Versailles

Our first stop after we left Brest was the Palace of Versailles (well lunch then Versailles). The palace is huge and overwhelming – and there are a lot of people. We arrived too late in the day to have reserved our group in advance, so we had to wait in line, a really long line. It went rather quickly, less than an hour, but unlike Brest, it was hot. There is no shade in the courtyard of Louis’s palace. It was just meant for the arrival of carriages, not thousands of tourists.

Versailles really needs to be experienced. The opulence is amazing. Considering Parisians were starving in the street while Louis XIV, XV and XVI were waging expensive wars, buying jewelry and throwing big parties at Versailles, you understand why there was a French revolution. The students had to go through in small groups. There would be no way a group of 31 could stay together. It’s difficult for a group of three to stay together.

They got to see the rooms leading up to and including the famous hall of mirrors, the king’s apartments and the queen’s antechambers. The queen’s apartments are being renewed, so they were unavailable.

There is a separate charge for the gardens, but many of the students felt it was worth it. Summer is the time of “son et lumière” (sound and light). There is music playing in the gardens and in the evenings there are lighted fountain displays. It really was worth it.

Evening brought us to BVJ Opéra, our youth hostel in Paris. The building is beautiful even if the amenities are a bit rustic.

Waiting in line at Versailles

There were sprayers to cool people off. Grace, Alec and some of the others took advantage

Our students with their friend, Louis XIV

Yup, just chillin' with Louis!

The light in the hall of mirrors is beautiful (and so are our students)!

See what I mean?

Great picture of Lauren and Michael!

One of the fountains of Versailles

In front of the Grand Bassin

Checking in at BVJ Opéra.

The picture of patience

Enjoying dinner at La Rotonde

Michael ate escargots AND steak tartar!

Lindsey shared one of her escargot with Micah.

We had dinner at a restaurant in the quarter. For some, it was their first experience of an authentic French restaurant since many of them had only dined at home with their French families. The highlight had to be Michael Hrinda ordering not just escargots but steak tartar as well. He was quite happy with both!

Paris - Day 1

The French government kind of messed up our plans for Monday. We discovered that many sites and museums are closed on Monday. So much for our visit to the catacombs and Victor Hugo’s apartments.

Michael and Loïc’s group still visited the amazing Place des Voges, built by Henri IV and inaugurated on the event of the Marriage of his son, Louis XIII in 1602. Victor Hugo lived there in the 1800s. Since we couldn’t visit his apartments, we decided to go to the Picasso Museum. A quick internet check told us that was closed as well.

We wandered the streets of the Marais district and decided to have lunch in the Rue des Rosiers, the heart of the Jewish quarter, groups of three or four choosing different cafés. (Several chose a falafel restaurant.)

We decided to visit the museum of the Holocaust. Although unplanned, it was a very rewarding experience. The profundity of what happened to 6 million Jews and some 2 million gypsies and political prisoners during World War II really struck a chord with the students. The horror of the events and the honor of the people became real for them.

Lindsey and Évie’s group decided to visit the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, exhibition halls on the banks of the Seine with ever-changing exhibits. Unfortunately, the Petit Palais was also closed and the Grand Palais was expensive. In the end, they visited the Tuileries Gardens and a carnival that is a summer feature of the gardens. Imagine, Mari and Joseph in bumper cars!

We all met in front of the Comédie Française for our visit to the Louvre museum. It was really good that we had a group reservation as it is the height of the tourist season in Paris and there were hundreds and hundreds of people in line for tickets.

Even so, we had less than two hours to visit the third largest art museum in the world. We split into four groups, one with each teacher, and struck out to see ancient Greek and Roman sculpture, Renaissance painting (including the Mona Lisa), 18^th and 19^th century French paintings, decorative art from the 17^th and 18^th centuries and pretty much anything else you can imagine up to the 1840s. One group visited the Old Masters, Dutch paintings from the 16^th century including Rembrandt.

The students were overwhelmed after our whirlwind visit. But they all agreed that it was an excellent experience.

Afterwards, we stayed in small groups for free time and dinner. Michael’s group dined in the Tuileries, then stopped by the Madeleine church and visited Place Vendome and Rue du Rivoli, some of the most expensive shopping in the world. The others were equally as adventurous.

We capped the evening a tour of Paris – on a boat! We took the Vedettes du Pont Neuf for a sunset cruise on the Seine River. We got to see the Louvre, Assemblée Nationale, Place de la Concorde, the Alexander III Bridge, the Invalides and of course the Eiffel Tower all before we turned around. On the return trip we also saw Notre Dame, the museum of the Arabic world, and a beautiful view of the Île de la Cité as the sun sets in the west.

It was a long, hot day but really great!

In front of the Paris City Hall

In the Marais

Under the arcades of Place Voges

Seriously, we have to wait while Alec and Micah check out
the Adidas store?

Yup, we're waiting on the consummate shoppers! 

But ice cream passes the time.

Why is Sydney so excited about this can of coke?

This used to be called "hand jive" but who knows what it is
today?

The barrista in the Rue du Rivoli didn't quite get American names.

Rachel in the Louvre

What are they doing? Well, it's an AC vent in the Louvre...

The ceiling of the decorative arts wing of the Louvre.

Chillin' after the Louvre

Nicole is pretty much always happy.

Loïc was the official tour guide for the Louvre.

In front of the Pyramid of the Louvre

At the church of the Madeleine

On the boat 

Week 5

Last week was a really intense one, and short as the fête des familles was Thursday night. The students practiced as much as possible with the time we had. In addition, they had the final self-evaluation and the final exam.

In the midst of that we still had a sports afternoon on Tuesday. We didn’t get to go outside as it was blowing mist in Brest, a phenomenon I had never witnessed before. We went to a different gym with basketball goals this time. There was serious basketball and some fun games.

Very quickly, time for the family show arrived. The students did a great job! All that rehearsing really paid off. The families really enjoyed the show, especially the ending number. The students ended by showing the audience papers on which they had written the family name and something nice to the family. These they presented as a gift. It was so cool! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXspTOA4Nnw

And the entire show: https://youtu.be/C9vcTxNfkFo

The students went home with their families for the holiday weekend. July 14 is the French national holiday. (They don’t actually call it Bastille Day.) We didn’t see them again until 6:45 Sunday morning.

That’s when we got on the bus and headed for Paris. There were many tears from both students and family members. These kids have made relationships that in many cases will last a lifetime.

Celebrating 55 years of IUHPFL

Celebrating IU

Jazlyn doesn't mind playing with the big boys!