July 10th Post

July 10^th 2013 

           Hey it’s Savannah blogging today! It is July 10^th and it is my birthday! It is about 10 o’clock in the evening and I am worn out! We had had such an exciting day. It began very relaxed as I went downstairs and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee in the hotel. As the other girls got up, we got dressed and ate at the hotel restaurant. It was very simple but that’s just what we needed.  We all ordered  simple French bread with traditional jam spread all over.  After our Le petit déjeuner( Breakfast)  we then headed off on the metro to the Louvre Museum! The Louvre is a museum that attracts millions of visitors every single year. It is a national art museum in Paris that is one of the most famous museums in the world. The first building of it began in 1190, and ever since it has just gotten better and better. It was originally used as the palace and place to house French government, until Louis XIV put an end to that and made Versailles the place to live in 1674. Today, it houses more than six thousand original paintings that were done many centuries ago. It is known throughout the world as a symbol or true art and the meaning of museum. The significance of this place is very hard to explain.  As we walked up, our jaws just dropped because of the beauty the architecture itself holds. The center of the campus holds a glass structure that looks like a pyramid. It is so unique and interesting! While upstairs in the Louve, we looked at the window to get this shot of the main area outside.

Standing in the "courtyard" of the Louvre

After arriving there, we waited in line to get in because apparently it’s the place to be in Paris. I could have spent weeks in there because the sights were just marvelous!  Each room we went into was lined with paintings from wall to wall as well as people trying to take a peak of every one of them. My favorite of course was the Mona Lisa, since it is arguably the most famous painting in the world. There was a large mob around at all times, but I managed to get a picture! We were very shocked at first to see the small size of the famous piece.

It would take days to see all of the painting the museum holds, so we saw as many as we could. I also loved how each ceiling has paintings that were so detailed and specific. I was able to take a picture of that! 

Then we stopped in the gift shop where I bought a few postcards to mail back home. After that, we then proceeded to have a late lunch at the Louve Museum food court! Unbelievably, it is the only food court in France!  Under the museum, there is a little shopping mall that has a food court in it! They has a bit of everything, but I wasn’t too hungry so I had a crepe! There was a whole restaurant to sell crepes, so there was plenty to choose from! I got a strawberry one, although there wasn’t much strawberry in it!
We strolled around downtown Paris just people watching and taking in all the beauty. We then came back to our room where we showered and got changed. A few girls took a nap while Breanna and I just enjoyed a cup of tea and chatted for a little while. Then once they woke up, we got ourselves all ready for a big night out on the town. We hopped on the metro again and went down to the see Moulin Rouge, a play that promised to take our breath away. Opening in 1889 by Joseph Oller and Charles Zidler, all were excited of the new music hall in Paris. Originally, it was designed as a place where men could go watch women dance in a very unique way. In the early years of the Moulin Rouge, it didn’t have the best reputation but it got much better. Now it is a place for many adults to go and watch nightly shows and sit back and have a good time. Walking up and seeing the red windmill on the top, it was just like I had expected and seen in the pictures. It was definitely an adult show as some of the movements were a bit interesting! The girls’ costumes were incredible, covered with sequins, rhinestones and everything in between. 

It was absolutely spectacular and our seats were even better than expected! It was a show that I am sure I’ll never forget! After that, we headed out to Le Stella for a quick bite to eat.  Once again we were dumb founded as we entered this diner.  Since there wasn't a whole bunch to chose from we decided on a french classic, onion soup! I don't know what was in that soup but after we were all very tired so we decided to head back to the room for the night. It was a spectacular day and I can’t wait for tomorrow! Goodnight blog!

