Saturday 28th November: Au Revoir Paris!

Today we all headed home to the USA after a wonderful week discovering Paris & making new friends.
Our travelers from California, with a much longer journey ahead of them, departed first, at 7:15am.  Then a few hours later it was the turn of the Virginia contingent.
All travelers arrived at the airport in good time for a smooth check-in & headed home, sad to be leaving but looking forward to getting home & seeing friends & family again.

A Big Thank You:
This tour was the idea of Ellen Rowlson-Hall who recruited from her former French students in Lynchburg, VA.  With a low subscription this year the tour was in jeopardy but Todd Bittle, a guidance counsellor & regular Global Explorers group leader, distributed information to his many former/future travelers & with additional 'recruits' the tour was able to happen.
Just over a week before our departure Paris was hit by the terrible atrocities of November 13th, 2015. Some travelers cancelled but the majority decided to continue with their plans to visit the City of Light.
We are SO glad that you did & that you discovered one of the world's most beautiful cities for yourselves, without any major problems & indeed without fear.
We look forward to traveling with you all again on future Global Explorers tours.
Thank you, Happy Holidays, & safe travels.
Declan, Angelique, Joy & all the Global Explorers team.

Friday 27th November: Last Day in Paris

Sadly today was the group's last day in the City of Lights.
As usual many of the group met in the morning at breakfast, making plans for all kinds of explorations - truly independent Global Explorers now.  Some of the group were heading to the eastern-most side of the city to visit Vincennes, once an entirely separate city & still home to an historic castle & huge park; others were going to visit Disneyland Paris, the only Disney park in Europe, with its Ratatouille attraction; & several folks were planning to visit the Christmas Market on the Champs Elysees & perhaps the huge ferris wheel on Place de La Concorde.
With everyone sightseeing separately today we don't have 'photographic evidence' but can report that all returned to the hotel safe & sound this evening.

Thursday 26th November: Paris Your Way

Today was a free day to explore - "Paris your way" - until we met later this afternoon. 

We began the day with breakfast at which everyone received their metro day passes & had an opportunity to ask questions or directions as they planned their day's sightseeing.

At 4:00pm we rendezvoused under the Eiffel Tower to ride the elevator to the very top - perfectly timed to enjoy the view in daylight then as the sun set over the city.

For the tower we then walked & rode the metro to get to this evening's restaurant.  

No turkey or stuffing tonight, but instead we had choices such as French onion soup or snails, boeuf bourguignon or salmon, & creme caramel or French chocolate mousse!

Wednesday 25th November: Notre Dame, Galleries Walk, & The Louvre

Lots more group sightseeing today, beginning with a metro ride to Cite, on Isle de la Cite where the city began & where Notre Dame is located, our first destination.

We were joined this morning by Declan's family, including Henry (8) & Georgie (5) - you're never too young to be a Global Explorer!

At Notre Dame we joined the line (arriving with just 1 person there) & waited for opening in order to beat the crowds.  After about 30 minutes we were able to go up & enjoyed fantastic views over the city & close-ups with the famous gargoyles!

Those who didn't relish the 100s of steps were able to visit the inside of Notre Dame again, or browse the nearby souvenir stores.

From Notre Dame a short walk took us to the Hotel de la Ville (City Hall) & the metro to our next stop.



At the Louvre we established our meeting time & place, then crossed Rue de Rivoli to enter the courtyard of the Palais Royal, once home to the notorious cardinal Richelieu.
We enjoyed the modern art installation, then made a short walking tour of some of Paris (& the world's) first shopping malls!



At one point there were over a hundred of these malls, dating from the late 1800s & early 1900s in Paris.  Now there are around 20 left, with a concentration in the area between the Louvre & the Opera Garnier.  Though not exactly secret they make for a great little walk to see a part of the city many tourists would otherwise miss.



We finished our walk at the Opera Garner, Paris' original opera house.
The rest of the afternoon was free for independent sightseeing, before we met-up this evening after dinner at the Louvre.
Lae-night opening on Wednesday night meant there were far less other visitors during our visit &, although we didn't exactly have the Mona Lisa to ourselves, it makes for a much more enjoyable & relaxed visit.

Tuesday 24th November: Versailles & Montmartre

We made an early start this morning, leaving the hotel at 8:00am when the sun was only just rising!  

Our destination this morning was the former royal chateau of Versailles - with the tour bus crowds usually arriving around 10:00am & rain predicted for late morning we wanted to make the most of our time.  After a metro ride, train ride, coffee stop & then short walk we arrived at the chateau at 9:45am & we rewarded with no lines & a much quieter chateau than usual.

The group took their own time to tour through the chateau (& also a temporary exhibition about King Louis XIV's funeral) by audioguide.  It was cold & raining outside but some of the group chose to take a little walk outside anyway to see some of the famous gardens.

We met up at lunchtime & rode the train back into the city.  Most of the group visited the Musee d'Orsay to see Impressionist art, others went shopping at Galleries Lafayette.

This evening we all met up again to explore the Montmartre neighborhood, a former village on Paris' highest hill that was once home to many artists.  It was still cold & wet but we were able to explore, have dinner, do a little shopping, & even see some of today's street artists at work on portraits.

Monday 23rd November: Paris in Depth

We had a great first full day in Paris, really getting to know the city using the metro, by bike, & even by boat!

We began by riding the metro from our hotel to the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank of the River Seine.  

There we met our bike tour guide, Thibault (T-Bow).  Once we were all equipped with bikes - & even gloves for the cold! - we set off on our morning tour, taking in all the iconic sights of the city.

We then had around 90 minutes free time for lunch & shopping in the Latin Quarter before we  met up again for our late afternoon Seine river cruise.

Our cruise took us up & down Paris' central river, seeing many of the top sights from a different perspective & letting the group really start to get the 'lay of the land'.

This evening was free so most of the group headed back to our hotel & choose one of the local bistros for dinner, though a few adventurous souls headed out to take in nighttime views, such as the Eiffel Tower lit in red, white & blue.