Paris life: Adding to our "step" count in Paris

Bonjour! Once again, we've had some beautiful, fantastic days in Paris, and we can't believe demain is our final Friday in France. There are still so many more French words to be learned, museums and gardens to be seen, and crepes to be eaten. Despite a few minor hiccups, such as Miles getting un petit cold,  Mme Lyons giving up on her lost luggage completely, and Betsy sleeping with an adorable cat that she's mildly allergic to, we've been impressed that students have kept up with the quick pace of immersion life in Paris. Gilly even learned the entire rules to a new French card game with her host family en français(!!); suffice to say, she didn't win the first few rounds... During our days together, we've seen many more sites, and we we were especially in awe of the Musee D'Orsay and the Louvre. We couldn't even get Matthew to leave the Rodin museum today, and we just adore how much many of our students love the art here. To capture these moments, yesterday Mme Diederich gave the students fountain pens and French notebooks, and we thank her mightily for providing a space to write down our thoughts-- especially since the trip is going by too fast. Luckily we still have the weekend ahead of us in Paris, which gives Mme Leroy the chance to pet at least 43 more Parisienne family dogs. (Yes, every dog here wears an adorable beret. Jk.) Sending much love to our families at home! -Mmes. Leroy,  Lyons et Diederich

Devant l'école

Miam miam

In front of France's Immigration Museum

Art supporting immigrant

Je pense donc je suis!

Bienvenue à Paris!

In front of Victor Duruy

We've had a busy past few days since we arrived in Paris, and we're excited to share a few of our special moments with friends and family back home. Our students are missing their correspondantes from Marquise, yet they are all settling in well to city life in Paris. Two Polytechnic graduates who currently live here (Grant '12 and Teddy '16) have been showing us around the city this week, and their expertise with the French language (as well as their wonderful enthusiasm!) has been a true gift to the group. So far the weather has been perfect, and we've gotten to see many remarkable sites, including a few notables such as: Notre Dame, The Latin Quarter, the Jardins de Luxembourg, Shakespeare and Company, etc. Our trips on the Metro and the Paris buses have been especially exciting, and our students are adapting well maneuvering their way around the city. We can't wait to share the students' thoughts with you once they've caught up on some much needed sleep and digested their croissants and ice cream. (Not surprisingly, we've walked over 40, 000 steps in the last two days!)

Bonsoir!-- Mmes. Leroy, Diederich et Lyons

Chaperones with our Poly graduate helpers: Teddy and Grant. We feel so lucky to have former French students helping our current French students. Amazing!

In front of the Sénat or the Jardins de Luxembourg

L'Ecole Polytechnique!! 

Feeling tragic at the Théatre de l'Odéon

Nick also showed up to the potluck after his long day of work at his internship in Paris.

In front of the Sorbonne

Mint tea at the Mosque for all!

@the Mosquée

The prettiest stained glass

They all fit in the fireplace!

Former French exchange participant shares his wisdom

Monument to the Jewish martyrs of WWII

Teddy ('16) teaching Gilly how to play piano in the world famous Shakespeare and Company building. 

A perfect day to visit Notre Dame: Wow.

 Who's who in black and white shoes. (Look at the floor tiling.)

Life on the Metro: it looks easy here-- but look wait until 27 four-year-old French students hop on the train... 

Yeah: life is pretty good. C'est vrai.

Sunset over the streets of Paris.