Paris — Bastille Day

Paris — Bastille Day
Last night we ascended the Tour Eiffel around twilight, so 9.30 or thereabouts, and climbed the stairs to the second level. By the time we got there it was dark, and the fireworks started — all around the perimeter of Paris, like compass-points, were a dozen or so fireworks displays all going at once. They went on and on for what felt like an hour, and finally blew themselves out in a blaze of light and thunder. It was magical.
This morning we watched the Bastille Day Parade on the Champs-Élysées, which was a fairly impressive display of fighter planes and tanks, but the freshness of the wind made everyone very cold.
We are just setting out now for Chartres Cathedral, and I will be asleep, I think, in about 4 minutes!
After seeing the Cathedral, we'll return to Paris in time for the Opera Concert, which culminates in a fantastic fireworks display from the Eiffel Tower. Can't help but love Paris; almost all the boys are thinking of moving here....

Hope you are all well,
Warren B


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Ali Charlesworth - Southern France

Ali Charlesworth - Southern France

Our last day in southern France left us all on a high. After waking up to the gloomiest day of the trip so far, and greeted with a chilly 24 degrees, we headed for our routinely supermarket breakfast when it started raining. Most of us were quite surprised to see this, considering most days were in the thirties and today called for a coat to keep us warm. We hopped in our designated vans of Big Cheese, Golden Eagle and Hairy Mouse, using our walkie talkies to give last minute directions to one another.

After touring the remains of the Orange Theatre, the weather was still looking gloomy. Nevertheless, we decided to make our second trip to our Pont du Gard. Before revisiting our favourite swimming spot, we made one last stop and had lunch around the Triumphal Arch, a baby version of the Arch de Triumph. From there we filled up on food and made our way to the Pont du Gard.

With clouds still over headed, we pulled into the seemingly empty car park, and were even more delighted when we saw barely anyone swimming, meaning we had the entirety of the river and jumping rocks to ourselves. We spent the following four hours diving into the refreshing water and attempted to catch frisbees mid flight.

We cruised back to Hotel "Premiere Class" where we endured our final night before Paris, with excitement running through us.

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