Saturday, April 3, 2010

French Exchange Post Trip


Becca's Baggage Breakdown:
Chicago to Paris: 1 large suitcase (58 lbs)(Limit is 60 lbs) Carry Ons: one backpack, one purse, and one blanket
Paris to Marseille: See above

Marseille to Paris: 1 large suitcase (60 lbs) Carry Ons: one backpack, one large duffel bag, one purse, one blanket
Paris to Chicago: 1 large suitcase (60 lbs) Carry Ons: one backpack, one large duffel bag, one smaller bag, one purse, one blanket

How I acquired so much weight in 2 weeks is beyond me. I off loaded some of my carry ons to others who only had one item and somehow got everything through security and back home safely. And after all weight is not just physical. We came back with a lot more memories and life experiences the do not weigh us down but rather lift us up because for most of us, this was the experience of a lifetime. I realized how much french I have learned in the past 5 years and was shocked that I could speak only french for 10 straight days. I realized how much I love traveling and experiencing new and exciting things. Bisous ♥

Favorite French Phrases:
Louche- shady
Douche- shower
Arrete-That- Stop that
Travaille Le- Work it
Ce qui arrive en France, reste en France-What happens in France stays in France
Les hoquets- Hiccups
Piquer- to steal or to bite

French Exchange Part 2

Le temps de ma vie! (The time of my life!)

03.21.2010 - 04.02.2010

So this begins my 14 day trip whirlwind trip. My first time out of the country, and first time being around people who don't speak my native language. Not gonna lie I was kinda nervous, but looking back on it I had nothing to worry about. This trip would contain the defining moments of my high school career and inspire me to figure out what I really want to do in life.

Pre-Trip
Well hello there awkwardly colored blue and pink flower journal. You will become where I record every single detail of my trip. You will be what keeps me up too late at night, wanting to record every moment, trying not to forget a single one. Yet, you can only capture so much on the blue lined pages within you, because there are tons of time I wanted to right "you had to be there", but I couldn't because then I knew I would soon forget all of those inside jokes, mishaps, and times we couldn't stop laughing. So here's my attempt at trying to record everything so that I could best explain this breathtaking trip to my friends and family (I apologize that some of the entries are rather long).

March 21-22 (Sunday and Monday)
Today was a VERY long day. We had to arrive at LTHS (high school) at exactly 2pm, no earlier, no later. But as usual with a group of high school students there was a few stranglers who rolled in about 2:15. We said our goodbyes, some cried, but I gave my parents a hug and said au revoir see you in 2 weeks and jumped on the bus. The 26 of us (24 students and 2 teachers) boarded the bus, triple checking we had our wallets, phones, and especially our passports. We got to the airport and everyone successfully got their tickets and made it through security. We waited at the gate for what felt like hours but occupied our time by running around the airport and playing in the kids jungle gym. We boarded the plane and said goodbye to Chicago and hello to France, but first we had to sit through a 9 hour flight. Some slept, some did homework, and some watched movies. Me? I tried all the above and nothing could keep my attention long enough. Probably because I was too excited to focus for an extended period of time and there also was a guy who was feeling sick and had to be administered oxygen in the back of the plane. We finally arrived in Paris around 8am their time and had to take a bus off the runway to yet again go through security and customs. I did it! I finally got my first stamp in my passport which I had waited so long to get. We ran to our gate in the Charles de Gaulle airport and boarded our 2 hour long flight to Marseille. I stepped of the plane and felt the warm air hit me and at that moment I knew I was in the south of France. We were exhausted but quickly got off the plane with our over stuffed carry ons. We walked around a corner to go down the escalator and down to baggage only to see 24 familiar faces pressed against the glass. We ran as fast as we could down the escalator without falling to greet them with our first bisous (kiss on each cheek) of our trip. After seeing everyone we grabbed our bags and headed outside to see our first views of Marseille..but what do we see? rain, a downpour of rain. But don't worry this wouldn't be our last experience with the crazy french rain. Since my exchange student's mom had work all day I went with Katie (American) and her exchange student Julie to her house for a little R & R. Julie lives in a cute house on a little winding road right by their school. We took showers (FINALLY, we were so gross) and had lunch that Julie's mom made us. We had duck breast, pasta, avocados, mozzarella and tomatoes, a fantastic first meal in France. We had a relaxing walk back to their school through little winding streets in the pouring rain (don't worry I never leave home without my rain boots). Their school, Notre Dame de Sion, is very different from our school in the states. They attend a private catholic school and everyone is super smart (everyone has to take 2 languages). The school looks very old from the outside and has many courtyards and benches. They run on a block schedule so some days they are out at noon and some days they must stay till 5pm. Their classes are more relaxed and they have 10 minutes in between classes where they can go to their hang out room and play babyfoot (fooseball) and buy snacks. For dinner we met back up at the school and had a pot luck where we had an array of new food to try. After we all headed home for some much needed rest. More tomorrow. Bisous (Kisses)

