Hola Barcelona!

Here we are in Barcelona. :) Paris was such a whirlwind that we were a bit sleep deprived and rarely in the hotel. So, we didn't post yet Sorry

It's been a fantastic time. I'll do a brief introduction to the highlights, and write more later. I'd post a few pics, but I didn't bring my camera cable. Sorry. You'll have to wait 'till we get back.

Day 1 - Thursday April 9: Night flight to Paris.


Day 2: Friday April 10 First day in Paris! :)
*Our students were very patient with the night flight and the three hours we had to wait in the airport as EF carted us around to pick up other groups. We are touring with 23 students from a Co-Ed Catholic School in a DC suburb. We also have . . . a group of 7 senior citizens from North Carolina. No, it's not supposed to be like this. But, these ladies are awesome, and I can only hope to be like them in my 60s and 70s. Then, eventually we got to shower and head out to a nice dinner. Chicken, potatoes, a bit of red wine. Everyone was fighting the exhaustion as we headed to Montmarte for spectacular views of the city (my suggestion!). This is the neighborhood where Amelie takes place, and it has a fantastic bohemian, artsy vibe. We were very happy to be in our beds around 11pm that night -- although Stuart and Stephan played pool for a few hours.

Day 3: Saturday April 11: Tour Paris!

We had breakfast at the hotel, a surprisingly wonderful buffet spread, including meats, cheeses, yogurt, espresso, croissants, pain au chocolat . . . mmm. Everyone looked wonderfully refreshed and ready for a long day in the city. The bus picked us up at 9. A Parisian tour guide joined us to explain the city for three hours. Afterwards, we went to the Musee D'Orsay -- we had to talk Stuart, Stephan and Brandon to go in because they just wanted to wander around and didn't think they'd have fun. We explained that it was an important educational aspect. They enjoyed it a bit. Tiffany was a bit uncomfortable with all the nude paintings and statues. When I asked her how she liked everything, she said, "It's all nude."

"Don't go in there, then" I said to caution her about the painting "The origin of the world" which showed . . . well, where babies come from -- up close and personal."

Tiffany didn't heed my warning and walked straight inside where she proceeded to shriek and run out exclaiming, "I'm done!"


Afterwards, we headed to dinner at Flunch. It's a cafeteria-style food place in the center of Paris. The boys didn't seem too impressed with the food, which we later dubbed "Freakin' Lunch" because of the quality. It's hard to feed 40 people all at once, so I understand -- but it wasn't the best option. [On this tour, breakfast and dinner are included in the tour price . . . sometimes it's good, sometimes, not so much . . .]

It was a rainy evening, so we couldn't go on the "Paris by Night" boat cruise as planned. So, we walked around the neighborhood -- near the Pompeau Deu Center [no, I'm too tired to look up the spelling . . .]. We split off from the kids to encourage them to wander. Leslie, her brother, and I had a couple of beers while watching some European Football. Then we headed back for the long journey to our hotel in the 'burbs . . . on some random highway.

Day 4: Sunday April 11th -- Easter Sunday.

We had an early start to get to Notre Dame in time for Mass for those who chose to go. The kids, Aron, Leslie and Marie (Tiffany's mom) all walked around the Latin Quarter while I attended a Gregorian Chant mass in Notre Dame. While I have been inside before, I had never attended mass or heard the organ -- so it was very special, especially on Easter Sunday.

Afterwards, we went to lunch and then had free time. I walked with the group to the Louvre. Yet, since I've been to the Louvre 3 times, I just wanted to wander around the city. Again, the boys needed to be coaxed and prodded to see this famous museum. While they were inside, I wandered Paris. I spent some time strolling through the Toulierres Gardens, watching parents hide Easter eggs in the trees. Tourists and locals strolled around on a lazy Sunday holiday, enjoying the sunshine and good cheer. I read a book on a park bench, listening to the carousel music, then strolled back to the grass by the Louvre, where everyone was happily napping, and sunbathing. I put my i-pod on and joined them. Afterwards, I strolled along the Champs Elysee, down to the business district and then rejoined the rest of the group by the Eiffel Tour for a night time boat cruse on the Seine. Unfortuantely, due to the lines, the group could not go to the top of the Eiffel Tour, but we figured it was ok because we saw wonderful views of the city on Day 2 when we went to Montmarte.

Day 5: Monday April 12 -- Free time and Night Train to Toulousse

We let everyone sleep in a bit, then checked out of our rooms. The 8 of us walked around Republic, found a really cool flea market where Leslie and I bought jewelry and Brandon bought a scooter for 10 euros! We had lunch at Flam, which consisted of bread and cheese -- a pizza like meal. Afterwards, we went to versailles for the day. It only cost 2.50 euros to take the train to the town. We saw the palace and strolled the grounds on an amazingly beautiful day. In France, Easter Monday is a holiday as well, so everyone was leisurely and happy. But because of the holiday, so many things were closed. Therefore, it was difficult to find a restaurant for fondue as we had hoped that night. We found a cute cafe, but they ran out of food as we ordered. So, Stuart, Stephan, Brandon and Tiffany wandered in search of McDonald's while the rest of us stayed at the cafe, enjoying a wonderful ,perfect spring evening. We took the train back to Paris and to the hotel where we gathered our bags and headed to the night train.

I fell asleep as soon as I hit the bed, so the trip went very quickly for me. The kids stayed up talking to their new friends from DC. I was glad that we had to mix the schools for the night train compartments because it facilitated socialization.

Day 6: Tuesday April 13: We boarded the bus straight from the night train in Toulousse and headed to another Flunch, where they had bread, croissants, coffee and hot chocolate waiting for us. Afterwards, we napped on the bus as we headed to the medieval city of Carcassone -- which was super cool! The weather was perfect today, so it was excellent to be outside. The boys bought some medieval weapons which I don't think they can sneak into scanning when they return. ;-)

Tiffany, Brandon and I went into a pretty fun haunted house. Then we arrived in Barcelona at 4:30 pm, where we had dinner at an amazing buffet place called FresCo.