Day 18 - Midnight Train to Paris

After surviving the train to Paris - we arrived at 9:30 in the morning to be greeted by our new coach driver and coach and headed off for a city orientation tour around the highlights of Paris, where our local guide explained the 20 different districts that divide up Paris among the over 12 million people.  This included how to read street signs.  The students all thought the round-abouts in a bus was an amusement park with crazy driving in all directions - no lanes and at least 3-4 cars wide.

After the coach orientation, we headed over for a tour of Notre Dame Cathedral.  Our guide explained the architecture and how it was built over several hundred years. We walked around the outside and then over the lock bridge and saw the French replica of our Statue of Liberty which is placed in the Seine looking towards New York symbolizing the peace and friendship between our 2 countries.

We lunched atop Montemarte where everyone tried escargot and then it was a mad dash back down to meet our 3 o'clock reservation for the Eiffel Tower.  Everyone got to go up to the top of the tower and were quite impressed by the view.  You could see everything there.  Then it was off to the Champs Elysses for a stroll up the street looking in or shopping at the shops until they reached the Arch D'Triumph.  We even ran into our Delegation Manager from Australia a few years ago.  It was a nice mini reunion of sorts.

Off to dinner at Flam's for flatbreads, which was a smash with the kids and then back to hotel for rest and getting ready for our last day in Paris!