March 23 (Tuesday)

I love my new french family. Marianne lives with her mom and her white Labrador Tina, her dad doesn't live with them but he's around. They live in a cute, tan 2 story stucco house situated about 30 minutes from the school and right next to huge hills. The first floor has a kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom and computer room. The second floor is all Marianne's room. It's a huge open room with an attached bathroom. There is a basement with a laundry room but you have to go outside and around to the side of the house to get to it. They also have a porch and a little swimming pool in their front yard. Some parts of the house were a little messy because they bought a new house 5 minutes away and were in the process of moving.
Today we visited Aix-En-Provence which is a pretty well known town with a market and lots of shopping. Each morning our french family would drop us off at school and we would all meet in the square and wait for our teachers while the french headed off to school. Today was a day of firsts. First metro ride. First baguette. First delicious french sandwich. First french ice cream. First time walking so much you just want to plop down and not move. I'd say it was a pretty successful day. Aix is a rather large town with a main square which contains a fountain and everything spreads out from there. Down each street is another row of stores and desert shops. We got a couple hours of free time in the market where we could haggle with french vendors to get the best prices. The most purchased item of the day was soap. An odd purchase but the soap vendor in the market was really nice and explained all the scents of soap and how the soap is made in Marseille with salt from the ocean. After the market we walked around the entire town and when I say the ENTIRE town I mean it. We had many pit stops for water or to play at the park on the way to our destinations. One of our last stops was the university where our french teacher, Mr. Robinson, studied when he was in college. It was rather louche (see my favorite french phrases below) but it had a spectacular view of Cezanne's mountain. This is the mountain that Cezzanne painted in the post- impressionism era (oh yeah, I also learned a TON about art on this trip). The day ended with some ice cream and a long walk back to the bus, the bus to the metro, and the metro back to school to meet and head home for dinner. We had fish soup (Bouillabaisse) and bread with Rouille which sounds really gross but it was one of my favorite meals and I actually brought some back to the states.
Bisous

March 24 (Wednesday)
Today we got up early as usual and had a lovely breakfast of pain au chocolate, orangina, and biscuits. Breakfasts were always very relaxing in the Fenerol house. Mornings were very nice and sometimes slow. Madame Fenerol would walk up stairs and come by Marianne's bed and wake her up then come by mine and say "Réveille ma petite fille! Le soleil brille aujourd'hui." which translates to "Wake up my little girl! The sun is shining today". We then would go downstairs and breakfast would be be ready and we would eat and talk then get ready for the day. This is a huge change from my family's crazy fend for yourself breakfast. Then someone would mention what time it was and the 3 of us would run out the door with the family dog Tina following right behind.
Today the french students had a huge 3 hour french test that they must pass to be able to continue onto the next year of school. While they were taking the test we walked to the Vieux Port (Old Port) of Marseille where we hopped on a boat for a short boat ride on the Mediterranean to the Chateau d'If. The chateau is right off the coast of Marseille and was built by King Francis I as a defense against attacks from the sea. It later was turned into a prison and is famous for being one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas' adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The castle was beautiful and had a stunning view of Marseille and the crystal clear Mediterranean water. We returned back on the boat and walked back to pick up our french students. After they took their test there was no afternoon classes so Marianne, Katie, Julie, Niki, Louise, and I went out for lunch and shopping in the main shopping district of Marseille. Katie and I both had "salade californienne" which we laughed at because we were in southern France having a California salad. Marianne had to go back to school because she had to make up a test she missed so the other girls took us around to their favorite places where we bought jewlery and souvenirs then met up with other students from the exchange for refreshing drinks in the main square. We sat and talked then everyone left to head home to get ready for the party at Paulina's. I went with Niki and Louise back to Louise's apartment to relax and wait for Marianne to pick me up. I got picked up, quickly changed clothes and headed to Paulina's with Marianne. Paulina's house was incredible. It was the biggest french house I'd been in so far and had the prettiest view. We watched the sunset over the shimmering Mediterranean as the boys played poker on the deck. Bisous


