Day 3

Dead day:
today we went to a cemtery. There were lots of graves. They were very big. We rode on the metro there it was crowded; we had to wait awhile. We climbed up lots of stairs to a basilica, it was very pretty. Then we saw original paintings and we saw the moulin rouge. It was lots of fun.
Madaline Christina Jena Jena

(Continued from Katie Bartlett)

It seems as if this group was either really tired or not feeling the sightseeing today. Not sure which. Regardless, I thought I would expand on what we did.

Freddy & I got up early this morning to get some things done, so we actually didn't start the sightseeing until lunchtime. I believe the group went down & got breakfast. Most were up by 9am. Freddy & I visited some shops - a lot were having 50% sales, so I am sure we will visit those later I am sure.

We all headed out about 1pm. Our first experience on the Metro was quite interesting! Only one ticket machine was working, so we had to pair up to buy the carnets (10 tickets). Some times the we had to let others in front of us since there were so many of us. After everyone received their carnet of tickets, we delved into the pits of the metro. We had to make a few changes to get to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Some notable people are buried, though we only saw one of them. Jim Morrison of The Doors is there (we saw his grave), as well as Edith Piaf, Frederic Chopin, Honore de Balzac, and Oscar Wilde. The cemetery is huge! The gravesites are massive, ornate, and old. Many families are buried there as well.


Jum Morrison, of the Doors, grave

From there we headed to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur Basilica. SCB is a huge white church. Photos are not allowed inside. Then we headed to Place du Tetra were the "starving artists" sell their work. Some had caricatures made, while others bought originals of Paris. Moulin Rouge was not a far walk from Sacre Coeur, so we headed to the butte (base) of Montmartre to see the famous windmill.


Sacre Coeur Basilica


Jordyn getting her caricature done.


A living statue outside of Sacre Coeur.


Moulin Rouge

Afterwards we headed to the metro. The one we wanted was so overcrowded because it was rush hour that we decided to return to the apartment in a roundabout way (involved 5 metro changes, instead of 2). Eventually we made it back to the apartment. Dinner was a free for all. Some wanted to eat dinner at a cafe while others chose to stop at the grocery. The adults took each group to get what they wanted for dinner.

It's 10pm now. We have to be up early again in the morning because we are going to the Normandy Beaches. We are talking about going on a Seine River cruise in the evening as well, so hopefully we will have exciting photos for you.




Here are some photos from Susan Bartlett's camera from the first few days as well.



The group at Notre Dame on Palm Sunday.




The group at dinner on the first night!



Sleeping on the way to the Loire Valley.


Trying to reach the top of the arch at Chenonceau!