We've got a delightful update from Taylor and Kate about the Trekkers' time in France:
"The European Phantom crew had an unforgettable three days in Paris. We spent
Saturday morning at the palace of Versailles seeing how the French royalty used
to live (among lots of gold items and giant paintings of themselves.) Then we
rode to our hostel in the city. We were lucky to discover a concert in the plaza
nearby, so we grabbed a quick dinner and checked it out.
On Sunday we spent
the afternoon on a walking tour, during which our tour guide told us tons of
stories about Paris' history and monuments. (Did you know that on statues, the
position of the horse's legs tells how they died? The front legs in the air
means that the rider died in battle, four legs down means that they died of
natural causes, and one front leg and one back leg up means that they died of
unnatural causes, like assassination. Cool, right?)
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| Putting legs to good use on the walking tour... |
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For our final day in Paris, we first went to The Louvre, where we spent a
couple hours admiring the amazing and plentiful masterpieces by some of the most
influential artists in the history of art! After visiting the beautiful Mona
Lisa, we let ourselves get lost in the art (literally) as we wandered down the
halls within the humongous confinements of the museum. After seeing more pieces
from eras such as the Renaissance, Ancient Greece and Egypt, and the Medieval
ages, we left the Louvre and rode our bikes to the Eiffel Tower!
Sunday evening was the
highlight of all our time in Paris, because we went to see the fireworks at the
Eiffel Tour in honor of Bastille Day. It was really amazing to see the tower
silhouetted by the fireworks behind it, then lit up with flashing lights. Though we had
seen it lit up by an incredible firework display the night before, seeing it up
close gave it a whole new beauty. After many failed attempts to get a decent
group photo (sans bunny ears, goofy faces), we headed back to the hostel to get
ready for dinner.
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| Fireworks from Bastille Day |
For our final dinner, we decided to splurge a bit in
Montmatre, a lively and showy district where Moulin Rouge originated from. We
went to a traditional French restaurant where many of us had our first taste of
escargot. We had a delicious mix of foods which included foie gras, scallops , a
hearty and flavorful beef stew, and"beautiful steak" (as described truthfully in
the menu). After dinner we concluded our exciting day with an assortment of
scrumptious pastries in downtown Montmatre.
As of now we are back on the
road (or rather the rails) to Ghent, Belgium!
Au revoir, France! Till
next time :) "
-Kate and Taylor