March 25 (Thursday)

Today the french ditched school and came with us for the day. Well..they didn't exactly do that but they did come with us to St. Tropez for the day. But before we got to St. Tropez we had a 2 hour bus right through the countryside. We stopped halfway through for a potty break at a gas station. This bring me to the bathrooms in france. Most public toilets are unisex, don't have toilet seats, and cost money to use. So here's my advice:

Rebecca's Tips on French Bathrooms:
1. Always carry small change. Most restrooms are pay and most outdoor ones have money slots on the outside. They all require exact change also.
2. Don't be shocked if there is unisex bathrooms. The french don't find this weird at all.
3. Make sure their is toilet paper inside first. I ran into this problem many times and once I was alone in the bathroom with french people around me and asking in french for toilet paper is awkward.
4. If you are in line to use a public bathroom that washes the inside automatically once someone exits, make sure you close the door and wait for the green light to come in signaling that it has been sanitized. I almost got caught in a cement self-washing bathroom and it was scary.

Anyways, I hope those were somewhat helpful because french bathrooms are a little strange. We made a quick stop before finishing the drive to St. Tropez at an 11th century medieval castle named Grimaud. Grimaud is a the top of a rather steep hill and our bus filled with over 50 people chugged up the hill as the french made jokes that it was going to roll back down because there was americans on board and we weighed too much. It was a little chilly and very windy which made this a quick pit stop. We arrived in St. Tropez and had the afternoon to do whatever we pleased. All the girls joined up and we had sandwiches for lunch on the steps of a park. St. Tropez was beautiful but there wasn't really much going on because it wasn't the summer. I now understand why the Hollywood stars love the travel there; beautiful beaches, huge boats, and great shopping. We didn't get to splurge on shopping though because most shops were closed because it was the off season. So instead we went down to the beach and walked as far out on the rocks as we could before being attacked by a crashing wave then tasting salty sea water. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing day which we needed after the craziness of the last few days. We all slept on the bus ride back to Marseille and were pick up. Marianne and I took the bus to the supermarket where we met her mom to go grocery shopping. Their supermarkets are like a Jewel but bigger. There was two whole isles of cookies which we stopped at first. Marianne took me around and let me pick out things that I did not know or wanted to try. Her mom found us and we walked around the store and they explained lots of very french foods. We went home and had dinner and relaxed for the night. Bisous

March 26 (Friday)
Friday oh Friday the crazy day I had. The morning started off normal and we got to attend 2 classes at Notre Dame de Sion. Marianne didn't have class till 10am so she stayed home and slept (lucky) while I went to an english and a french literature class, both where interesting and I was shocked that I understood almost all of the very quickly spoken french literature class. After, all the americans walked to the metro to Vieux Port where we were to catch our hop on hop off bus tour. We were wandering through a crowded open air market looking at the little stands until we got to the end and I realized my wallet was gone. I was carrying a beach tote bag which happened to be open in the back and someone must have taken my wallet in passing because as I said, it was very crowded. I searched through everything with no luck. I stayed calm and told my teacher and then called my parents at home. I woke them up at 3am and told them the whole story. My wallet luckily only had 120 euros ($150), license, id and my debit card. My passport was tucked away in my suitcase at Marianne's. I counted my lucky blessings as my parents cancelled my debit card. Hey, it could have been a WHOLE lot worse and this just added to the typical european experience. Niki very graciously loaned me money for the rest of the trip and I didn't lose anything else thank god. After that mini disaster I was glad to be going on a beautiful double decker bus tour of Marseille. The bus stopped 16 places around the city but we sat on top and enjoyed the magnificent views from the highest points in the city as well as along the glimmering water. After school I got to go to Marianne's guitar lesson with her friend Amélie. Their guitar class was very funny because they talked 60% of the time and played the other 40%. I have no musical talent so I sat there and watched. Marianne's mom picked us up and we headed to Marianne's uncle's house in Aix-En-Provence. Her uncle and aunt have 3 girls who are 9, 6, and 3 years old. They were the cutest french girls and ran towards me as I entered. They pulled me over a a huge beanbag and were showing me all their Hannah Montanta and High School Musical apparel. I thought this was funny because those 2 Disney programs are from the US that are very popular now in France. I played a french kids animal game with the youngest cousin which was great for me because I learned all the words for animals that I hadn't learned in school. The girls were very excited to give me my gifts which included; soaps, chocolate, bead bracelet, lavender as well as hand colored pictures. We had a fantastic dinner of tomatoes with mozzarella, meats, and 8 different kinds of cheeses and breads. I had said earlier in the week I wanted to try french cheese and they had laid out 8 different kinds ranging from mild to very strong. The girls ran to the table when they saw the macaroon box open and each had 2 or 3. After dinner I ran around with the girls and Marianne and we all had fun. All 3 of the girls are learning english so I taught them some of my favorite phrases. This was one of my favorite nights of the trip because it was so relaxed and I got to hang out with Marianne's family. It was nice not having a crazy schedule. The weekend is ahead and I get to spend it with my favorite french family. Bisous

