Wednesday June 21 Paris

 Our guide, Jerome, began the day by giving us metro passes and showing us how to use the metro. I didn’t mind the refresher course because it has been awhile for me. He took us to île de la cité for a bit of a walk around, ending at the church of St Séverin. Then  next we went to St Chapelle where a choir was singing. Today in Paris, is  a music festival all over the city in the day and evening. So around town, we saw various musical groups performing on the street. 

Our group had lunch on our own independently and then we met at the Musée d’Orsay where we visited  the museum independently at our own pace. I very much appreciated that. We headed to directly to the fifth floor for the impressionists, my favorite.   The rest of the day we were on our own.  

There are several thingsthat I have noticed which are different from the road scholar trips I have taken. First, the average group age is much younger here. There are 4-5 young people between 18 and 25.  There are more married couples. And I am only aware of one woman traveling alone. Another difference is that they build into each day a great deal of independent time. We are not with our guide all the time unlike the Road Scholar. I can say there are pros and cons to that.

My app says I walked over 6 miles today! Wow! I did much better when I was walking, but standing to listen to the guide, or in the museum was tough.  I forgot to take my back brace with me today, but I will definitely take it tomorrow.

After the museum, Michelle and I walked back to the hotel in Montparnasse.  We noticed musical groups in several locations and ultimately stopped at a Cajun restaurant on.Boulevard Saint-Michel.  A Cajun band was playing.  There was a festive air all over town with the music festival going on.

We returned to the hotel with some snacks we purchased at a nearby market, and to our surprise there ended up being more than a dozen from our group, sitting in the dining area, downstairs, talking, having wine, eating.  The group is very friendly and communicative and we have enjoyed meeting new people.

💤time….

Pix— the  cajun band, St Chapelle, us by the Seine & Notre Dame