2024 SMA France Cultural Journey

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Blog 9

Following a delightful evening of free time in St. Malo, we slept and had breakfast at Hotel I’Univers. We then took the bus and traveled to La Ferme Marine de Cancale where we learned about the oyster farming process and even got to try a few (at least for those of us who were interested). One of my favorite places was the gift shop, which sold adorable pearl jewelry. The next phase of the day was the long bus ride back to Paris, which took around 5 hours with a short lunch stop. When we arrived at our Paris hotel, we sat together for our closing program before breaking up for supper and last-minute shopping. As I write this post, we are about to depart to watch the Eiffel Tower shine at night. While I am not looking forward to the long plane ride home tomorrow, I am happy to see family and friends and tell them about our adventures in France.
– Tilly B

Blog 8

Today we started off with breakfast at the hotel in Normandy and then boarded the bus to head to Mont Saint Michel. We had amazing

Savory and sweet Crêpes and then did a walking tour of Mont Saint Michel it was very pretty. Then we got in the bus and headed to Saint Melo where we had free time for dinner and shopping.
– Milly

Blog 7

Today we got up early and drove a couple hours outside of Paris to bayeux, a small town known for Normandy. We then got on electric bikes and were guided through the beautiful countryside scenery and to the d day beaches where we learned about the effort to accomplish the d day battle. We ate lunch with views of the relics and the ocean. After that, we biked back and got back on the bus to go to our hotel, where we settled into our rooms. We then visited the tapestry of William the Conqueror and learned about the story surrounding that and how it was made so long ago. For dinner, we all sat together to enjoy it, and afterwards we split off and explored the town, the hotel pool, and got some dessert at a local place. Then, we settled in for bed and another exciting day tomorrow!

– Currie

 Today we left Paris and headed for Normandie. We did a 25 mile bike ride where we learned about the events of D-Day. Then we visited the bayeux tapestry.
– Lauren

Blog 6

Today we left the hotel at 9 to take the metro to the Notre Dame (we were unable to go inside due to reconstruction), afterwards we walked across a bridge to Shakespeare and Co. (an english bookstore). For lunch we ate sandwiches after visiting the Luxembourg Gardens (basically a big park). Post-eating we continued our walk to the Pantheon (a large marble structure designed to hold and celebrate various important french citizens like Voltaire). Then we went to the Champs Elysees to climb the famous Arc de Triomphe even through rain. We ended the day with a river cruise on the Seine.

– Emily
The day started off with a metro ride over to Notre Dame. We then walked over to Shakespeare and Company and found some interesting books. We went to the Arc de Triumph next and had a great time looking at the view and talking with each other. We ended the day off with some delicious dinner along with Madame Sasine and Ms. Herman.
-Mia
We had a busy and very fun day! In the morning we visited Notre Dame and the beautiful Luxembourg gardens. After a lunch at a local bakery we hiked to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and shopped along the Champs-Elysées. Then to finish our day we went on a River Cruise on the Seine River.
– Ava

l'art c'est la vie!

This morning we got to sleep in a bit more with a call time of 9am. We then traveled by metro to Musée d’Orsay. Musée d’Orsay was once a train station and it is now an art museum! There are many known pieces that this museum is home to including Vincent Van Gogh’s self portrait, Claude Monet’s poppy field and much more. After this we had a nice lunch in a restaurant. We then took a walk to the more posh areas of Paris including the opera house Palais Garnier and the famous department store Galeries Lafayette. We then were given free time for the rest of the day and were on our own for dinner.

– Isabela
We had such a fun day in Paris! First we started at the Musée d’Orsay and got to see the famous clock and paintings at the museum such as Vincent van Gogh’s self portrait and various works of Monet. In the afternoon we had some free time to walk around Champs Élysées and visit nearby stores and sites. This was definitely one of our most fun and memorable days so far!
– Darya

Versailles and more

Today we visited the Versailles Palace and learned about some of its architecture and history. We were able to take a tour to see various different rooms of famous historic people that lived there and also shopped around in souvenir stores. After that, we got lunch and then finished exploring the gardens in the palace before heading back to Paris to climb the Eiffel Tower. We then walked to dinner and got some desserts after!

-Alondra

Get your steps in!

Today was filled with sight seeing and lots of walking ! We started by visiting the Louvre, by using the metro! It was our first time using the metro and was much more underwhelming than the metro in new york! The louvre was so beautiful and it was so big and had so many pieces of art. The best part was definitely seeing the Mona Lisa although it was a bit crowded. After that, we had a picnic at the Tuileries garden and had some sandwiches with pastries. Next, we visited another museum that had contemporary art. It was interesting to see modern art after all the classics at the Louvre. We then had dinner and celebrated Mia’s birthday and while heading back to the hotel we were able to see the sunset and all the shops! I really enjoyed today and all the steps we got in and i’m so excited for the many more days to come!
– Jazlin
Today was our second day in Paris France and we got to ride the metro for the first time, although it was busy and a little scary, overall it was really fun. After we got through breakfast and the metro we got to visit the Louvre. It was exciting to see all the art work and getting to see the many different exhibitions. My highlight would be the Galerie d’Apollon but the whole museum was gorgeous and full of history from all over the world. After the Louvre we went to have lunch in the Tuileries garden and had a calm afternoon. We then got the chance to go to the musée de l’Orangerie and got to see more contemporary art, including a famous painting by Claude Monet. The difference between the museums were interesting and cool to see. We ended the day with a delicious dinner and a quick birthday celebration for Mia! The day was fun and I am excited to see what we do over the next couple days.
– Dafne

First impressions

We first took our 8 hour flight to de Gaulle airport. Then got a bite and got in our bus to the hotel. We settled in and then went for a walking tour around Montmartre. We toured around the hills, saw Sacré-Cœur, and took some pictures. Then we walked over to our restaurant for dinner and had food all together. It was a great day!

– Violet
We started off our day by boarding our flight from Denver to Paris! We had a very long 10 hour flight in which we watched movies and tried to get some rest for the day ahead of us. We arrived at the Paris airport, grabbed our luggage and met with our trip leaders. We were able to get food and took a bus to our hotel and after resting we got ourselves ready to explore parts of Paris! We saw cool water fountains, windmills, and got to look around a church, we also got to see an amazing view of the city. We were extremely tired of our long day so we had an amazing meal at a restaurant and went back to our hotel to get rest for the second day in Paris!
– Miranda
On Monday afternoon we all got to the airport, ready for our exciting adventure!   We got on the plane, and even though there was a crying baby that hindered some of our sleep, we made it to Charles DeGaull airport Tuesday morning around 11.
We had some baguette sandwiches from the airport, and then had at 40 minutes ride into Montmartre, where we are staying. After freshening up a bit, we went on a walking tour of Monmarte. We got to see some very cool and memorable sights, such as the Moulin Rouge, The Sacré Coeur cathedral, and a beautiful view of the city. We walked around a bit more on our way to dinner which was delicious!!! We had authentic French food and some delicious profiteroles for dessert, and got to practice our French skills. Even though we were very tired it was a very exciting day, and now we are getting some much needed rest before our big day tomorrow!
– Madeleine

We've arrived!

We made it to Paris! More updates and pics to come, please check back soon.

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