March 27 (Saturday)
Finally the weekend! I had the option to sleep in this morning but I decided to go with Marianne to her sports class at 10am. Their sports class is nothing like gym class at LT. There is a volleyball court, soccer field and basketball court. They could chose whatever sport they wanted and had to play it for 2 hours. But what ended up happening was all the boys played an intense game of soccer and the girls played volleyball for half an hour then sat and talked for the other hour and a half. All the americans watched the soccer game and laughed at the craziness of it. We also shared stories about what we did the night before and I soon realized mine was the most relaxed and least eventful, which was exactly the way I wanted it. The class finished and Clarisse's parents picked Marianne, Kathryn, Clarisse, Wendy and I up and dropped us off at Marianne's new house. We kidnapped Wendy for the day because her correspondent, Nils, never really paid much attention to her. He was more focused on hanging out with his friends so Wendy came with us for the day. Marianne's new house is indescribable. It has Spanish style exterior architecture which you see right when you turn onto her street and start the drive up the really steep hill. The front yard is filled with olive trees and lavender bushes which over look Marseille with a birds eye view. The inside is double the size of her old house and is very spacious. Marianne pointed out my room for when I return and her mom assured me that she will decorate it with a french style and even include a mini american flag just for me. I was very flattered and realized that I will always have a place to stay in Marseille. Kathryn, Wendy and I sat outside and marveled at the view while the girls showered and then took us out for crepes. I have eaten lots of crepes in France so far but these were especially good. The girls then took us to the mall where we shopped around and had deserts (we are huge suckers for 2 euro sugar pastries). At night we went to Julie's house to watch the soccer game and see everyone. Marseille's soccer team was playing in a huge world cup-ish game so the boys' eyes were glued to the screen and would only talk to us during commercials. All the girls wanted to go to the discothèque but the parents didn't seem to think that was a good idea because Marseille ended up winning the game and the streets were filled with crazy drunk people. We were disappointed but enjoyed our night. Bisous

March 28 (Sunday)

Second to last day in Marseille. =[ I realized that this part of the trip was coming to an end and I had limited time left to spend with my new family so I needed to make the most of every minute. Marianne and I finally had a morning to sleep in..but in actuality we didn't sleep in because we lost an hour of sleep due to the changing of the clocks. Marianne, her mom, and I met her Grandpa and her Grandpa's friend for lunch at a seaside restaurant. I got to try Provincial seafood which was fantastic because it was so fresh. Afterwards we walked over to the Mariana to see her Grandpa's boat. We were going to go sailing but there was too much wind. Her Grandpa said that when I come back he will take Marianne and I out for a weekend on the boat and visit all the surrounding islands. We said goodbye to them after a short walk on the pier and went to meet up with Marianne's mom's friend and her husband and son. We shopped in a nearby village with small winding streets and beautiful architecture. Marianne's mom bought me this beautiful Van Gogh painting that reminds me of Marseille. It now hangs in my room and I see it every morning when I wake up and remember all of my fantastic memories. We ate nutella crepes on the steps of a church in the village and admired the view. The day ended with dinner back home and reminiscing on the past 9 days. Bisous

