Aside from some slight typographical editing, here's what Sydney has to say.I left for Paris on Thursday, March 29 at 11:30PM. We got to Paris the next morning at 6:30, and started the day off by going to a French Cafe for breakfast. We had the typical French breakfast, croissants and hot chocolate. We walked around town and we got on the Metro, (it's like the subway) and we went to this museum, whose name I do not know. This museum used to be an old train station, and now it has been changed into an art museum. After we left the museum, we started walking. We walked to a big park with a lot of cafes and ponds and fountains. From here, we had partial views of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. After eating baguettes at the park cafes, we walked to a shopping place called Champs-Elysees. This street has a lot of stores that we looked in, most of them being very expensive. We walked on farther until we got to the Arc du Triomphe. This is a great arch in the middle of the road that was intricately designed many years ago. We then headed back to FIAP (our hotel/school) for dinner and an early night.
On day 2, we had our first French classes from 8:30 - 12:30. We got two breaks, and on the first break of every day we had class, my real French teacher from school, Mr. Yue, would go out and buy us pains au chocolats or chocolate croissants. After class, we had lunch at FIAP and took off to go see the Eiffel Tower. The one day that we went, was the cloudiest day, so that was somewhat disappointing. At the same time though, it was the best part of the trip because it was something I have been wanting to do ever since I saw the movie "Ratatouille". It was so amazing that I actually started crying. We were deciding on whether or not to queue in line for 2 hours to go to the top, but then we decided against it and went to do other things. We walked around a town part of Paris to see the shops and streets and buildings. The buildings above the stores were offices and apartments. I'm totally moving into one of those apartments one day, btw.
On Day 3, we woke up at 6:00 to get ready to go on a train to go to Belgium. We didn't have classes this day, so we spent the whole day out, and we didn't get back to FIAP until about 10:00 that night. We took the hour long train ride that went by the Paris countryside and we arrived in Brussels at about 10:00 that morning. We took about a 45 minute walk from the station to go to a museum. The museum was rather boring, and as usual, no pictures were allowed. After the museum, we walked around until we got to this big square area with flower shops and artists and little stores and this ancient church. Here, our teachers gave us an hour to hang out and do whatever so they could find a place for us to eat dinner (they did this every day). We just hung out and took pictures of everything and watched the people go by. After, we went to a chocolate museum in the square, where we all bought a lot of Belgian chocolate. When we left the chocolate museum, we walked some more to a street that had a bunch of stores. I got a pair of 6-inch black stilettos! :D
On Day 4, we had our classes and we went to the Louvre, to see the Mona Lisa. I have never seen so many people crowding around a little picture in a glass case. Afterwards, we did more shopping in a mall. I was shopping in one store with my 7th grade friend. I didn't have time to try things on so I was waiting in line to buy my items. I had my little buddy carrying all of my clothes so that I could go run and grab a shirt I forgot to get. As I was running back through the line, I turned around the corner really fast, which resulted in me slipping and falling flat on the ground. The whole store saw, since it was right in the middle. I just laughed and tried not to cry. My knees are still purple and swollen.
On Day 5, we went on a boat tour on a river that runs through all of Paris. I forgot the name of it. This boat went right by the Eiffel Tower, and thankfully I got some great pictures because it was a bright and sunny day. After the boat, we got on the Metro and went to this town called Sacré Cœur (Sacred Heart). This is the place where Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque used to always go to paint. They had tons of artists here, drawing caricatures and self portraits of people. There was a guy here that was dressed up as Mr. Bean, and I actually thought it was him for a second.
On Day 5, our last day, we went to Versailles after our classes. This was the most relaxing day, because we got back to FIAP really early, so that we could pack. Versailles is where Marie Antoinette lived, and it's on the outskirts of Paris. The palace was rather boring, because it was so big and we could only see a few rooms.
So that concludes my trip to Paris. I am so moving there one day when I am older!
So, there you have it. Now, click here to see it through her camera lens.
If you are confused by text color here at the end, it's because formatting on blogger sucks. Hear that Google?
