Fabulous French Experienes

From French teacher Jenny Jervis
After we visited the musee d'Orsay, Hotel des Invalides and the musee Rodin, we finished up with a dinner and a stroll along the Champs-Elysees. It was so beautiful with the holiday decorations still adorning the trees and monuments. We managed our way from the Arc de Triomphe down the place de la Concorde on my insistence. We were all pretty cold but it was such a pretty walk.

Days three and four here in Paris have proved to be beautiful, yet quite cold. Yesterday we set out early to visit the Louvre and were met with brisk temperatures and a little snow. We hopped on the metro for a quick ride to the Palais-Royal stop where we entered the museum. We met our tour guide who showed us some of the chateau dating back to the 12th century. Later we saw the Mona Lisa, Victoire de Samthorace, Venus de Milo and many other masterpieces before we were turned loose to peruse the other rooms and works. We dined in the food court located near the inverted pyramid and then headed towards Ile de la Cite to see Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame. Sainte Chapelle was closed, unfortunately, so we continued on towards the Gothic cathedral.

We were pleased to see Notre Dame in its splendor. The interior was crowded but we were still able to take great pictures of the rose window and later viewed the gargoyles and flying buttresses on the exterior. Hungry and cold we crossed to Ile St. Louis for un petit cafe et une patisserie, a little respite for our cold bodies and weary feet. Upon regaining a bit of force at Cafe du Flore, we headed out to Place de la Bastille and Place des Vosges before returning to the hotel to freshen up before a dinner at a close by pizzeria.

Friday morning we visited the perfumeries museum Fragonard. We learned how perfume was originally created and used and then visited the gift shop to find our perfect scent. Then we dashed to the Gare Montparnasse to catch our train to visit the beautiful town and cathedral of Chartres. We had a fantastic tour with the renowned Chartres scholar, Malcom Miller, who explained both the architecture of the structure and the stories of many of the gorgeous stained glass. The coldest day here thus far, we fought to stay warm during our hour and a half tour, as the church's heat was left off due to restoration of fourteen of the windows. Bitterly cold, we were still enthralled by Mr. Miller's knowledge and delivery of this cathedral's history. We had wanted to spend time in the town but were deterred by the five inches of snow on the ground and bone-chilling temperature. Tomorrow, our last full day in Paris, we will visit the Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, after which the girls will have time to eat, shop and tour around in small groups. We've so enjoyed our time here but are eagerly anticipating our Sunday morning departure to Aix.