France & London 2017, Day 2

Eiffel Tower aka La Tour Eiffel

Omar, Alan, and Winston posing with the Winged Victory of Samothrace in the Louvre

Avery, Paiden, Kathryn, Winston, Alan, Elisabeth, and Natalie on the second platform of La Tour Eiffel

Our first full day in France was a long day in Paris. Everyone got on the bus and we took a guided walking/driving tour from nine to noon with our guide Karine. We wandered through the beautiful Jardin du Luxembourg and saw ponies (my favorite part). We stopped at the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, and saw various monuments, including Les Invalides, where Napoleon is buried. Our tour ended at the Louvre, where the group split up and went inside. Afterwards, my group walked to the Ferris Wheel then to La Durée on Les Champs Elysées where we had a wonderful gourmet lunch. After we left, we shopped on Les Champs-Elysées for a few minutes then headed to Le Musée d’Orsay. It ended up being closed to entry, which was unfortunate, but we had a fun time walking near St. Germain. The Shanamans split off to go have dinner with a friend (Aaron would like to include that he had frog legs), so the Finches, Maggie and my mom and I killed time at Le Café du Flore where we spoke in French and took a picture with our adorable waiter. We went to dinner at Aux Lyonnaise, where the Finches and Maggie had the recommended quenelles and my mom and I had beef bourguignon. We’re all pretty sure this was the best meal we’ve ever had. After dinner, we went to the Eiffel Tower. It was absolutely terrifying but we went all the way to the top. It was beautiful to see the tower light up and to be under it. When we got back to the hotel, it was so late and we were exhausted, so we slept well.

-Isabel Dlabach, ’20

On our second day in Paris, we toured the Le Jardin de Luxembourg where we saw many beautiful statues. We then toured around the city of Paris stopping at L’Arc de Triomphe and many other landmarks! The majority of our day, however, was spent in the Louvre. We visited the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The highlight of the day was going to the Eiffel Tower. We went alllllllllll the way to the top!! Being able to see the whole city lit up at night was absolutely magical! While Paris was absolutely stunning, I bet the rest of France has many more beautiful places to explore.

-Natalie Murrah, ’20