Au Revoir Paris

By now everyone will have arrived home, safe & sound.

We had a very smooth trip in Europe this year, with only some bad weather in Paris disrupting our plans.  Throughout the trip the students were well-behaved, fun, & truly pleasant to work with.  Yet again a fine group of BCS students.  Thank you & best wishes & congratulations for graduation.

Declan

Paris in Depth

Today we spent our full day exploring 'The City of Lights' in depth, rescheduled after yesterday's rain.
Unfortunately today began wet too as we visited the Isle de la Cite (City Island) at the heart of the city & the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  We had free time here for an hour & a half, allowing time for everyone to visit the interior of the cathedral, to climb the towers if they wished to enjoy the views & get up close to the famed gargoyles, or to shop in the souvenir stores or take a coffee in a local cafe.
Later this morning we regrouped & rode the metro to Montmartre, the tallest hill in Paris.  Atop the hill is the area of a former artists' village, now part of the city.
To get to the top of the hill some of the group walked or ran, others rode the funicular.  From there we enjoyed spectacular panoramas across the whole city, except that that students noticed the Eifel Tower itself was missing, hidden by buildings on the hillside.
The group had free time for lunch, some eating outdoors & opting for escargots or other French specialities!  There was plenty of time for wandering the picturesque backstreets of this quaint quarter of Paris, browsing the artwork on display & maybe even purchasing some.
From Montmartre we headed back downhill & to the metro, riding to the southern neighborhood of Montparnasse.  Upon exiting the metro station we found ourselves in the midst of a French strike, with alarming smoke & loud bangs proving to be the sights & sounds of a peaceful but noisy demonstration.  We made our way to our destination, the nearby Montparnasse Tower, where we rode to the 59th floor observatory of the tallest building in Paris to take in amazing views right across the city, with the nearby Eiffel Tower front & center!
Dinner was just a short walk away, a typical French dinner, & then it was time for our final sightseeing of the trip, a Seine River cruise.  Our one hour cruise, with commentary & music, took in all the sights that line the river - the Eiffel Tower, the National Assembly, & of course Notre Dame.  A great way to end our trip.

Paris in the Rain :(

Unfortunately today dawned grey & wet, with intermittent rain forecast all day.
With the threat of a potential rail strike tomorrow we reworked our plans & rode the train out to Versailles first thing today in case the trains are not running tomorrow.
But by the time we arrived at the chateau it was raining harder so we had to join the long line & just bide our time.  Everyone looked on the bright side though & remained cheerful.  With the famous gardens being a washout with the weather we toured the chateau itself then headed back into the city.
Our plan was to visit the Catacombs - one place we would be guaranteed to be out of the rain - but unfortunately it proved to be a popular idea & by the time we arrived they had closed the line for the day.  Ironically though it was dry & sunny for once in the day, so we enjoyed an hour's free time in the Les Halles shopping area before dinner.
Dinner this evening was 'flame Alsacienne' - a type of thin flatbread 'pizza' from north-eastern France.  It was a big hit, with everyone finding a flavor they liked.
After dinner we walked to the nearby Musee du Louvre, the world's largest museum, for their evening opening when it is quieter.
The rest of the evening, 2 hours, was spent exploring the museum at leisure, after we had all made the obligatory trip to view Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, La Jocanda... more commonly known as the Mona Lisa.
Byt the time we departed & rode the metro home to our hotel everyone was well & truly tired after another long day of sightseeing.

Unf

Through the Chunnel to Paris

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London in Depth

Monday was our day to explore London in depth.
We began by riding the 'Tube', the London Underground, to the Tower of London.
There we had 2 hours to explore this almost 1000 year old castle, seeing its many towers & walls, visiting the Crown Jewels,  & taking a tour with a 'Beefeater' Yeoman warder.

From the Tower of London we rode the Tube again, to the very heart of London to explore Trafalgar Square, complete with its famous lions, & the quaint backstreets en-route to the busy Covent Garden area.  Then the group enjoyed some free time in Covent Garden - to shop, sightsee, have lunch, or perhaps just watch the street entertainers.

Next we crossed the River Thames to the London Eye, the city's huge ferris wheel.  The 30 minute 'flight' gave the group spectacular views across the entire city, all the while riding inside an enclosed glass capsule.

Dinner this evening was in The Old Masters restaurant, in The Rubens Hotel.  The menu included a classic British roast dinner with beef, lamb, salmon & vegetables, followed by rich chocolate gateau.

After dinner we walked a short distance to the Apollo Victoria Theatre for our evening West End theatre production - Wicked!