Day 9

We awoke early this morning, at 6:30am. We ate breakfast around 7:15 and loaded up the bus yet again to head to the train station in Avignon. We made it there around 9am and sat around the train station for about an hour. We said good-bye to José-Luis and sent him back to Madrid. Loading onto the TGV (Train de Grand-Vitesse, or very fast train) was an adventure! We had a plan, though. We split up into three groups and appointed 2-3 people to load the suitcases in. People were shouting for us to get going and move, as we only had precisely three minutes, no more, to load onto the train. We all managed to get on okay, but had to work a bit to fit all of our luggage in the luggage racks. They were in about 4 different locations. We were on a double-decker train and our seats were in car 8 on the top row. Several sets of seats faced each other. Some people had to ride facing the rear. There was also a bar area where you could buy food and beverages. The train hit a velocity of 150, which is not even the fastest of the bullet trains. The terrain whizzed by really fast. I was always amazed at how fast another TGV passed us in the opposite direction. It was also a very smooth ride. Many of the participants slept. Others read or watched the landscape. After 2 hours and 45 minutes we finally arrived at the Gare de Lyon train station. It was jam-packed with people. The fun part was making sure everyone got off and got their luggage. We managed just fine. These guys are amazing! We re-grouped in the train station once we all made it off of the platform. Then we went outside and around the corner to wait for our bus. It was a very disorganized operation, but we finally found our bus and loaded the luggage into the cargo hold. We stopped at the Place de l’Opéra to pick up our guide, Janice. She narrated a tour of Paris for us. We drove past the Opera House which has an underground lake, as in the Phantom of the Opera. The lake is directly under the stage, which lends perfect acoustics. We next went to the Place Vendôme where you can see the most expensive hotel in Paris: The Ritz. (No, we’re not staying there!). Mansard designed this square as well as the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. We drove past the Comédie Française (theatre), the Louvre, L’Académie Française, which is an organization of 40 members to preserve the French Language, the Conciergerie, which is the prison that held Marie-Antoinette before her death. The European Union Flags are prevalent throughout the city, as FCrance is currently the President of the Union for 6 months. This position rotates among the countries of the Union. We got off the bus (illegally) near the Notre Dame Cathedral and walked to find lunch nearby. My group just bought sandwiches and crêpes at a store front and sat in front of the Cathedral to wait for the guide. Janice had us cut the line, due to our time schedule. The line was pretty long, too. She had an umbrella with a green frog on the handle (appropriate for France, as they are called frogs) and she was incredibly amusing. She explained that the North Rose stained glass window was the only one that was still the original from the 13th Century. The others have been renovated since then. The North Rose depicts the New Testament and the South Rose the Old Testament. On June 21st, the summer solstice, if you stand in the transept (the middle of the cross-shaped church) around 4:20pm you can see an egg-shaped silhouette to the left of the middle of the North Rose. Then, for just 8 seconds, you can see a red heart above the statue of the virgin Mary to the right of the altar. Notre Dame was also known for the place where Napoleon crowned himself emperor. She then took us to the side of the altar area to show us the “Stone Bible.” It is a series of scenes sculpted into stone and painted that tell the stories in the Bible. It was used to educate illiterate people on religion. Then she told us how they had alternated weaker pillars with stronger ones to support the roof of the church, and in the front of the church is a statue of Saint Denis, one of the patron saints of Paris. He was beheaded and legend has it that he picked up his head, washed it off in a stream, then continued down the hill where he finally fell dead. Where he fell is a church built in his honor. We continued walking around Paris until we met up with the bus and continued the tour on the air-conditioned bus. We arrived at our hotel around 5:15pm. A couple of the rooms had to be switched to accommodate everyone, but we managed. Some people have a beautiful view of the Seine river and the Eiffel Tower. Others can see “Les Invalides” and “Sacré Cœur.” The hotel has 31 flights, so we have a beautiful view of the city! We are just down the river from the Eiffel Tower, right next to the mini Statue of Liberty. We have to take an escalator to get to the elevators to get to our rooms. This hotel looks like a mini shopping center! I’m not kidding! In my room, the toilet is in a different room from the shower and sink, which is typical of French homes. We met downstairs and walked to dinner. This restaurant, Villa 15, served a puff pastry filled with cheese, pasta with breaded turkey, and a “tarte aux pommes” (apple tarte) for dessert. We then walked to the Eiffel Tower where we took a boat tour of the Seine River. It sure is beautiful by night! You’ll notice that the Eiffel Tower is blue in the pictures and has a ring of 12 yellow stars on it. They have done this because that is the European Union flag, and France is currently the President of this Union…for the next six months, in fact. The Presidency travels from country to country. It looks really cool! It still twinkles on the hour, too! After the boat ride we walked back to our hotel. We are really close to the Eiffel Tower! Oh, I almost forgot! Regina has been wearing a pedometer and is keeping track of how far we’ve been walking. I think we are averaging around 7 or 8 miles a day! How’s that for walking for fitness? We got back late tonight…around 11pm. At least we don’t have to get up until 7:30am tomorrow!
P.S. I apologize for the fuzzy photos…I must be getting tired! lol

