Une Semaine Chargée !

Week One in Paris has just come to a close and judging by the enormous blister on my foot, we covered a lot of territory!  Our days were long (8-10 hours everyday!) and filled with visits to museums (Beaubourg/Centre Pompidou et Musée d'Orsay), churches (Notre Dame, St. Gervais, Saint Sulpice, Sacré Coeur), various quartiers (le Marais, le Quartier Latin, St. Germain des Près, Montmartre), a visit to Versailles where we rented bikes to go through the famous gardens and to visit the charming "hameau" of Marie Antoinette!  We visited the Panthéon and also visited the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation -- a memorial tucked away behind Notre Dame that honors the deported French Jews who never returned -- each one (nearly 200,000) represented by a crystal.  We strolled by Shakespeare and Company, the famous bookstore on the rive gauche near Notre Dame -- all students received copies of Hemingway's A MOVEABLE FEAST as a souvenir!  We also went to the Curie Institute and the Hôtel de Banville to see where everyone will be working next week.

While we explored Paris, we walked (and walked and walked!), took the métro and the bus.  All the walking and exploring included taking time to eat and experience French cuisine and pastries.  We made special trips to Fauchon for macarons, le Bon Marché to provision for a picnic lunch and La Durée for their celebrated macarons (yes, they are better than the macarons from Fauchon!). 

We are seeing that in the words of Hemingway, Paris is indeed a "moveable feast" -- a feast for the eyes as we walk around and see the beauty of the architecture and vistas from up high overlooking the rooftops of Paris, the daily rhythm of the Parisians ... and the gastronomic delicacies that never disappoint, whether it be a simple croissant or a more sophisticated meal.

I'm lucky to be with yet another group of six students who are curious and want to make the most of every moment of their trip!  I'm also struck by how many times each day someone relates something we see or do to a class or a teacher -- we could have used Dr. Wein at the Panthéon to understand the physics of the clock; Mr. Mackay's APME class is everywhere we turn; we thought Mr. Hansel's sculptures would look great in the reflecting pools of Versailles (currently a collection of larger-than-life whimsical sculptures by Portugese artist Joana Vesconselos are on display throughout the palace and in the gardens).  I love it when they connect their experience to their academics showing that the learning continues beyond the classroom in a myriad of ways!

After such a full week of Paris, the students are happily and confidantly navigating the city and are eager to start their internships on Monday morning!

Versailles

On the grounds of Marie-Antoinette's Hameau

Near the sculptures at Beaubourg (Centre Pompidou)