Paris – Day 2

Today we began by heading to Notre Dame Cathedral by way of the subway system.  The cathedral sits on an island in the middle of the Seine River.  After walking through the cathedral, the group split up with some climbing the cathedral towers, some visiting Sainte Chapelle (a small but beautiful chapel), and some just walking around the island.  We then walked to the area of the Louvre museum and found a food court in a shopping area next to the museum.  Lunch was good, but not cheap!

Once we all got inside the museum, the students were off on their own (in small groups), seeing what interested them the most.  The museum is huge and you could never see it all in an afternoon.  After that, the students were on their own to explore more of Paris.

Several of us ended up touring the Palais Garnier (Paris opera house).  The building is beautiful, both inside and outside.  Some of us (4) decided to try and get tickets to the performance of Jephtha tonight.  Jephtha is an oratorio written by Handel and in a similar musical style  as the Messiah.  This one, was acted out more like an opera than an oratorio.  It was a great show and it was amazing to watch it for 10 Euros in one of the most beautiful performance halls in the world!