March 29 (Monday)
Our last day in Marseille and I am not ready to leave. Today we took a bus to Arles which has a roman bull fighting arena. This very old area is what Roman Emperors used as their headquarters during military campaigns, a favorite city of Emperor Constantine I, as well as a key location for Roman Christianity and an important base for the Christianization of Gaul. There were no scheduled bull fights for the day so we walked around the arena and did some last minute shopping in the town. We hopped back on the bus and drove to Pont du Gare which is roman aquaduct built around 19 BC by Augustus' son-in-law, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. It was a beautiful bridge overlooking the remnants of the stream bed from the aqueduct. We were excited to see more cool places in southern France but most of us really wanted to get home and spend the rest of the time with our french students because we have less than 24 hours left with them. After spending some time there we went to our last stop of the day, Château des Baux. It is a 10th century medieval castle built and maintained by the lords of Baux for five hundred years. We climbed all over the castle which had countless rooms and secret passageways. To get to the top of the castle you had to climb up narrow, broken, very steep stairs, but when you got to the top all you saw was provincial countryside. The green grass and hills seemed to go on forever. The wind was really strong at the top so we made it a quick visit and dared to climb back down the stairs of death. We walked around the town and got baguette pizza (my personal favorite) and got some final items, searching for the perfect souvenirs to remind us of our time in south France. After going home and trying to pack our overstuffed suitcases we met up at a karaoke bar named "Chez Ida" for our final night on the town. We ate and sang late into the night and early into the morning. Everyone had the time of their lives singing songs they've never heard of in french as well as the classic american hits. The night ended around 1am and we realized that we needed to be at the airport in less than 6 hours, no one was sleeping that night because of the endless packing. How could I possibly pack everything back into the suitcase I brought it in? I didn't think it was possible but somehow I managed. I had to say goodbye to Marianne tonight because she had class at 8am and was feeling a little under the weather. It was such a hard goodbye and I was left without words because I couldn't thank her enough for an amazing 10 days. We went to our beds right across the room from each other and all you could hear were little sniffles for a half an hour. More tomorrow. Bisous

March 30 (Tuesday)

=[ We left Marseille today and had a very very full day in Paris. We had to be at the airport super early this morning. Saying goodbye to Marianne's mom was harder than saying goodbye to my parents before I had left Chicago. We had gotten so close and I didn't want my trip to end. She was my mother for 10 days and will always have a very special place in my heart. There were many, many tear filled eyes as we were saying our final goodbyes. We stalled going through security by half an hour until our teacher made us get our bags and go. It was so hard to say goodbye because we knew this was the end. When they left Chicago we knew we would see them in 40 short days but now everything was uncertain. The 50 of us would never all be together again; some of us will come back to visit and others won't. But our goodbyes weren't all sad. We knew that the 4 weeks we had spent together were special and could never be replaced, no one could recreate it. Our flight to Paris was only 2 hours but most of us spent it sleeping because of the lack of sleep the night before. We landed in Paris and took a bus to our hotel. Our hotel is called Relais de Paris Eiffel Cambronne Hotel. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris on the left bank of the Seine River which divides Paris in half. When we arrived at the hotel only some of the rooms were ready so we had to lug all of our bags up the stairs (the elevator was broken and some people had rooms on the 5th floor) and smash them into one room. Our first stop in Paris was the Musée d'Orsay which is a huge art museum built in the late 1800's that houses incredible pieces by artists such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Gauguin and Van Gogh. There was 24 of us with only Monsieur Robinson because our other teacher was sick. Ok so quick story about how our teacher got sick. A french family (Mathieu) gave an american student (Andrew) a lunch for on the plane because we would arrive in Paris after lunch. Andrew offered the sandwich to Monsieur because he didn't want it and thought it smelled funny. Monsieur didn't want the sandwich because he wasn't hungry so he gave it to Madame. Madame ate the sandwich and then got sick. It took 1 1/2 hours to get into the museum because Monsieur didn't make reservations and we hadn't eaten since breakfast so we were starving. Once we got in we ran to the food area and ate. We walked around after and looked at the magnificent artwork. We met at our meeting spot which was the elephant outside and it started to downpour. Typical Paris right? Only a couple had umbrellas because we had just arrived and hadn't unpacked. Then Monsieur had the fantastic idea of walking all the way to Notre Dame. The complaining began and we made the long trek to Notre Dame in the pouring rain. We took shelter in the church and walked around. Don't get me wrong it's the most beautiful church I've ever seen but when thousands of people who are wet are walking around a church it isn't so pleasant. It stopped raining so we took the metro back and got off at the very convenient stop that was right across from our hotel. For dinner we ate at an italian cafe (no idea why when we are in Paris). It was delicious and had huge portions which we loved. We ate then walked to the Eiffel Tower which was just blocks from our hotel. As soon as we saw the huge tower we began to run until we reached the bottom. The Eiffel Tower is beautiful beyond words. Right when we reached the bottom we looked up and it began to twinkle because it was the top of the hour. Everywhere I looked I saw twinkling lights and realized how lucky I am. I was standing under the Eiffel Tower in Paris with 23 of my good friends while everyone back home is just waking up for school. The elevators were closed for the night so we decided to pay the 4 euros and trek to the second level. 710 stairs later and having just burned hundreds of calories, we arrived. You could see all of Paris, the little apartments, the famous stores, and the bakeries on every corner. This is the life. Bisous

