C and a few of her new friends and another teacher decided to go to 8 AM mass at Notre Dame. I did not want to get up at 6 AM in order to make it to mass, so I told them I would see them later in the day. I have been to Notre Dame during Sunday morning mass anyway on my previous trip to Paris in 1997.
So, I slept a little later, had a quick breakfast in gage hotel, and just rested and worked on my blog until time to get ready for our formal reception to wrap up our program. The reception was held at a building between the American a Embassy and the French President's Residence. We didn't have any special guests, but the meal was very good. We had cantaloupe for an appetizer, a chicken stuffed with mushrooms and some kind of potato-apple cake and a small bundle of green beans wrapped in bacon. One of the adults at our table was a little baffled by the bacon and green beans, but I pointed out in the south we throw bacon or pork in our green beans while they are cooking. Dessert was a strawberry bread pudding thing that was most yummy.
The NHD Director made a few comments and then presented each student with a plaque. The students then called up their teachers to receive a plaque as well. It was a nice ending to the program. We returned to the hotel for a quick clothing change and left with the other teacher, C, and her friends.
Down the street from our hotel, we passed a memorial for the Jews rounded up and held in the velodrome for two days in 1942.
We went back to the Eiffel Tower for daylight photos and to explore the possibility of going up. I fussed at the kids a little about paying attention, about keeping up, and about being aware of their surroundings. I do think they finally learned why by the end of the day, but I'm jumping ahead. We waded into the crowd for pics, but the line was very long for going into the tower so we decided to skip that.
We crossed the street and walked down to the bank along the Seine River where we took a river cruise. It was warm, and we ended up sitting on the wrong side of the boat for a lot of the big sites. Even though I had slept in, it was so peaceful and relaxing, I kept dozing off.
We stopped for a snack. I had lemon ice cream, and it was tart. The others had icees or crepes. We then boarded the Metro to go to the Louvre, and that's when they realized why we were concerned. As we were making a transfer, a group of twenty something's made a commotion, and then too off running. We then heard some one yelling stop! Stop! We paused on the step and turned to watch as a woman handed off her baby to another woman and took off running. Yes, we had just witnessed a mugging.
The Paris subway system is a labyrinth anyway, and the infrastructure has not been updated. If I never have to walk up and down a set of steps in my life, it won't bother me. It is also the most crowded subway system I have ever had to ride on. Give me the London tube or The Washington Metro any day.
We made it to the Louvre and raced to the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Hammurabi's Code. I appreciate art, but I don't enjoy it necessarily, especially in a crowded museum. I really don't know how anyone appreciates the Mona Lisa in the madness of the Louvre.
We did some trinket shopping. I got Kayla a t-shirt because that's what she asked for, some magnets, and a pin.
We entered the maze again, this time aiming for Sacre Coeur, or the Sacred Heart in Mont Matre. We wanted to take the funicular to the top, and were walking down the street looking for it. I saw the stairs of death, which earned me a free ride in an ambulance in 1997, and would probably kill me today. I knew the funicular was near, though, and we located it fairly quickly. We rode to the top and took in the view. The rest of my group went up the steps to visit the church and I sat on the steps to enjoy the atmosphere.
I bought a bottle of water, though people kept offering to sell me a Heiniken, and watched a street entertainer juggle a soccer ball. He would climb a lamp post and keep it going. It was quite impressive. I have a rule that if I stop to enjoy a street performer, I give him money, so I did. At one point, a woman came down the steps and stopped beside me, and was yelling across me at someone. It made me very nervous. Paris just doesn't feel like a safe city. I know wherever you are, you have to be wary of pick pockets, but I was constantly on edge in Paris.
We trinket shopped some more. C made an excellent purchase of Oreos. We rode the funicular back down and found a cafe for supper. I had spaghetti bolagnaise, or meat and tomato sauce. We ate quickly, and then hurried back to the hotel to beat curfew by 15 minutes. We apparently were the only group that stayed out that late.
I had early shift for breakfast, so I decided that the little bit of packing I had left I would do in the morning.
Today's step: 17539
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