June 28 - Champ- Elysees, Louvre

Today was our first opportunity to really interact with the locals. Two French students took us for a stroll along the Champs-Elysees. Their names were Jacque and Jean. It was great to see some of the students exchanging Snapchat information with them when they left us.

We started at the Arc de Triomphe and worked our way down. Of course,  we couldn't make the trek without a stop at McDonalds! I think our was partly a familiar place, and partly in hopes of having ice in their drinks. We're passed Louis Vitton and Tiffany, but refrained from breaking our souvenir budget.

We're becoming pros at riding public transportation! After our excursion we took the Metro to a stop near Notre Dame. Aside from the missing steeple, the front looks pretty good.  I wasn't able to go to the rear, but the side was bad enough for me. The scaffolding,  the charred windows were a bitter reminder of the incredible damage done by the fire. I really like this picture of the rose, reminding us that Notre Dame will, too, bloom again.

After lunch, we explored the Louvre, or at least a small fraction of it. Everyone wanted to see the Mona Lisa. Frankly,  I don't see the excitement,  but I  guess I was excited also my first time. It's just amusing to see hundreds of people crowd in a room to see a fairly small portrait. There are wall-sized paintings all around it that don't cause half the stir. But the Louvre always provides great opportunities for people watching. It also has some great artifacts from ancient Egypt. Not many opportunities for kid pics as they scattered in the directions of the wind.

They had some free time after dinner, so some made use of the pool, while others just chilled and finished up packing for our departure tomorrow. On to Versailles, and then Italy, here we come!         

Tomorrow night we’ll be on the train so there will not be a blog published until we get to Venice.

June 26 - Liberty and Ellis Islands

Today was not as humid yesterday. Sky is blue with a few clouds and it is warm but the humidity has gone down some.

We took the Subway to Battery Park and quickly got on the ferry for Liberty Island. We were able to spend about an hour on the island. There is a new museum there which had some great interactive features. I was especially impressed with the one that allowed you to have your picture taken and then it would become part and of a digital presentation with a Statue of Liberty in the center.

Then we headed to Ellis Island. I was really looking forward to this as I have not been there before. This is a place that you could spend days exploring. I managed to find my family's name on the wall and the one of Annie Moore the 1st person to set foot on Ellis Island when it opened. I also was able to find her statue on the 2nd floor. The complex at Ellis island is immense. It gave me a feeling of family be able to stand in the same place where my ancestors came through many years ago.

Then we had lunch at a fantastic little Italian restaurant by Battery Park. The food was plentiful and good. We had all kinds of bruschetta for appetizers. They also had an antipasto plate and rigatoni pasta with fresh mozzarella and egglant. Then they brought out a variety of pizzas. To top it off, they had homemade cookies that were fantastic!

Afterwards we have the opportunity to chill in Battery Park or make some last minute purchases before heading back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head to the airport. We have loved New York but are looking foward to the upcoming adventures.

June 27 - Montmarte, Sacre Couer, Eiffel Tower

We arrived in Paris around 11:00, which was 6:00 am our time. I thought this would work to our favor since we would see the Tower at night. So 11:00 PM would be 5:00 PM

We met our guide Lukas, and headed to Montmarte. When we arrived, we immediately immersed in the culture by trying some crepes. Despite the fact that I've been to Paris several times,  I've never had a crepe. I decided it was time! There was quite a variety of fillings.  I settled on Nutella and banana. It appears that Nutella is the most popular flavor.

We had a chance to explore Montmarte before hiking up the steps to Sacre Couer.  Sacre Couer has one of the finest views of Paris.

Our students became artists with a lesson from a local artist. They did a fine job of drawing a side view of a lady.

After the lesson, they also had the opportunity to try another French institution: escargot. The reaction was mixed; some liked it, some didn't,  some didn't want to try. Dinner was salmon and potatoes, which doesn't sound very French-like,  but was very good!.

Then, the highlight of the evening was the visit  to the Eiffel Tower. We were lucky to see it in the daylight and at night. We were fotunate to have a nice breeze which made the evening just perfect!  We went to the Trocadero,  which has a spectacular view of the Tower. Then we headed to get our tickets. The lines for ascent were not as long as last year. We were able to do all we wanted,  plus see the light show from the ground and still be on the bus by 11:30.

