Day 16: We woke up super early, so we could meet our new Tour Director and then made our way to the Eurostar train, which took us to Paris. Our timing was perfect, so we didn't have to wait very long before getting on the train. The seats were very comfortable, and I believe everyone got some sleep during the ride, which was awesome. The Eurostar does indeed go under water, but besides some major pressure changes, I didn't notice. There were probably three different times when my ears popped and really hurt from the pressure change, but it was a small price to pay when we made it to Paris in 2 hours.

Once we made it to Paris, we did a lot of walking. Our new Tour Director was really hard to keep up with. I literally had to jog to keep up at times, which was unfortunate because I really wanted to spend some time looking around. Terry, our previous Tour Director, was the complete opposite of Alessandro. He was really laid back and took his time getting places, so I could take pictures and enjoy my surroundings while walking. Alessandro could also be rude at times; he would yap at us to always stay together since Paris is dangerous but would make it nearly impossible to do so. Even though he irritated me in many ways, his never-ending energy and ability to walk faster than any man on this earth allowed us to see a lot in the short time we were in Paris. So for that, I am grateful we had Alessandro as our Tour Director for the last few days of the trip.

After we walked around a bit, we stopped at Notre-Dame. Its full name is "Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris ('Our Lady of Paris'). . . . The Notre Dame is the most popular monument in Paris and in all of France, beating even the Eiffel Tower with 13 million visitors each year. The famous cathedral is also an active Catholic church, a place of pilgrimage, and the focal point for Catholicism in France. The Notre Dame de Paris stands on the site of Paris' first Christian church, Saint Etienne basilica, which was itself built on the site of a Roman temple to Jupiter. Notre-Dame's first version was built . . . in 528. . . . However, in 1160, having become the 'parish church of the kings of Europe,' Bishop Maurice de Sully deemed the building unworthy of its lofty role, and had it demolished. Construction on the current cathedral began in 1163, during the reign of Louis VII. . . . In 1793, the cathedral fell victim to the French Revolution. Many sculptures and treasures were destroyed or plundered, and Lady Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars. The cathedral also came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had declared the Empire on May 28, 1804, was crowned Emperor at Notre-Dame on December 2, 1804" (Sacred Destinations). Since then, it has survived an uprising that resulted in a fire and other such tragedies, but a lot of restoration has also taken place. Currently, it is in great shape and really is a site to behold. I might have to read The Hunchback of Notre-Dame now that I have seen this majestic cathedral.

After walking through Notre-Dame, my mom and I found a nice place for lunch with amazing pizza, but the people who worked there weren't very nice. I always heard that people in Paris weren't very friendly, but I was shocked to find this to be true. Granted, not everyone was rude, but the atmosphere of Paris was definitely less friendly than everywhere else we had traveled. For example, when our server brought us our pizza, I said "thank you," but he only glared at me in response. Then, when we made it to our hotel and waited for the elevator, two French ladies made their way to the elevator while we were waiting. When the elevator finally made it to our floor, we went to get on, but the two ladies pushed their way onto the elevator in front of us. They seemed irritated that we got on the elevator with them and said something in French. Alessandro told them we were American, as if that explained why we were horrible enough to get on the elevator with them. There were other instances like these that took place, but I want to focus on the good aspects of Paris as much as possible. We were only there for a few days, so there is no way I can give an accurate depiction of Paris; all I can say is that Paris was very different from the other places we visited on this trip, but in my mind, different equals good. I love Paris because it is unique and unlike anything I have explored before. Even if the people aren't very friendly, Paris is a place everyone should visit because there is so much to see.

After eating lunch, we walked around and bought some paintings. We really enjoyed walking around the city, as Paris really is an amazing city. Once we met up with our group, we made our way to the Pont des Arts footbridge, which is also called the "Love Locks" bridge. This bridge is beautiful because there are a ton of locks all over the bridge. Apparently, lovers write their names on a lock, lock it on the bridge, and then throw the key in the river Seine to illustrate their never-ending love. If lovers decide to part, they must find the key to unlock the lock, which is impossible. Therefore, if a couple decides to put their lock on the bridge, it is forever. Who knows how long this will continue though. Alessandro explained that a part of the bridge collapsed due to the weight of the locks, which makes the locks a safety hazard. Other countries have had to ban locks for similar reasons.

We only stayed on the bridge for about 5 minutes, as we still had a lot to see. We then headed to the Latin Quarter. According to NBC News, the Latin Quarter "is the precinct of the Université de Paris . . . where students meet and fall in love over café crème and croissants. Rabelais named it the Quartier Latin after the students and the professors who spoke Latin in the classroom and on the streets" ("A Walking Tour"). It was a really cool area with a lot of art and graffiti, and the graffiti was admired and accepted, which I really liked. Granted, it was artistic graffiti, not just gang symbols which I am used to seeing in areas like Greeley. Since Paris is the place of love and art, I guess it makes sense that there is art and love locks throughout the city.

After walking around some more, we had dinner. We were all really exhausted, so after dinner, we headed to our hotel and called it a night. We wanted to get some sleep, so we could enjoy our last day in Paris, which was also our last day of the trip before heading home.

