Wednesday, 3/13/2019

On Wednesday, as we headed off to the train station to take the Eurostar to Paris, I realized I have a low tolerance for relying on other people to be on time.  I appreciate the patience that both of the instructors have for a group this large.  At the train station, I had an iced cappuccino from Starbucks, which I would normally discourage having an American chain abroad, but I was disappointed by the coffee I had in London.  The train took a while, due to labor strikes most likely.  I find it fascinating how often the French protest, but I am glad that that is not as common in the US.  Our French tour guide upon arrival, informed me that the French are upset with the British, due to Brexit, but she also added that she is fine with Brexit and does not like the EU in general.  However, she ended the conversation quickly by saying, “but we musn’t talk about politics.”  I enjoy hearing what other people have to say though.  After recooperating for a second, we went to Notre Dame, which is an absolutely stunning building.  As I was walking around on the inside, I kept singing songs from the Disney movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  The stained glass and high ceilings were captivating.  I find that I am always at piece when sitting inside old, majestic churches.  Then, I walked around the north side of the river and over to the Place of Bastille and then back in the direction of the hotel.  The views from the Seine River are beautiful, especially since we were lucky with the weather.  I went to the bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, due to its fame from the many Lost Generation authors that were friends with the original owner.  These people included Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Joyce, Stein, and Pound.  I adore authors from this time period, post-WWI, and the novels they created.  I purchased one of Joyce’s novels from the store.  After this I went to the group dinner.  Unfortunately, almost the entire class went this evening, so it was hard to converse with anyone who was not right beside you.  While there I had tasty duck, but bad creme brulee.  They were not kidding when they said the French eat for three hours.

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