Postcards= 11.39 euros 

Le Stella =45 euros

GrandToal= $ 8,189.20 

The Mona Lisa = Priceless 

July 9th

July 9th 2013

Bonjour!
           Hello everyone! Last night was great!  Before we left the hotel, I observed the hotel was full of excitement and chatter even thought it was past check in and check out hours. As I made my way to exit of the building something very unique caught my eye.  Just under the upcoming events board was an advertisements for Paris passes, that got you into almost every famous attraction in Paris, for 176 euros per person.  Without thinking twice we all purchased these passes with great expectations in mind. This made our expenses  be a total of $1,208.20 for the day and 8,078.20 grand total.  Later on that day we all decided to learn about the culture of this fascinating  place by visiting the Museum of Fashion and Textiles. This museum is the one of the best examples of French culture and history.  Since the establishment of this museum in 1905 , this museum has collected many textiles.  These collections contain around 16,000 costumes, 35,000 accessories and around 30,000 clothing items.  Each item collected  from the Regency Period to  present day.  This was my personal favorite because of the small fabric swatches we were allowed to keep after the tour. Not far from the Fashion Museum was the largest science museum in Europe, the Cité des Sciences.  The Paris Science Museum is an  impressive glass and steel building was designed by Adrien Fainsilber and opened in 1986. This museum was built by President Giscard d'Estaing with the hopes of spreading the knowledge of Science and Technology to the youth.  This museum exceeded my expectations with many interesting topics and structures in an interactive way.  This museum included a planetarium, submarine and special activities for all age groups.  During our stay we took in lots of information about not only French culture but surrounding European cultures as well. With all our heads filled with knowledge we headed out to a local diner La Mascotte, at this restaurant we ate a whole array of American and French food. Our meal included of Crepes, Pizza and small dessert cookies called macaroons. This small diner barely cost us anything I noticed as we paid our 28 euros. Since this restaurant  was very close to our hotel we walked and chatted about the days events as we headed back. Today was a lovely day to blog about but I need my rest for tomorrow.  Au Revior! See you guys later Savannah should be blogging tomorrow! 

French Crepe with Tea 

Pizza Platters!

Macroon's  

La Mascotte Wonderful people and Prices 

Paris passes = 176 euros per person 

La Mascotte =28 euros 

Breath Taking views = Priceless 

Total For Today= $1,244

Grandtotal= $ 8,114.20

The Paris Pass 176 Euros = $231.60

July 8, 2013

July 8th 2013

Arrival: 6:45 AM 

The Eiffel tower just outside our window

Downtown right outside our hotel 

Travel Itinerary

Prepared For:  Sunny, cool and clear skies	Event or Purpose: Travel and Tourism
Departing:   July 7th , 2013	Returning: July  20th , 2013

Leg 1 

Total Per Person: $1,330

Depart From:   RDU   To: JFK     Flight #  4549

Airline or Carrier:  American Airlines

Depart Time: 2:15 PM  Arrival Time: 4:05 PM

The numerous Flights at CDG

Leg 2

Depart From:    JFK   To: CDG     Flight # 44

Airline:  American Airlines 

Depart Time:  5:10 PM   Arrival Time: 6:45 AM(Paris Time) 7/08/2012 Monday 

Hotel / Accommodations:

Hotel Name:  Plug Inn Youth Hostel   

Hotel Address: 7 rue Aristide Bruant Paris, France 

Check-in Date:  July 08th, 2013 @ 11 AM

 # of Nights: 6

Check out Date:  July 14th , 2013 @ 3 PM

 

Day 1: France Airports and Attractions 

         Hey Its Breanna Blogging! Our first day in France was like no other.  As I arrived at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France my friends, and I were greeted by elegant structures and wonderful people that surprisingly spoke fairly good English with French accents. Although the flight was very costly at $1330 dollars it was well spent since many of the attractions are free of charge. The airport it self had tons of history behind it.  It was named after Charles De Gaulle who was the leader of the Free French Forces and the founder of the French Fifth Republic.  This airport serves at the principle hub for Air France and its the world's sixth busiest airport.  As we headed out of the Airport on a RER train to the Cathedral of Norte Dame I found the metro maps to be every cute.  The Norte Dame Cathedral is one of the finest examples of french gothic architecture in Europe. We learned it  currently contains the archbishop of Paris as head and construction began in 1163.  Since 1163 there has been lots of destruction of the church because of Huguenots and there religious rival against Catholics.  As we all headed to the train again to another popular train route, I observed that everyone was feeling the jet lag.  Back home in  North Carolina it was around 4 in the morning, but we all decided one more special site was worth it. Around 45 minutes later we all gazed at the Eiffel tower in delight. After I was done gazing, I politely  asked a near by native to snap a few shots of my friends and I. He took more than enough out of generosity.  When visiting the majestic  tower we learned many useful things about French culture and history.  The  Eiffel tower was built in 1887 and is the most visited paid monument in the world. It stands 1050 feet tall and held the title for the tallest building in the world from 1889-1930.  In retrospect I admired all the pictures taken. They were all filled with happy faces and a beautiful structure behind us.  Slowly we all made it back to the train in time for it to haul us to the hotel. Before entering the hotel we decided to have some Haute Cuisine at L' Astrance which means food that is very luxurious and presented nicely.  as soon as we entered our expectations were exceeded greatly.  This restaurant offered a high ceiling dinning area with mirrored walls and near perfect cuisine. We all ordered the famous avocado and crab salad because we weren't that hungry from all anticipation of visiting France.  After the small dinner we decided  there was room for dessert and I ordered the chocolate cake layered with praline.  After finishing that cake I wondered how I would be able to go back  to North Carolina, being spoiled with all the food. This great adventure has just begun and my whole body is tired, traveling is truly exhausting.
Au revoir!

