Paris: Day 3 and a fond farewell

Hello again!

Here is our final blog of the Stage Indiana 2012, in which we explore our last day in Paris and our final day in France.

Let's take a look!

Day 3

Waking up bright and early, we jumped on the metro and headed to our first stop of the day: The Louvre. Here, the stagiaires had the opportunity to see MANY works of art, including several ancient statues, paintings, the Mona Lisa, etc.

The Winged Victory

Even the Pyramid itself is a work of art

After their exploration of the Louvre, the stagiaires had several hours of free-time, during which they were able to (in groups!) explore and see the sights of their choosing.

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Later that day, we met up once more and headed to see our final sights in Paris.

We started with Sacré Cœur, a lovely basilica on the top of Montmartre:

We then headed to the Moulin Rouge to take a look at the famous windmill, ...

... and got to see the café where Amélie works in the successful French film Le fableux destin d'Amélie Poulin, Café des 2 Moulins.

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After taking in the sights a little more, we headed to a restaurant, where we ate our final dinner together. Here are some pictures of the stagiaires at the resto enjoying their meal:

What we didn't mention to them, however, was the fact that this restaurant also had karaoke. Needless to say, they were stoked: 

  

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After heading back to the hostel to finish weighing bags, etc., we had a little social hour in the hallway with the drinks we had left over from our fête des familles:

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Then, after a couple hours (or minutes) of sleep, it was time to pack up the bus and head to the airport after saying a few goodbyes to Anne-Therese, Chloe, and Olivia, who stayed behind with their families.

Goodbye Chloe, Olivia, and Anne-Therese!

Ready to head to the airport

After we made it to the airport and through a farewell from Aaron, check-in, baggage check, and security, we made it to our flight and landed in Chicago, where more goodbyes were exchanged as the stagiaires either met their families or boarded the plane for Indianapolis.

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Well, I believe this concludes the blog for IUHPFL Saint-Brieuc 2012.

I would just like to give a thanks to Stephanie, our director, who made it possible for me to come this summer, and our fantastic team of instructors, with whom I was overjoyed to work.

I would also like to thank, of course, our amazing group of stagiaires: You have all truly made my first year with the program unforgettable, and I cannot thank you enough for your effort, dedication, motivation, and overall great attitude toward both the program and life in general. I cannot believe how much growth I have seen over the past six weeks, not only linguistically, but also personally. I have no doubt that you will all continue to do great things, and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you and meeting up for a reunion in the near future!

Once again, thank you all and best of luck!

Jamie

Paris: Day 2

Bonjour!

I just want to say right away that there will be A LOT of photos in this blog post. With that said, let's jump right in!

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Day 2


Day 2 was much more packed than our first day, so there is much to discuss! After an early wake-up call, we ate breakfast at the hostel and made our way to our first stop, Sainte-Chapelle. On the way, however, we passed by a couple interesting sights:

The Parisian beach,

a lovely bridge,

and the Palais de Justice. 

Here's a second photo of the Palais. Note the inscription:
Liberté - Égalité - Fraternité

After our quick stop outside of the Palais de Justice, we finally reached Sainte-Chapelle, where we not only saw the amazing exterior of the building, but also the incredible interior. 

Part of the exterior

The incredible stained glass windows
of which 70% are original

La Rose de l'Apocalypse

A closer look at one of the scenes

I also wanted to include the following teaching moment:

Larry and Aaron read about the Rose de l'Apocalypse 

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After we finished at Sainte-Chapelle, we skipped off quickly to Notre Dame. Although we didn't see the Hunchback, we did get to see the cathedral itself!

Point zéro

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Following our visit to Notre Dame, we headed underground and made our way to the Latin Quarter where the stagiaires had the opportunity to do a little exploring and grab a bite to eat. One of the locations we visited was the Place Saint-Michel.

The fountain of Saint Michel

 After they finished eating and exploring, we met back up in the metro in order to make our way to our next location, Montparnasse tower. Here are a couple of photos documenting our trip in the métro:

Trying to find the right line 

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Once we all met up in the metro, we made our way to Montparnasse tour and got to see a great view of the city. Here are a couple examples:

I also thought it would be nice to capture a couple photos of the stagiaires on the top of the tower:

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After our view of the city, we headed back to ground level and split up to see either the Tour de France or the Musée d'Orsay. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the museum since it is forbidden, but check out this video that Ryan took of the Tour!

Tour de France video!

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Following our individual trips, we met up again to take a closer look at the Eiffel Tour and lounge a bit.

Of course, since we were near a monument, I called for a group photo (despite the fact that the lighting was not ideal!):

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Finally, we finished up the day with a visit to the Arc de Triomphe, where we climbed to the top and got to see another beautiful look at Paris and see the Eiffel Tour alight again.

A picture of the profs on top of the Arc from an impromptu
photo shoot

After checking out the sights, we headed down again to check out the memorial to the unknown solders and to see the Arc lit up as well. 

Memorial to the unknown soldiers.

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After this, we headed back to the hostel for a quick slumber before heading back into the city the following morning.

Check out the following blog to see what we did yesterday (July 23rd)!! I should have it up by tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!

à bientôt

Jamie