MARCH 10

Today we woke up pretty early once again to explore the art of Paris, getting up around 6:00 in order to leave the hotel and head to the metro station, which took us to the newly remodeled Notre Dame Cathedral. We arrived early and had the cathedral almost all to ourselves, giving us time to walk around and admire the gorgeous traditional oil paintings, reliefs, and conventional sculptures and friezes. We saw narrative artistry on nearly every wall of the cathedral, and when we exited, we received a brief history and some fun facts from our wonderful tour guide.

After Notre Dame, we hopped back on the metro and headed to a shopping area near another church, where we bought baked goods, souvenirs, clothes, and either ice cream or crêpes. After about an hour of admiring the view and taking photos, we were off to the Eiffel Tower.

We went up to the second floor of the tower and got another grand view of the City of Love while taking plenty of photos. After the tower, a few people wanted to see the artistry of Napoleon Bonaparte’s resting place before we returned to the hotel to prepare for dinner on the Seine River, where we got a great look at the sparkling Eiffel Tower and the beautiful architecture of the city once again.

— Madison Doss '27

Hello Parents,

Today we did a lot of things. We started off the morning bright and early with a 6:30 AM breakfast, which was promptly followed by a French metro journey. For the record, BART has lots of work to do to catch up to the French stations. We took the train to get to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was absolutely stunning. After going in and exploring the cathedral, we got a lesson from our tour guide about all of the ins and outs of the cathedral, along with some super interesting information.

After our tour, we were given some free time to explore the area around the cathedral. Some of our group went to buy hot chocolate and then headed to the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. Once we explored the bookstore, we headed back to the metro to go to our next stop, Montmartre. It is home to a church famous for being at the highest point in Paris, which offered a beautiful view of the whole city. We ate lunch there and then headed back to the metro to go to the Eiffel Tower.

After a long ride, we finally reached the Eiffel Tower and took an elevator to the second floor. From there, we had a beautiful view of the whole city, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of the trip so far. Once we got back down, we headed back to the hotel. After catching up on some well-needed rest, we got ready and headed to a dinner cruise.

After settling down, we were served a delicious course of crab soup, followed by another amazing course of toast with zucchini, goat cheese, lettuce, and walnuts. Then we finally started moving along the river. As we passed the Eiffel Tower for the first time, we were given our main course, which included three options: scrumptious fish, exquisite and tender pork ribs, or mouthwatering risotto. Each choice combined a delectable variety of ingredients to create three different and equally delicious meals.

Once each of us finished our meals, we headed to the deck of the boat, where we got to see the Eiffel Tower light up in full beauty right in front of us. After an incredible experience, we finally headed back to the bus, and each of us swiftly went to bed after a long, exhausting, but thrilling and stunning day.

— Rowan Zuber '27

Stephen Collins '26