J' Adore Paris!

I may have forgotten to mention one key thing... Our hotel buffet has an amazing coffee, expresso, cappuccino, what ever drink you want- maker. It wasn't relevant until day 4 of my trip, when exhaustion set in. I had been walking 12-15 miles per day, every day. My legs were tired, back aching from carrying rations around and heavy eyes from early mornings and late nights. This machine saved my trip, along with a drink called Burn that I found for 1.30 Euro at a nearby grocer. I would crash eventually, but not today. There was too much to do!

Our first excursion of the day was to Museo Carnavalet. This museum is dedicated to the history of Paris. I can't say that I really enjoyed this one. I wouldn't recommend it but what can I say, the Van Gogh museum was closed for repair. From here we visited Centre Pompidou. A place that I truly enjoyed and one hundred percent recommend. Aside from the buildings amazingly modern structural expressionism, It housed some pretty amazing works of contemporary and modern art. I appreciated the modern art most. There were displays of abstraction, cubism, dada and early surrealism. My favorite artist of modern expression was Edward Krasinski. I suggest you check out his stuff. After 3 or 4 hours there, we thought it might be a good idea to head back to Notre Dame and check out its interior.

To no shock, it was pretty incredible. It gothic details were highlighted by the age and wear of the building and even the atmosphere was tainted gothic by the building's limited daylighting. Fun fact: there is a crypt beneath the cathedral; ruins of an old Roman designed city. We were able to walk through the ruins, which was an interesting experience. You could see remnants of arches and columns and even their bath and spa rooms.

There was also a small church nearby, that was of interest to Keiko, so we went to check it out. Sainte- Chapelle is a 13th century gothic church that is known for its use of stained glass. Only 5 colors are used, but all of the bible's stories are depicted in its window covered walls. It is beautiful. Another place that I recommend seeing.

After a quick bite to eat, we were back at it again. Next stop the Pantheon. Another huge, neoclassical structure. It holds the tombs of many notable people including french philosopher and mathematician, Renes Descartes. What I found most impressive about the Pantheon was the tunnels that ran underneath the ground level, this is where all the tombs were. They seemed to stretch on forever and if I hadn't been directed to them, I would have never known they were there. This feature made me wonder about how many hidden features there could be in any one of these buildings.

After heading back, the group decided that we would eat together at a Vietnamese place called Escale a Saigon. We had a great time there. Once again, Heidi and the other professors were amazingly nice to us, and treated us all to appetizers. I really respect their efforts to make us feel comfortable. Each of them have gone above and beyond for us. During the dinner, I got a chance to talk more to Heidi and Dr. Mcgurk. I have come to love Heidi's wit and Dr. Mcgurk's sincerity. They are both some of the nicest people i've known. They will be missed when they leave.