Today was our first day in separate groups, whereas the rest of our time in Paris involved a lot of group binding between the students of arts and drama. As I am summarizing the whole trip, but can of course only attend one part (the drama part), I'm just going to talk briefly about what we did apart.
The drama students and I were guided around Paris on a walking tour to discover the life of the famous playwright and actor Moliere. We were able to see the sites of his birth, baptism and the theatre where his plays continue to be preformed to this day. This walking tour took us all over the 1st arrondissement and ended up around the Louvre where Moliere's statue is standing among many important men of France.
From the tour, we took a long Metro ride followed by a climb up seemingly endless stairs to the foot of Montmartre, which is the poorer, more artistic district of Paris. When I say foot, I mean foot; there was an entire hill left to climb! At the top, we saw the beautiful Sacre Coeur, a church placed on the hill that overlooks the city of Paris. Both groups met up on the steps for photo-ops before lunch and a chance to explore the paintings and poster shops of Montmartre.
After lunch, Mr. Hartley-Foltz gave us a mini-tour of the homes of various famous artists who had lived in Montmartre over the years such as Monet. There were a lot of ups and downs on the hill and by the end of it, our feet were aching all over again. The houses in Montmartre all have many different vibrate lot coloured walls, which is very different from the apartments in Paris and learning about the different people who had lived and worked in them over the years was fascinating.
Somehow, despite the heat and blisters, we stumbled down the hill passed the Moulin Rouge, back into the Metro and all the way to the Eiffle Tower, in time for our scheduled ride to the top. Lines were brutal throughout the experience and the group was broken up frequently by the thousands of tourists from all walks of life, trying to take a photo or five of the city of love.
The view, however, was indescribable. Many of the apartments had hollowed out courtyards in the centre, many of which had another smaller apartment seemingly slotted into it. The mix of old and new architecture was just as fascinating from above. We were able to see all the places we'd visited over the course of our travels and even the Opera House, of which we have a tour tomorrow.
After a long struggle against the crowds lining up for the downwards elevators, we conglomerated at the bottom of the tower and it was off to dinner at a Galloise-style restaurant. The walls were all bare stone and covered in stuffed animal heads, the tables were large and rustic and everyone agreed that we might as well have been in Game of Thrones. After a meal of fresh veggies and lamb, it was time to head home. As we were entering the final Metro entrance before our hotel, we were met by some amazing street dancers blasting cheerful music and enchanting us with their moves. What a great way to end our final night in Paris!
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