-Breanna 

Here are a few pictures from the first day 

 Plane ticket = 1029 euros per person 
French Food = 65 euros 

Metro/RER tickets = 8 euros 

 Best Friends = Priceless 

Grand total for the day for all 5 of us: $6870.02 

Pre-Travel July 7th

July 7, 2013

Bonjour!  Je m'apelle Breanna

Pre-Travel Update

As we all aboard onto the the first leg of our flight which was from RDU to JFK I experienced some nervousness that I couldn't tame.  It was 1:30 PM and in around 30 minutes we were all going to head into New York City, then to Paris, France.  My friends and I have all dreamed about France and being able to see the Eiffel Tower.  Although there are other famous attractions present in France there was no other that was glamorized like the Eiffel Tower. Another thing I was very excited about doing is eating all the native Treats France had to offer. Come to think of it I was very hungry and I'm sure everyone else is too.  We're going to have some good old American Food before crossing the pond.

Au Revior!

Budget Grand total=$20,000
Starbucks and Pizza = $35

July 15th, 2013

                Hey everybody. Its Lexi Green...Again!  I’m pretty sure this is my last day blogging though, and then I think it’s Lexi Bowman’s turn!

                Well today was the first full day that we stayed in St. Raphael, and it was so much fun!  Since we were out so late last night to watch the Bastille Day fireworks on the beach, we decided to sleep in and have a relaxing day at the beach!  Because we slept in so late, we missed the free complementary  breakfast that is served at our hotel every morning.  Instead, we started off our day with a casual brunch at Le Sud, which is just down the boulevard from our hotel.  There, we were served with authentic southern cuisine and had wonderful service.  After we finished our meal, we left to go back to the hotel to get ready for our day at the beach!

                The girls and I stood around the hotel lobby for about ten minutes just trying to get everyone covered with sunscreen and hats!  We then called a cab and began our first day on the beautiful beaches of France.  Since we had such a late brunch, at about 11:30 A.M. or 12:00 P.M., we weren't hungry again until later that night at dinnertime, so there wasn't much time we didn't spend at the beach.  Even though Hailey was smothered in sunscreen, she still managed to get the worst sunburn of us all!  So once we realized that spending so many hours in the sun straight wasn't a very good Idea, we all decided to take a walk down the beach and see what kinds of shops and stores we could find.  Though after a while, we had to go back because we all missed the sun and being outside!

                It was such a beautiful day in France, it would have been impossible to have better weather!  The temperature stayed in the high 70s and low 80s, so it wasn’t too hot, but also not too cold to splash around in the water a little bit!  It was also nice and sunny, with just a few clouds to keep the shade every once in a while.  Even though we had a simple day, it was wonderful just being able to relax on the beaches of St. Raphael instead of running around and seeing how many attractions we could get to in one day!

                So far in the trip, I have come to the conclusion that no matter what we are doing—sleeping, eating, relaxing, or running—just about every day in France is a good one!  When the sun started setting and the tide was rolling back in, the girls and I told the cab driver on our way back to the hotel to stop at a local supermarket and let us pick up a few groceries to keep around in the room.  After making a quick stop to buy some things for sandwiches, some bags of chips, a few pieces of fruits, and some packs of sodas, we headed back to our hotel for the day.  Once we got back, we changed into some dry and comfortable clothes and made ourselves dinner with our newly bought groceries.  After eating a pretty decent meal, we turned on a movie and began our cycle through the showers, because even though this room was much bigger than the one in Paris, there was still only one bathroom to it!  I decided to blog while I waited for my turn and watched the movie, except it is all in French.