March 31 (Wednesday)

Yay one day to sleep in! We got 9am wake up call from our teacher who started screaming in my ear when I picked up the phone...fantastic way to start the morning. Wendy and I got up and ran around getting ready which was rather difficult because of our closet sided hotel room and mounds of luggage. We had a scheduled 1 1/2 hour tour of the Louvre all in english because our teachers wanted us to learn all about the amazing artwork. And boy we did. I can't even remember all the pieces we saw but they were magnificent. I have to say though that the Mona Lisa being only 31 inches by 21 inches disappointed me. We squeezed through the crowds to get a front row view but were quickly disappointed and moved on. Some famous artwork we saw included: Venus de Milo, Raft of the Medusa, Empress Josephine, Portrait of Louix XIV, Diana the Huntress and many many more. Next we visited the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur here I got a light a candle for my grandma who had just passed away a year earlier under her favorite St. Theresa. After taking the metro and walking some more we arrived at L'Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile. The triumphal arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I. We got to climb the winding stairs all the way to the top and see the the entire city of Paris. The view was stunning but it was also very windy. Next, we decided to do a little shopping on the Champs-Élysées which is probably the most famous shopping street in Paris. This 1.25 mile street is lined with the most popular and expensive boutiques in Paris. Our teachers decided that eating on the Champs would be very expensive so we took the metro to another area called Madeline and had our pick from whatever restaurant we pleased. A bunch of the girls ate an american-ish restaurant named Hippopotamus (figures they'd name an american restaurant that). We returned to the hotel and Wendy and I did a little reorganizing of our suitcases because our hotel room was a mess. Bisous

April 1 (Thursday)
Our last day in Paris. =[ Who knew we could see all the major monuments in a huge city in just 3 days? Granted we didn't visit them all but we did cram a lot into 72 short hours. Today was an early day because we had to take the metro to another train station where we would meet our train that took us to the Palace of Versailles. Of course we got on the wrong train and had to backtrack till we got onto the right one. The court of Versailles was the center of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. We got into the castle and soon realized that it would take us days to walk through the entire thing so we decided to only visit the very famous pieces and of course the gardens. We came to the Coronation of Napoleon which was a painting the size of the wall and I learned a cool fact. There is one difference in the piece that hangs in the Louvre than the one that hangs in Versailles. The painting at the Louvre is the real original and the one in Versailles is a replica. If you look closely at the original in the Louvre you see that Napoleon's sisters (left side of painting) are all dressed in white. But at the one that hangs in Versailles the second sister to the left is wearing a pink dress. No one knew the reasoning behind this but it was cool to know.

Louve

Versailles

We walked around for a couple more hours then walked into the surrounding town where some of the girls had crepes with Madame while others ate and shopped. We took our train back to Paris and then had 3 hours of free time. We could go off and do whatever we wanted; some shopped, some took the metro to other places in Paris, and some sat at cafes and had coffee. My group decided to go see Notre Dame when it wasn't raining and go and look for our last minute gifts for family and friends. The group met back up at Notre Dame and walked where we made dinner reservations. The restaurant was called Jardin de Notre Dame or Garden of Notre Dame. It was a nice, cozy place that had good food. The group reminisced on all of our good memories in Marseille and in Paris that began just 2 short weeks ago. As tradition of the French Exchange the last night always entails having dinner at Jardin de Notre Dame then a boat ride down the Seine River. It was a chilly ride but none the less a beautiful way to end our trip. Wake up call was at 5:30 am and by the time we got back to the hotel is was 1am. 5:30am minus 2am (had to finish packing) equals 3 1/2 hours of sleep.

Bisous

To see all photos from my trip to France please visit my Flickr.