8: Biarritz, Saint Jean-de-Luz, and San Sebastian (Spain), then back to Biarritz

The reunion following some free time for lunch at San Sebastian, Spain.

The view over the bay at San Sebastian, Spain, following a hilltop funicular car ride.

Following free time in Biarritz after our return from Spain, students watch the tide begin to roll in.

7: Bordeaux, Dune du Pilat, Arcachon, and Biarritz

The Dune du Pilat near Arcachon, France. The tallest dune in Europe.

The pre-arranged meeting location in Arcachon after lunch (oysters for some) for us to walk to our bus .

In Biarritz, overlooking the rocks and beaches.

In front of the Hotel du Palais, in Biarritz, France.

Ashley and her special guests, her grandparents! (They're French)

6: Tours, Chenonceau, and Bordeaux

What happens in France stays in France. The infamous Hedgerow Labrynth photo.

Ok, this is what happened, but you didn't hear it from me.

Going for a walk through the one of the gardens at Chenonceau.

Looking at another garden from the bridge to the chateau.

Represent! at the castle across the Cher River, Loire Valley, Chenceau!

3: London, Eurostar, and Paris Day One

On our fourth day of the trip, we had to get up early to be sure to make it past security for the Eurostar to Paris. Our guide wasn’t sure that we would need the extra time, but he thought it would be better to be early rather than late. At St. Pancras Station students had time to get some breakfast and to cross the street to King’s Cross Station to find Harry Potter’s Platform 9¾ to Hogwart’s. The journey to Paris was quick and uneventful, and the time in the Chunnel was less than 19 minutes.

These three wanted to see Hogwart's for themselves at Kings Cross Station, but Mme Cronk said, "No."

After we arrived in Paris, our new bus driver took us to Monmartre to see Sacre Coeur with its hilltop view overlooking the rest of the city. On the walk up to the top we walked past the Moulin Rouge and a boulangerie where several of our students tried some real French baguettes and quiche Lorraine. We left Monmartre to drive towards the center of town arriving at L’Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees. Students had a little time to walk around, take pictures, marvel at French driving, and walk along the city’s most famous street before leaving for dinner at Flem’s. For dinner, the meal was an Alsatian food like a thin flatbread pizza.

Baguettes? Oui! We came to France for ze baguettes!

The last stop of the day was the Louvre Museum where students had about 1½ hours to see as much as they could. Most students went right to works by DaVinci and Michelangelo, as well as Winged Victory and the Venus de milo. After driving past the Eiffel Tower, students got to the hotel about 10:00 pm.

5: Paris to Chartres Cathedral, Chambord, and Tours

Today is day 6. We left early today because we knew we would have a long drive to Tours. We have to keep in mind the driving restrictions for bus drivers in the European Union. They cannot drive more than a certain amount of hours in one day, and they are required to stop for half an hour after several hours as well, so we ate lunch at a truck stop! It was pretty fancy by American standards.

Our first stop today was Chartres Cathedral. We weren’t too disappointed by not being able to get into Notre Dame because we knew we’d be able to get inside of Chartres Cathedral. It is much more impressive on the interior. Most of the students climbed to the top of the tallest bell tower. It is almost 300 steps to get to the highest point we could reach. The impressive parts of the cathedral are the interior height and the stained glass which has been preserved. The cathedral roof was the highest in the western world when it was built. Unfortunately, we found the interior undergoing restoration to part of the supporting columns and ceiling, but it was still pretty impressive.

Following our stop at Chartres, we drove to Chateau de Chambord for lunch. Students could take a quick look around and find something to eat, a crepe or croque-monsieur. The castle at Chambord is one of the prettier castles in the Loire Valley with over 300 fireplaces. After our stops during the day, we were unable to make our next destination, Chenonceau, so we went on to Tours, leaving Chenonceau for the next day. We were in Tours early enough to have some free time before dinner at 7:00.

In front of L'Arc de Triomphe on our first afternoon in Paris. 

The Louvre on our first night in Paris. It is difficult to get to the front to get a better view.

Maribel boxing out in front of the Mona Lisa! That Art History class just got real!

First stop on the morning of day 2 in Paris, photo op.

4: Paris Day Two

Officially,  this post marks the fifth day of our trip, the second day in Paris. Today, we went on the city tour, drove to Versailles,  Notre-Dame,  and finally the Eiffel Tower. 

This morning the students got to sleep in. Breakfast was at 8:00 am and they were on the bus at 9:00 am. The city tour began after a photo-op at the Eiffel Tower. Our walk-on guide told us about the major sites in Paris with a bit of history mixed  in. Eventually we dropped off the group we are traveling with and drove to Versailles.

At Versailles we had time for lunch and a quick visit to the village market before our appointment for a guided tour of Versailles. The palace was crowded,  but less so than it usually is. There was also a little free time to explore the gardens and the gift shops before we had to leave. We got back on the bus to make our way back to Notre-Dame. 

Still considered the center of Paris,  students crossed the Seine avoiding the gypsies who were asking for signatures for a petition. We were told about this scam by our guide before getting to Paris and the students didn't get stopped by them. We got to see the cathedral and look around the area,  but we didn't want to wait in line to see the inside. We then went to the area near Centre Georges Pompidou where students had some free time. A couple of students even had their hair cut by a street artist. 

For dinner we walked back past Notre-Dame to our restaurant. In addition to chicken,   some students tried escargot and some of our 18 year-olds had a red wine with their meal. The next stop was the Eiffel Tower on our way back to the hotel.  This is what everyone was most excited about so far. The group went all the way to the top where they saw many of the buildings we saw on our tour earlier  in the day as well as a proposal! When we finally made it back it was already 11:00 pm. 

Everyone across the river from Île de la Cité and Notre Dame.

An impromptu haircut for one of our students at Centre Georges Pompidou.

The Eiffel Tower in the colors of Belgium.

2: London: Day 2

After landing in London, waiting for the group from California to arrive, and driving from Heathrow on the west side of London to our hotel on the east side of London, we cleaned up and headed back out on the London Underground to see Covent Garden and get some dinner. The first night's meal was fish-and-chips. Following dinner, we headed to the London Eye and the River Thames where we could see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament at night.  After, we headed back to the hotel to finally get some sleep!

Big Ben from the London Eye 

Our second day in London started at 9:00 am with a city tour. We rode a tour bus from our hotel into the center of town through the congestion and diversions (detours). We saw many of the sights from the bus including St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. We made it to our destination at noon for the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We then ate and caught another bus to Windsor Castle where we were scheduled for our afternoon tour. We ate chicken and rice bowls at a restaurant called Ping Pong near the Westfield Mall after making it back to London. The kids shopped in the mall a bit before heading back to the hotel on the subway.

In front of Buckingham Palace

Waiting for the changing of the guard, Buckingham Palace

Tomorrow the students will have to get up early for their train ride to Paris since our bus will leave the hotel at 5:45 am. Because of the attacks in Belgium, we are heading to the station even earlier than previously planned. EF wants to be sure we have plenty of time to get through the check-in process in case of an increase in security. Our guide, Thierry, who lives in Paris, feels confidant that we will be safe. Paris continues to have a heightened police/security presence in the aftermath of their attacks in November. At this point, everyone is looking forward to seeing the everything in Paris, tomorrow should be another busy day. There aren't any other plans at this point to change our itinerary. We will be in Paris the next two nights before heading to Tours, France on Friday.

London!

We made it.

Update: We have finally arrived at our hotel for a quick re-group and re-fresh! The plan will be to leave for dinner and then maybe (hopefully) the London Eye!!