We left on Monday, July 13, 1998, and we returned on the 22nd. There were twelve of us in all from my high school, but we joined up with three other school groups for the tour. They weren't very civil. The company was National Educational Travel Council--NETC. I had a great time.
Day #: 2
Date: Tuesday, July 14, 1998--Bastille Day!
City: Paris, France
Cool Sites: les Champs-Elysées, la Tour Eiffel
Today's Favorite Foods: desserts--all chocolate!
Today I Bought: food
We arrived before 1 am Michigan time (7 am here) and met our tour guide, Bob, at the airport. He took all twelve of us to l'Hôtel Plat d'Étain, where we are staying for a couple of days, to drop off our luggage, freshen up, and get maps of Paris. Then we rode le Métro to the Champs-Elysées, a famous street that runs through the center of the city, to watch the Bastille Day Parade.
It was unbelievably crowded on the sidewalks, so much so that the only way for us to get a good view was to completely sacrifice our personal space. (We learned that on several occasions today, particularly on the subway.) Sheila, Nancy, and I were really the only ones who could see anything anyway. While members of the French armed forces marched, rode, or drove down the street, aircraft flew in formation overhead. My favorite part was when three planes, each letting out a different-colored stream of smoke, thus created a French flag in the sky. Très cool.
We went to the Hard Rock Café for lunch. I didn't have a very good time, for not only was my meal unappetizing and way overpriced, the service terrible, and the style anything but French, but I had already been there once before.
After lunch we all went back to the hotel for a nap, since some of us--me included--had not slept at all on the plane the night before. (I was reading.) We ate dinner with the other kids in our tour group. Mine was pasta, the vegetarian substitute for the roast beef that everyone else got. Plus I tried goat-cheese for the first time. I really liked it. But the chocolate pie that we ate for dessert was truly the best part of the meal. I could have eaten at least a couple more pieces of that!
Finally, we went to hear the free live concert--my first ever--of Jean-Michel Jarre, a well-known electronic-music artist, and to watch the fireworks over top of the Eiffel Tower. Even the Tower itself was lit up in many different colors tonight. The fireworks were even worth the several hours that we had to wait for them. And on the way "home" I bought myself two pieces of rich chocolate cake for 19 FF. That's less than four dollars!
Day #: 3
Date: July 15
City: Paris
Cool Sites: Notre-Dame, le Musée d'Orsay, l'Arc de Triomphe, la Tour Eiffel
Today's Favorite Foods: desserts, veggie pizza
Today I Bought: postcards, T-shirts, and food
We started out today with a bus tour of the city, interrupted by a quick stroll through la Cathédrale Notre-Dame and the occasional photo stop. I found some lovely postcards depicting the Hall of Mirrors in the Château de Versailles for 3 FF each, and since that's one of my two favorite rooms there and we'll be visiting tomorrow, I bought a couple to send home and one to keep.
At lunchtime we split up. I ate a vegetarian pizza that basically consisted of cheese, spinach, and tomatoes on a chunk of French bread. Yum.
We spent a little time in the Musée d'Orsay, where I walked around by myself, looking at sculptures. I was particularly fascinated by those of Paul Gauguin, so now I'm looking for some books about him. I bought myself a T-shirt with a map of the Métro on the front and one for my mom with some famous work of art on it. Somewhere along the way I bought a chocolate bar, too, and some more postcards.
After the Musée d'Orsay, most of us went back to the hotel for pants and sweatshirts while Tom and Mr. Urbytes (Mr. Madame, as we call him) visited Napolean's tomb and the Musée de l'Armée. We all met up again at the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the 284 stairs to the top. The view of the twelve streets that meet in a star shape around the Arc was genuinely French to me. I'd never gone up in the Arc de Triomphe before, so that was definitely one of my favorite sites so far. We also watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier below the Arc, and then we went to dinner.
I chose to not take pictures of the Tomb because I felt that it would be extremely disrespectful. Too bad, though: The guards were really cute!
I didn't much like dinner. I didn't much like the red wine I had with dinner either. The meal for the vegetarians was remarkably uncreative, as usual, apparently. My opinion of French chefs has sunk a little, I'm afraid.
After dinner the entire group went up to the top of the Eiffle Tower. Then we bought ice cream before bed.
Day #: 4
Date: le 16 juillet
City: From Versailles to Paris
Cool Sites: le Château de Versailles, le Louvre, les Galeries Lafayette
Today's Favorite Foods: breakfast (hot chocolate, croissant), taco salad, *desserts, *white wine
Today I Bought: a French magazine, food
This morning I actually sat down and ate the free continental breakfast at this hotel. Then I grabbed my bookbag and got on the bus for Versailles. I slept almost the whole way.
I took a quick walking tour of the Château with the help of a guide sheet from NETC. My favorite rooms are still the same: The Queen's Bedchamber and the Hall of Mirrors. Because it was raining, we didn't see any of the grounds on this trip--a pity for the others--they're spectacular.
We ate lunch in the Louvre, which was crazy busy, of course, and then we looked around in the underground boutiques for awhile. I went off on my own to look at the sculptures again. I only saw a very small portion of the French collection before our group left for the mall.
