Day 15: London, England to Paris, France
Day 15 7/10/17
We got up early and made our way to St. Pancras train station to get on the Eurostar to Paris. It was a good thing we did, because the traffic to the station and the security to go through to get on the train was lengthy.
We got on without trouble and the twelve of us took off. We say a bit of the countryside on both sides of the channel.
Unfortunately, we were about an hour late because of technical difficulties and so it was advised that we eat on the train. Most of us tried to get rid of our British pounds..
We got to Paris and found the bus that would take us to the hotel, the Hotel Camponile. We navigated through the traffic, dropped our stuff off at the luggage room at the hotel, then took off by city bus to the Louvre. The metro stop, Gallieni, was within a minute of the hotel, which was nice.
A little more than an hour later, we arrived at the Louvre. The weather started to threaten rain and we were rained on a little.
We got into the Louvre and headed straight toward the big 3, the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory.
There were a lot of people at the Louvre and a lot of items. I was told that if you were to look at each item at the Louvre for ten seconds each, it would take about three months of continuously viewing before you could see it all.
It was hard to determine what everyone wanted to see, so we just looked around until it was time to close.
From the Louvre, we walked along the Seine to take in the sites as we headed for our supper. We ate at a nice restaurant that had fresh baguette bread and cock au vin (chicken cooked in wine sauce) that was delicious. There was a brief but hard rain while we were eating.
We took the metro to our boat ride, close to where the Eiffel tower is. The tour took about an hour, starting at 8:25 p.m., so the sun was starting to go down. Each time we would see a site, it was explained in French, English, and then German. It was very pleasant outside, though it did get cool once it was done and the sun went down.
We walked to the Eiffel tower. We had to get into the area through security which was sad. France had been involved with terrorism acts and so security had been increased. There was also some construction in preparation of their Independence Day, July 14th.
We arrived shortly before 10 p.m. and five of us walked up the stairs to the second level.
We stayed until closing time, around 11:00 p.m. We got to see the light display on the tower twice. It began at the top of the hour and went for about 5 minutes.
We took off towards the Trocadero metro. We took plenty of pictures of the tower as we got further away.
We took the subway back and arrived around midnight. There was an hour time change, so our bodies were still on 11:00 p.m. We got our rooms and slept soundly after a long day.
We got up early and made our way to St. Pancras train station to get on the Eurostar to Paris. It was a good thing we did, because the traffic to the station and the security to go through to get on the train was lengthy.
We got on without trouble and the twelve of us took off. We say a bit of the countryside on both sides of the channel.
 |
| Jen,Tom and the DeBoers on the train to Paris |
Unfortunately, we were about an hour late because of technical difficulties and so it was advised that we eat on the train. Most of us tried to get rid of our British pounds..
We got to Paris and found the bus that would take us to the hotel, the Hotel Camponile. We navigated through the traffic, dropped our stuff off at the luggage room at the hotel, then took off by city bus to the Louvre. The metro stop, Gallieni, was within a minute of the hotel, which was nice.
A little more than an hour later, we arrived at the Louvre. The weather started to threaten rain and we were rained on a little.
 |
| The Weeks at the Louvre |
We got into the Louvre and headed straight toward the big 3, the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory.
 |
| Robert and Derek admiring some statues |
There were a lot of people at the Louvre and a lot of items. I was told that if you were to look at each item at the Louvre for ten seconds each, it would take about three months of continuously viewing before you could see it all.
It was hard to determine what everyone wanted to see, so we just looked around until it was time to close.
From the Louvre, we walked along the Seine to take in the sites as we headed for our supper. We ate at a nice restaurant that had fresh baguette bread and cock au vin (chicken cooked in wine sauce) that was delicious. There was a brief but hard rain while we were eating.
We took the metro to our boat ride, close to where the Eiffel tower is. The tour took about an hour, starting at 8:25 p.m., so the sun was starting to go down. Each time we would see a site, it was explained in French, English, and then German. It was very pleasant outside, though it did get cool once it was done and the sun went down.
 |
| Notre Dame on the Seine |
 |
| Our tour director Anne Marie on the cruise |
We walked to the Eiffel tower. We had to get into the area through security which was sad. France had been involved with terrorism acts and so security had been increased. There was also some construction in preparation of their Independence Day, July 14th.
 |
| The Eiffel tower up close |
We arrived shortly before 10 p.m. and five of us walked up the stairs to the second level.
We stayed until closing time, around 11:00 p.m. We got to see the light display on the tower twice. It began at the top of the hour and went for about 5 minutes.
We took off towards the Trocadero metro. We took plenty of pictures of the tower as we got further away.
 |
| Mr. Miles, Kaiden, Derek, and I in Paris |
 |
| The Eiffel Tower with a full moon behind it. |
We took the subway back and arrived around midnight. There was an hour time change, so our bodies were still on 11:00 p.m. We got our rooms and slept soundly after a long day.
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