Tomorrow will be the only full day in Paris and it will be full day.

June 25 - UN, Observatory, Broadway

Take two of June 25.

I originally completed this entry this morning at 12:30 and was pretty pleased with the results. I had trouble uploading the pictures to go with it, so I decided to save it and post in the morning. Except it didn’t save.... So, here’s one more try.

The morning started off with a bang. We woke up to a huge thunderstorm. We lucked out though, as it finished before we left the hotel. All the rain left a residual of humidity, though, and it was pretty sticky all day. Guess we were bound to get wet one way or another!

We were all given a subway pass to use for entire stay here. We’ve become pretty seasoned travelers on the subway; almost like true New Yorkers! Although, I have to give credit to our guide, Rihanna. She give great directions as to which train to take and what stop we’ll be exiting.  We spread out so we’re all entering the car at once and we do pretty well at getting 45 people on and off the subway successfully. We also got to see Grand Central Station: really beautiful!!

Our first stop was the UN. It’s a pretty impressive building. I like that it was how we officially started the program. We learned that the three pillars of the UN are: peace, human rights and development. They blend so well with People to People’s goal of peace through understanding. We learned a little about the background of the UN as well as current programs. At the end of the tour, we were able to go into the General Assembly chambers since there was no meeting at that time.

From there , we went to St. Paul Church  which was used as an aid station during 9/11. The windows in the church were not damaged, even with its close proximity to the towers. There is a beautiful memorial chapel in the the back of the church honoring the responders.


We then went to the 9/11 Memorial Pool, a massive, beautiful structure honoring all those who died on 9/11. It provides stark reality to see see all of the names inscribed. Next to the memorial pool is the One World Observatory. This building provides a great history of the area, while affording a fantastic view of the entire city from the top floor. The ride up in the elevator was quick, and as we ascended, video on the walls detailed how the city had changed through the years. And the view was spectacular! We were told that the visibility earlier had not been good due to the rain. But by the time we got there, it had cleared considerably.

We also got to spend a little time in Times Square before dinner at the largest Applebee’s in the world. It is five stories high. Can’t imagine the rent on that building!

We had a little excitement when we got to the theater: there were a bunch of police cars parked in front and the street was blocked off. Seems that a suspicious package was found in the front. It wasn’t too long until the area was deemed safe and we were able to enter to see “King Kong.” I’m not much of a movie or musical buff, but I was excited to experience a play on Broadway. It was well-staged. The story is a little strange, but I think I would have thought the same thing about the movie. It was interesting how Kong was animated. I was a little put off by being able to see the people on stage, moving his hands and legs. But it worked. And I loved how they used video to enhance the action on the set. Pretty impressive!

We’ll be flying to Paris tonight. I’m going to post this without pictures now, and try to insert them while we’re waiting at the airport this evening.

June 24 - Arrival

There is not really much to report today. The majority of the day was spent in flying and getting all of the delegation together. I spent a considerable amount of time in baggage claim areas at JFK.  Thankfully the students were able to shuttle back to the hotel with one of the leaders while I gathered in the rest of the travelers.

Tomorrow promises to be a busy and eventful day. First on the agenda will be the UN and then some touring in downtown Manhattan. We top off the evening with our Broadway show!

Sorry I don't have any pictures to share with you but I guarantee you one baggage claim area looks pretty much like the next. I'll make up for it tomorrow with some shots of the UN and Manhattan and hopefully Broadway at night.

June 9 - Bon Voyage Party

We celebrated our Bon Voyage with a great party on Sunday. Thanks so much to the Dreskas and Turners for providing super ideas for decorations and food. We were missing a few people, but had a great time all the same. This is the place to come while we're gone for narratives about the day. Feel free to share the address with friends, family and all who want to follow us.

The theme for the food was goodies from all three countries we'll visit.

I really liked the individual table decorations.

Everyone had plenty to sample and were able to take treats home, too!! You definitely "whet our appetites" for things to come!