                We took a guess that it was some sort of love story, but I don’t know if we will ever find out!  Well it’s my turn for the bathroom now and I would rather not give up my turn, so I guess I’ll say goodbye for the night! Au revior!

Le sud = 64.56 euros 

Cab= 18.99 euros 

super market haul = 87.35 euros 

movie rental = 3.80 euros 

Chick flick with friends= Priceless 

Total For Today = $230

Grand Total= $ 13,367.90 

Blog day 14 (Bastille Day)

                Hey!  It's Lexi Green posting again today.  It is July 14th, meaning that it is Bastille Day!  Bastille Day is a holiday in France that celebrates the 'French National Day.'  It is celebrated on July 14th because it was started in 1970, on the anniversary of the storming of Bastille, a fortress-prison.

                After we got up this morning and had breakfast downstairs, we packed our things and checked out of the Plug-Inn Hostel.  Our plans were to head out to another part of France for the last part of our trip, so the employees working in the office agreed to keep our belongings while we toured until we were ready to catch our train.  The girls and I headed on out to walk through the busy streets of Paris, that were filled with people and celebrations.  I don't think I have ever seen so much commotion in my life!  We decided to tour around the now-familiar streets for a bit and see how the national holiday was celebrated by the locals.  During our walk, we got lucky and stumbled upon a French tradition on Bastille Day!  The largest and oldest section of the military was held in the morning for the President of the Republic, foreign guests, and French officials, but we managed to catch a glimpse! 

                Since we had already seen most of the main attractions in Paris, we decided to spend our day after that touring the local shops and businesses.  We each bought a few things, such as berets, jewelry, postcards, and cute trinkets.  We met so many people, and many of them spoke English very well!  After spending a few hours just touring the local parts of Paris and helping to celebrate Bastille Day, we stopped to have a nice lunch, which would be our last meal of the trip in Paris!  We had to stop and ask for directions, since our wandering had gotten us somewhat lost, and made our way back to Le Vrai Paris.  Though it was a little pricey, the wonderful food and impressive service made up for it!  Little did we know, we had been thinking of the wrong time for the train's departure and almost missed it!  We all were running around the station like wild geese just trying to find where we were supposed to go because none of us could read fluent French!  With a little help from the English-speaking employees, we barely made it onto the train that would take us to the French Riviera.  

                We could all finally relax for the first time all day as we rode the relaxing ride for a few hours.  Lucky for us, the price of the train was included in our Paris Pass, so we didn't have to worry about finding a way to pay for the trip!  I thought that Paris would be the craziest part of France on Bastille Day, but I was wrong!  I soon discovered that people all over the country celebrated in many different ways, some gathering into groups and others socializing around.  Either way, as soon as we all stepped off the train, we were sent back into the whirling madness of a summer holiday!  It took forever for us to hail a cab, and once we did, it took even longer to get through traffic and to our hotel!  We checked in as quickly as possible at the Hotel Royal Riviera  and ran up to our room, which had so much more room than the hostel did, and began unpacking to get back out into the celebrations!  After freshening up for the rest of our evening, we headed out.  Since all of us had the rest of the trip to tour the French Riviera, we spent our Bastille Day walking through the streets and finding parties at the beaches!  We all met so many new people, and I had no idea that so much of the population knew English that well.  We stopped for a fun dinner at La Jardin de Sebastien.  It was so good!  But it started getting pretty dark outside, so we made our way down to the beaches to watch all of the fireworks over the water!  They started from about an hour after it got dark, and the explosions of colors in the sky didn't stop until about midnight or 1 A.M.

                We were all exhausted after such of an interesting and wonderful day of just touring little shops and looking through a new city.  We have just gotten back from the beach and I am about to fall asleep while typing!  I'll post again tomorrow-or later today, I guess- to share how the first full day at the beach goes! Au revoir! 

