Day 3: There's No Rainbows Without Rain

(The Arc De Triumphe! Napoleon built this famous arch in the style of a Roman general. The Roman generals would have what was called a "Triumph" in Rome which was a commemorative parade to honor their victory in war. It was also accompanied by the building of a massive arch, but I think this one beats all.)

Today was our visit to the opulent palace/city of Versailles and a bus tour with our lovely local guide, Sandrine (who had one of the most interesting accents I've ever heard (I heard Australian, British, Irish, French and American accents cropping up throughout the day)). 

We started with a very good breakfast (the topic of conversation for most at breakfast was exchanging how much everyone had slept last night), and were all on time to load onto the bus to pick up Sandrine and see the sights we hadn't covered during our walking tour yesterday. She did a lovely job, and I loved that I could understand 99% of what she said, as sometimes our locals guides have very thick accents. We saw much and learned so many fascinating tidbits about the city. For instance, she updated us on the progress of Notre Dame, pointed out where certain Olympic games were being held, like beach volleyball near the Eiffel Tower, and how part of the triathlon is taking place in the Siene River even (they have a ways to go to get it cleaner by then...). She also gave us the perspective as a local that slowly all the bridges were getting blocked off due to seats for grandstands, which is worsening traffic and making the locals quite ready for the games to be behind them.

We ended the bus tour with a stop at the arch featured in the first photo. 

Besides getting our daily groupie, Ms. Ruch and Mrs. Williams made a quick beeline to the top of the arch with our small "time to explore" window. Here's a video of the view.

From there, we made our way to Versailles. It still boggles my mind that this palace belonged to ONE MAN (even being a king); it is so massive and gaudy that it's staggering. It takes even taxpayers' money to maintain today on top of the money from tourists flooding it ever day--imagine what a financial moneypit it was during the reigns of all the various Kind Louis? I loved getting more details about the Kings, their wives and timelines. Apparently '89 was a signifcant year for the last several centuries in Paris because in 1789 the Bastille was stormed (kickstarting the French Revolution), in 1889 the Eiffel Tower was built (which was originally RED! 😬), and in 1989 the new opera house was built. 

We broke for lunch at some cafes near the palace

(Thanks for the awkward candid shot, Prodan) before our scheduled tours in the palace (one group sees the interior of the palace while another group explores the gardens, then they switch), and it was around this time we got some literal and metaphorical rain; in addition to the rain finding us, one of our students also misplaced his passport. It will be an Embassy visit for this student and Prodan tomorrow... but hey, on the bright side, it's a field trip in France! How many people get to see the American Embassy in Paris? 🇲🇫

(The famous Hall of Mirrors above!)

When we finished, we headed back into town near Montmarte for dinner, where TWO eventful things happened. One was an unforgettable encounter with a French bathroom, and another was a cultural food experience. 

I'll start with the food.

Mr. Prodan got a few servings of escargot for students to try, and the verdict is it a tasted like pesto sauce and had the texture of something like shrimp. Here's a video of a few brave souls... 

Then people were getting stuck in the boys bathroom. 😅 Mrs. Williams didn't see the gender designation on the doors nor had she heard about the broken bathroom door, so, she proceeded to use that stall and... get stuck inside. We were all on the bus waiting for her, and they ended up getting power tools to get the door open. 😬 What a memory!  

We ended the evening with a river tour/cruise of the Siene. We got some stunning views and pictures; take a look below!

(See above? Hence the title of this post!) 

The last funny thing that happened was that Mr. Newton became a celebrity. He bought this shirt:

Then he had a group of American high school girls from another EF group giggling over it/him who then proceeded to ask (to Mr. Newton's dismay) for a photo with him. 😂 Here it is:

And it wasn't the last time he was noticed... 

Tomorrow's our last day in Paris!

~Ms. Carr