destination off our bucket list on our second day in France. Pictures do the tower no justice; the extravagance or the Eiffel Tower was shocking. Walking from one side of the base to another was in itself a feat so climbing up the 1,700+ stairs to the top will definitely be a challenge. Still, it is a challenge some group members hope to tackle during our time in Paris later this month. Wish us luck!
— Audrey
Day 3: Chocolate Tour
For the chocolate tour day, we visited four different chocolate shops in Paris. Each shop had a different specialty chocolate, whether that be the flavor or type. One shop had lemon basil chocolate squares, while another had iced chocolate with cream and milk made as a beverage. “I liked the hazelnut milk chocolate candy because it was unique and I thought it was really cool that it was thought of while Patrick Roger was 14 years old.”
– Keke, after visiting Patrick Roger’s chocolate shop
Day 3: Musée d’Orsay
This museum was really a fan favorite because it had beautiful art and was much less crowded then the Louvre. There were rooms that displayed paintings and sculptures, as well as old interior design models and antique furniture. There was a Van Gogh section with a painting that reminded us all of one of his famous pieces, Starry Night.
— Sadie
Norte Dame
Norte Dame, the building overall was beautiful. The colorful stained windows was definitely a sight to see not to mention the cool air provided shelter from the heat. It was amazing to see different people worshiping different Gods all in one place, and the beautiful voices of the choir made the church majestic; almost as if not of this earth.
-By Destiny
