Paris!

Oh, my goodness. What a hot, fun, all-too-quick trip that was into the city for us all today.

I think that it's safe to say that most of the group made its way into Paris today to take in the typical tourist sites. We all (most of us, anyway) arrived around 7am this morning at CDG, and by the time we made it to the nearby hotel it was 9am. We took the shuttle to the train station, and waited for more than 30 minutes in line for tickets......


And even once we got to the front of the line, most of us got the wrong tickets and had to get back into the back of the line to get the right ones. Brutal. (pictured: Seth Bullard, Ward Davis '94, Bill Davis '60). I mean, how does this Western country stay afloat with this sort of organization?! Anyone?!

We did the Louvre. We did the Champs des Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe. We did Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. We did the Bastille. The Musee de Orsay. The Tour Eiffel. The Trocadero. What a gorgeous and historic city!

We ended the afternoon with a guided bus tour of Paris with our guides Alice, Franz, and Len. And then we made it back to the hotel for a reception and dinner featuring complimentary wine and somewhat venison-like steak.

Then, after a significant thunderstorm (let's all hope that it brings a change of climate for the rest of the week!), several of us made it out to the porch for the late sunset, a few drinks, and some fun and thoughtful conversation. (pictured: Bruce Darden '78, Ross Manire '74, Tom Moore '88, Robert Manire '07).
Lessons learned today:

• Walk slowly and read public transportation signage V-E-R-Y S-L-O-W-L-Y.
• Allot at least 20 minutes to getting any sort of ticket to anything... and then allot another 20 minutes to making it from your ticket purchase to the point where you can actually use that ticket.
• Consider the fact that 20 oz. beers often cost 8 Euros, or about $10 each.
• Before leaving on a trip, take into account how much fun you can have with a group of people that you might not know that well right at that moment in time.
• Before leaving on a trip, remember how much you'll miss your wife and children.

More tomorrow! Two full days in Normandy. Can't wait.