Day 8

We had yet another delectable breakfast. The hotel is really beautiful. As we leave the hotel we turn in our key to the desk who stores them until our return. This morning we got to sleep in a bit and left around 9am for Les Beaux. It was about a one and a half hour drive from Nîmes. The pictures on the blog do not do this place justice. If you think the pictures are beautiful, you have to see it in person. The view causes you to stop and contemplate the serenity and majesty of the fields of Provence, the relaxed lifestyle, and the Pyrénées mountains. When we got there, Mrs. Frank and Mr. Kim were so excited they hugged each other! There was a bit of a walk to get up to the ruins of the castle, but it was worth the climb. As in Carcassonne, there were many small shops away. We enjoyed the smell of lavender wafting from the shops. This region is known for its lavender fields. When you look at the pictures you will understand why this is also the home of many Impressionist artists such as Gaugin and Van Gogh. On the castle grounds there was a demonstration of a Trébuchet. After wandering the castle grounds and troglodyte homes we once again boarded the bus and drove to Arles for lunch. We ate at a Casino Cafeteria where the food was really good (once again) and not too pricey. It was in a small mall which also included a supermarket. Some went to the supermarket and others to the cafeteria. They had some of my favorite desserts, too! A “Réligeuse” is a puff pastry filled with chocolate custard with a smaller one on top. A “Millefeuille” is in English a Napoleon. It literally means “thousand leaves.” We then went on to the Sports Complex for our calligraphy and fencing lessons. Half of the group went to fencing while the other half was learning calligraphy with the Master Calligrapher Thiérry E. Garnier. Thiérry began by explaining that there are 3 main types of calligraphy: Arabic, Chinese and Latin. He is a Latin calligrapher. He also makes his own ink from the parasites that grow on oak trees. He crushes them (once the insect has broken free from the bulb) into a powder and adds water, honey, and I think something else but I forgot. I had to translate so I could not take notes this time! I’m going from memory. He explained that you need 4 things to do calligraphy: a pen, paper, ink, and some courage! He showed us how you dip the pen into the ink, blot it on the paper, hold it at a 45° angle, and just move the arm, not the hand, to make your strokes. He made it look so easy! He also showed us his masterpiece that he made, which is copied from a 15th century document. It had a beautiful picture in the middle of it, which was also done by calligraphy. You can draw pictures as well as make pretty letters! Then we each got the chance to practice the letters, then write our names. At the end, he wrote each of our names on a certificate. Then we went fencing. Our instructor’s name was Quentin. He first went into the history of the evolution of the swords, and which ones were used by which people. Then we were given some safety instructions and told to take a mask and épée, or sword. He showed us how to thrust left, right, and overhead, how to thrust low to the legs, swipe over the legs and at the feet. He taught us a short routine that we had to memorize and practice, then we had to come up with a choreography of our own. We each performed them, then he decided which was the best. Rachel and Maddie won in the first group, and Frankie and Mr. Kim won in the second group! We then went to the Roman Arena in Arles. We were going to go inside, but they had what is called “La Course Camargue.” Brave souls actually choose to run with the bulls in the ring! Because it was Wednesday, it cost more to enter, so we decided to do a bit of souvenir shopping instead. On the walk back to the bus, Guy asked the students to think about who Voltaire was, as we were going to walk down that street. By the time we got back to the bus, he clarified any questions the students had about Voltaire. We drove another hour to the Pont du Gard, a Roman Aqueduct. Work began in 38 AD and ended around 52 AD. This aqueduct was used to conduct water from a spring near Uzès to Nîmes. We spent an hour here. We took a quick dip in the Rhône River, and some of us climbed to the top of the aqueduct for a beautiful pcv (that’s Frisbiese for post card view). We boarded the bus again and headed back to the hotel for dinner. We ate at the same restaurant we did last night.