Arrival in Paris, France

After a long and tiring day of travel and adventure, the Lord Byng Arts and Drama crew arrived safetly at our hotel for a restful night. It's the morning now and we're enjoying some final breakfast snacks before heading out to the Musee d'Orsee. Yesterday was such a crazy worldwind of history and sleep deprivation that I was barely able to eat, let alone write on this blog!

Yesterday morning, we got off the plane at nine in the morning and we're met by bright sunshine and some lovely heat. From there, we rode into the city and dropped off our bags at the hotel.

We had an amazing tour guide named Joshua who met with us at the airport and shared with us his knowledge of the city. With Joshua, we traveled to Saint Chapel, the chapel that Louis the 9th of France (or Saint Louis) built himself. This tiny jewel box is a model of gothic architecture with its huge stained glass windows depicting colourful biblical stories and almost nonexistent walls. The chapel contains the oldest existing piece of art native to Paris which is a painting of the Mother Mary over where the main alter would have been. Much of the chapel was destroyed during the French Revolution as it was attached to Louis' castle and represented the monarchy. The castle has since been transformed into France's major court house in which the biggest court cases in the whole country take place.

After Saint Chapel, Joshua took us to the Latin Quater, near Notre Dame Cathedral, to get some lunch. Baguettes, gyros, pizza and even espressos were enjoyed by all! By the time we were done lunch and had begun walking towards Notre Dame for our tour, nearly everyone was asleep on our feet! For most of us, we had been up over 20 hours.

Joshua showed us around the cathedral and we were able to drink in the many beautiful statues of religious figures including Joan of Arc and Mary. Candles were placed around the cathedral for you to leave as prayer offerings. Joshua gave us many wonderful lessons on the history of Notre Dame and how it took many, many years to build. Our lovely chaperones then lead us to one of the many green spaces Paris has to offer and of course, gelato!

Dinner brought us back, a little sore and very tired, to the Latin Quarter. We enjoyed a classic French meal between accidental nods off to sleep at the table, then finally, it was back to the hotel for a nine o'clock bed time. I'm sure some of the parents will be amazed to hear of your child going to sleep at nine, but I promise it was true for nearly everyone in the party, plane rides are brutal!

As it nears nine, everyone is conglomerating in the lobby for our second day in Paris. The weather looks like it's going to be sunny and hot again today. Off to the Musee d'Orsee!

(EDIT: Images should be visible now!)