Thursday

Extra late breakfast today, we needed some extra sleep. Then we went to Versailles by train: the splendor of the castle! Louis XIV's taste was quite sumptuous, "overwhelming" as one of the students said. We were lead by mobile guides. By the way: the weather was splendid again, blue sky, bright sun, temperatures approaching the 30s. It seems to be the hottest September in a century and it makes up for a totally spoilt summer in this part of Europe. After Versailles we went to the Louvre where Frenglish speaking guides told us more about some of the top paintings and sculptures, just to name a few: the Mona Lisa of course -actually bigger than I had in mind- and the Venus of Milo; loads of interested questions by our students. Dinner in a food court. And last but not least: Aquaboulevard with lots of water fun like artificial waves and very long (some quite scary !) slides. One of the students cried out "This is love at first sight, sir". Now it is after eleven and everybody is ready to go to sleep, preparing for another fantastic but tiring and -o misfortune- our last day in Paris - at Disneyland.