LeVrai Paris= 60 euros 

Checking out of Plug inn Hostel = 186.09 euros 

Cab=  22.79 euros 

Checking into Royal Riviera =   2324.17 euros 

La Jardin de Sebastien = 75.95 euros 

 Bastille Day Souvenirs = 38.36 euros 

Bastille Day Fireworks on the beach = Priceless 

Total For Today= $ 3424.50 

Grand Total= $13,137.90 

July 13, 2013

                Hey everybody! It’s Lexi blogging today.  I have had such a great past few days here in France; it’s hard to believe we have been here for a whole week now! The time we have spent together is flying by.  Today, we woke up in our hostel and had the free complimentary breakfast they served.  After filling up on unique and delicious French breakfasts, we continued on with our day.  Since we were planning on leaving Paris to go to the beach tomorrow, we decided to make as much use of our Paris Passes today.  After getting ready for the day in our room, we headed out to visit the beautiful Montparnasse Tower.  Here, we got in for free to view Paris from the 56th floor!  The view was absolutely amazing.  The tower allows for tourists to take an elevator up to the 56th floor, if you aren't scared of heights, and look out over the city.  During our time looking at the wonderful view, we all learned so much about the Montparnasse Tower, such as how it was built in 1973, and attracts over 750,000 visitors from all around the world every year!  Standing that far off the ground and looking out over the city that we had previously only seen from the ground was amazing for most of us.  Breanna on the other hand was about to pass out, she is extremely afraid of heights.  Thank goodness we didn't say up there long enough for something tragic to happen.  It was my favorite part of the trip, because I always love to change the normal point of view to something different, and looking down from the air was definitely something special!  

                After departing from the Montparnasse Tower, the girls and I decided to head over and check out the Paris Opera House, also with the use of our Paris Passes.  I had heard about the Paris Opera House before, but pictures and stories could do the real thing no justice.  Upon our arrival, we were all struck with the historic beauty of the building.  We all were expecting the abundance of history that came with touring the Opera House, but I certainly couldn't guess how interested I would be!  We learned that it even has a ghost!  Though most tours only permit the public to view most of the above-ground levels, there are many many more floors that are below ground.  They include the gruesome props from plays performed there, dressing rooms, green rooms, chorus rooms and much more.  This sparked the idea for the famous production, The Phantom of the Opera!  It is one of the most popular attractions in Paris today.

             

                Our visit to the Montparnasse Tower and the Paris Opera House left us starving, so we made a quick lunch stop at La Sanccere, which was not far from our hostel. At La Sanccere we ate their specialty which was a triple burger with guacamole, cheddar and bacon and a glass of Chardonnay. It was just enough to power up and get re-energized! We headed down to the Seine River and did something so spectacular! There is this thing called a trampoline bridge and it was FABULOUS! It was a bridge built all the way across the Seine River, and it was made specifically for tourists to hop across the three round, huge trampolines. There are huge nets protecting you from any injuries that could happen easily. You start on a huge staircase and the adrenaline is rushing! At the top of the staircase, you are free to go! After that, you are released in to an amazing experience that will last a lifetime! Then at the very end, you go down a huge slide. It was by far the most fun thing I have done on this trip, and one of the most unique activities ever imaginable! It absolutely wore me out, but it was so worth it! After that, the girls and I boarded on another attraction, also supported by our Paris Passes, the Seine River Cruise!  This was a great way to end our last night spent in Paris because it gave us a final look at all of the main attractions we had already visited!  The Seine River Cruise not only gave us about an hour long spoken tour of places such as the Notre-Dame, Louvre Museum, and many more, but covered dinner and entertainment.  We stopped in a very nice restaurant in the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, then continued on to the Moulin Rouge.  Even though we had already seen the performance, the amazement had never worn off and we all still had such of a wonderful time. The view of Paris from the water was unforgettable, just like the view from the air was!  

               After the cruise was finished, we were dropped back off relatively close to our hostel.  The girls and I had just gotten back in our room a little while ago!  We have just started taking turns getting in the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed, so I decided to take the time to share about our busy day! My turn is coming up soon though, so I'd better be going!  Goodnight!

Lunch at La Sanccere = 60.76 euros 

Dinner in the Eiffel Tower= 64.56 euros 

Bouncing Across the Seine River = Priceless 

Total for today= $165

Grand total = $ 8713.40