Day 17: We started the day with a guided bus tour of the city, which was very relaxing. It was a rainy day, so it was nice to start the day on the bus. We made a quick stop at the Eiffel Tower but didn't stay long because we were coming back at night. We then walked around Avenue des Champs-Élysées, which was amazing but very expensive. According to the Lonely Planet, "No trip to Paris is complete without strolling this broad, tree-shaded avenue lined with luxury shops. Named for the Elysian Fields (‘heaven’ in Greek mythology), the Champs-Élysées was laid out in the 17th century and is . . . where presidents and soldiers strut their stuff on Bastille Day, where the Tour de France holds its final sprint, and where Paris turns out for organized and impromptu celebrations." It was a lot of fun walking around this ritzy area even if I couldn't afford anything.

We then made our way to the Louvre, which "is one of the largest and most important museums in the world. It is housed in the expansive Louvre Palace, situated in the heart of Paris. The collection of the Louvre Museum was first established in the 16th century as the private collection of King Francis I. One of the works of art he purchased was the now famous Mona Lisa painting. The collection grew steadily thanks to donations and purchases by the kings. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the Louvre became a national art museum and the private royal collection opened to the public. The museum has a collection of over 1 million works of art, of which about 35,000 are on display, spread out over three wings of the former palace. The museum has a diverse collection ranging from the Antiquity up to the mid 19th century" ("Louvre"). Outside the entrance, there was a huge pyramid, so we asked Alassandro about it. He explained how the Louvre has the 2nd largest Egyptian collection in the world, which explains why there was a huge pyramid outside and an upside down pyramid inside the main entrance. It was really awesome seeing all of the Egyptian pieces, but we didn't have enough time to see even a fraction of the exhibits. We wanted to make sure we saw the Mona Lisa, so we skipped a lot of rooms to get to it. I had really high expectations for the Mona Lisa but was dissapointed when I saw it. It was minuscule compared to the pieces in the previous rooms. In order to see a whole painting in most rooms, I literally had to view it from the other side of the room. The Mona Lisa was tiny in comparison and was shielded behind glass, so it was hard to see because of the glare. It was impossible to get up to it at all with security and the number of people, but I am still glad I got to see it. We definitely needed more time at the Louvre; 2.5 hours only allowed us to see a fraction of it, and I didn't even make it to some of the rooms I really wanted to see. For example, I wanted to view some of the French paintings from the 14th-17th centuries, but because the Louvre is a maze, we weren't able to get to those paintings. We made it to the French paintings from the 18th century, but we couldn't find the secret passage to the older French paintings. In fact, we had a really hard time getting out of the Louvre. The map was useless and so were the signs. Granted, the Louvre is a palace, not a typical art museum, but the design is absolutely horrible. In order to get down a floor, we sometimes had to go up stairs to then find other stairs that went down. We soon found out that stairs/elevators that went down didn't necessarily take us closer to the main floor but instead led us to another exhibit or, in other words, trap. We tried following exit signs, but a lot of times they just led us astray. Therefore, if one is planning a trip to the Louvre, plan at least an hour of time for getting lost. I can't decide if I want to go back there someday or if I never want to step back inside that labyrinth again. The art is beautiful, but that place is stressful when you are on a time table. I almost lost my mom at one point and almost panicked. I found her and told her she couldn't leave my sight for even a second, and this was before I knew how lost a person could get in the Louvre. My advice is simple: Do not go to the Louvre unless you have A LOT of time.

We met up for dinner and had to get out our umbrellas because of the rain. The students seemed to enjoy the rain, so I am glad it rained the last day of our trip. The students were pretty exhausted at this point in the trip, but the rain seemed to give them a jolt of energy that was much needed. Of course certain students didn't use their umbrellas and instead ran around in the rain, but it was great seeing them have so much fun. After dinner, students immediately played in the rain again, but this time on the river cruise.

After the river cruise, we decided we had to see the Eiffel Tower. It is said "when Gustave Eiffel’s company built Paris’ most recognizable monument for the 1889 World’s Fair to mark the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution, many regarded the massive iron structure with skepticism. Today, the Eiffel Tower, which continues to serve an important role in television and radio broadcasts, is considered an architectural wonder and attracts more visitors than any other paid tourist attraction in the world. Several hundred workers spent two years assembling the framework of the iconic lattice tower, which at its inauguration in March 1889 stood nearly 10,000 feet high and was the tallest structure in the world—a distinction it held until the completion of New York City’s Chrysler Building in 1930. (In 1957, an antenna was added that increased the structure’s height by 65 feet, making it taller than the Chrysler Building but not the Empire State Building, which had surpassed its neighbor in 1931)" ("Eiffel Tower"). When one thinks of Paris, one automatically thinks of the Eiffel Tower, so we paid to go to the top of Montparnasse Tower, the tallest building in Paris, in order to see the Eiffel Tower. The largest structure in Paris is the Eiffel Tower, but the tallest building is Montparnasse Tower. The view from the roof was absolutely mesmerizing. I stayed on the roof longer than anyone else, but eventually forced myself to make my way back down. Alessandro then took us to the Eiffel Tower, so we could see it up close. We saw the Eiffel Tower earlier in the day during our bus tour, so in 1 day we saw the Eiffel Tower from the tallest building at night, from afar during the day, and up close both during the day and at night. We really did accomplish a lot with Alassandro by our side. We didn't make it back to our hotel until 1 am, so we were exhausted. Even though I was drained, I had to find the energy to pack since we were heading home in the morning.

Day 18: Early in the morning, we transferred to the airport and caught our flight. Once we checked in, we didn't have to wait very long for our flight, which was nice. The flight back was much better than the flight to Ireland because we had a nicer plane and also because I knew that we all had an amazing trip that we would remember for the rest of our lives.