Day 5: Paris, France

Day 5:                        Paris, France                                    6/22/14

I knocked on the doors of my group at 6:15 and everyone made it to breakfast. We left at 7:30 and started back to Paris.

Because it was Sunday, the roads were pretty clear and we arrived early at our rendezvous site, Le Place de la Concorde, site of the Bastille prison.

While we were waiting, there was a Sunday market being set up, so we explored it. It was interesting to see how so many depend on an outdoor market for their food instead of buying it from a supermarket. It is certainly a different mentality then what we are used to in the states. Bridget, our tour guide, arrived and we took the bus tour of Paris.

When the tour was over, we stopped at Tracadero for the killer view of the Eiffel Tower. From there, part of the group went with me to the Catacombs.

Elise went to Versailles with Heidi and the MacDonalds. The highlights for her were:

·       The Hall of Mirrors, which was unexpectedly opulent. She was impressed with the extravagance of the whole thing.

·       The gold paint was a big surprise

·       The gardens were amazing. She wanted to get lost in them.

I took the Hooples and DeBoers to the Catacombs under Paris. We got off the Denfert-Rochereau metro exit and got to the end of the line. We waited almost 2½ hours before we got into the catacombs. We passed the time playing outburst and chatting with others in line.

We got in and went down. Paris has been built up on other sites, most notably by a quarry of limestone that had been mined to help make buildings in town. Sooner or later, sinkholes developed and put the town in danger. Paris found the catacombs from earlier times and went about to make sure there were no other dangers of sink holes.

They also decided to put the remains/bones of old churches or cemeteries in this location. The bones had been stacked up in a nice orderly condition.

The bones of the Catacombs

More bones of the Catacombs

Another configuration of  bones in the Catacombs

We left the catacombs and found a boulangerie to have some late lunch. Ham sandwiches and drinks kept us content until supper time.

Our Sunday lunch in Paris

We went to the Arc de Triomphe to see a little of the des Champs Elysees. We met the other group and went together to eat supper. The food was turkey and potatoes, with a crepe in chocolate for dessert.

Notre Dame from the Seine at sunset

We had a couple of more hours of free time that was spent near Notre Dame buying things. We then made a 9:00 pm appointment to see Paris via the boats on the Seine (les bateaux mouches). It was a nice night when we got done. We met a bus to take us home to the hotel.

We got back and tried to get the kids to slow down, but the U.S. was playing in the World Cup versus Portugal, starting at 11:00. Oh well, final score:

USA 2,  Portugal 2