The prices there were very much like those in the states, as were all of the clothes and stuff as well. The major difference was the setup: One "store" ran right into another. It seemed like a huge overcrowded department store, but with a really lavish ceiling! I didn't buy anything there.
My dinner was once again rather boring, but at least it tasted good. Plus, I discovered that I like Kir, an appetizer drink, and the white wine was delicious!
Day #: 5
Date: le 17 juillet
City: From Paris to Arles
Cool Sites: Papal Palace
Today's Favorite Foods: desserts
Today I Bought: un santon, "Provence" book, postcard stamps, food
We started out bright and early this morning with a ride on the T.G.V., or Tren au Gran Vitesse, from Paris to Avignon. At its fastest, the train goes ~200 kilometers per hour. It really makes your ears pop.
There were some really obnoxious passengers on the train, too. They yelled at us and took up extra seats and made a lot of noise the whole trip. Sheila and I, who sat next to each other, kept hoping that their luggage would fall on them. It wasn't a comfortable journey anyway.
In Avignon we visited the former Palace of the Popes. On the outside it looked like a fortress--really, it was--but on the inside it was filled with plants and ponds and fountains and statues and breathtaking views of the town. In fact, most of the buildings that we saw today were just like that.
But even before we went in the Palace we got to eat lunch and go shopping. I had a huge cheese crèpe and some ice cream. Then I bought a santon, which is a figurine for a nativity scene, in this case a tiny duck. Supposedly, les santons are a specialty of this province, along with herbs, olive oil, and a particular kind of fabric.
We also got into Tarascon, another castle in Avignon. It had huge, beautiful tapestries on the walls, and stairs--well over 100 of them. I counted when we climbed a tower to the top (to take more pictures, of course.)
Our second hotel is in Arles, and it is just great, especially compared to the first one. There are much bigger rooms (with closets this time), and an outdoor pool and a restaurant. We had the afternoon off to go swimming, and then I took a shower and dressed up for dinner for once. The ambience of the restaurant was certainly very elegant, but once again the menu was bland.
Tonight we went into town on foot and saw a few local sights, such as the Roman arena and meeting-place and the Church of St. Trophime, renowned for its architecture. Then we all bought huge bottles of water for cheap, and I ate two chocolate eclairs and a doughnut. Yum.
Day #: 6
Date: le 18 juillet
City: From Nîmes to Arles
Cool Sites: market, le Pont du Gard, arena
Today's Favorite Foods: desserts
Today I Bought: tank top, olive oil, and food
Well, the French cuisine has been a big letdown for me. I haven't really had a single meal that I liked. I'm so disappointed, really I am. But I haven't lost hope….
This morning we went to an awesome market in town. I found a cool blue tank top for just over ten dollars and a bottle of olive oil complete with herbs and a cork to give to my parents. I think that I may have had more fun at that market than I have at many other sites this week.
Then we went to Nîmes to see the Roman amphitheater and the Maison Carrée and to get lunch. I tried a vegetarian omelette. I didn't like it.
Finally, we went to the Pont du Gard in the afternoon. The weather was beautiful, and we all went swimming and got tanned. And although I definitely didn't participate, it was a nude beach.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped to walk inside the arena in Arles. We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant again and then had the evening off to relax.
Day #: 7
Date: le 19 juillet
City: From Arles to Nice
Cool Sites: St. Tropez, Cannes
Today's Favorite Foods: desserts, of course, and dinner (omelette and potatoes)
Today I Bought: dress, food
We left the second hotel this morning to drive to Nice, stopping at a couple of cities along the way. First we went to…
That's all she wrote!
I found a good book about Paul Gauguin in one of the many used bookstores here in Ann Arbor, and since it had pictures and information about both his work and his life and was being offered for a great price, I bought it. Gauguin left France for Tahiti in the middle of his life, believing himself to have found some kind of utopian society. But the last painting that he ever created was a landscape of a place in his native France, still wet on his easel when he was found dead. He was a very interesting man.
Looking back now, I wonder why I felt that photographing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier would have been disrespectful. I myself have on more than one occasion commented to others in support of the French custom of taking walks and rubbings in their graveyards, and truly, that is not disrespectful at all. It shows a curiosity and an appreciation for history that is commendable, really. Everyone else was taking pictures. Perhaps I just connect photography with tourism more than art. I don't know.
We don't seem to have Kir in the United States. It's just white wine with a squirt of fruit syrup, but it's very good. You should try it sometime.
While checking into the airport on our way home from Nice, we saw Sinbad in the next line. He was on the same plane to London, and he ate his lunch there in the same restaurant that we did. He even remembered us and said hello again as he was leaving. That was very cool.
The most significant thing that I learned on this trip would have to be my discovery that I like the rest of France better than Paris. Before that summer I had never even seen any of the rest of France--but it's a marvel. Paris is so fast-paced, and it's filled with tourists and businessmen. You tend to miss the real character of the country if you only go there. In the province of Provence, it is much more laid-back. In some places all that we did was relax and walk around at our own pace and shop. Only then did we get a taste of what France is really all about. Their perspective on life is very different from ours. I love it.
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© 1997 Jessica B. Burstrem