Our Last Day in Paris

           Today we woke up to our last day in Paris. We were all sad that it was our last day but we all just wanted to go home.  We got on the bus and we drove to the Palace of Versailles. As soon as we got off the bus, we were once again bombarded by the African men selling their cheap Eiffel Tower figurines. How many times do I have to say no to them?

            For the tour of Versailles, we got an earphone to listen to our guide since it was going to be so crowded. Because of the crowds, our group had to split into two separate groups. While my group waited, we walked around the gardens. My friends and I walked past fountains, walls of green bushes, large ponds, and many statues. Even though the fountains were turned off, they were still beautiful.

            When I entered the palace, I could not believe my eyes. It was so beautiful! Everything looked so grand with the gold trim, mural covered walls, and gigantic chandeliers. It was tough to keep up with our guide through the thick crowds, but we managed it. The tour wasn't very long, but it was one of my favorites from the whole trip.

            After Versailles, us students were not quite sure where we were going next. It turn out that we were heading towards the red light district. As we drove passed the seedy shops, I seriously wondered what we were going to do here. We had free time to buy lunch, and afterwards my friends and I decided to sit on a bench. Then, a gypsy man approached us and said in a very creepy voice, "Hello my friends!" When we didn't answer him, he asked "Do you speak French?" When he still got no reply, he proceeded to ask us if he could take our picture. We then quickly got up and hurried over to our teachers where he couldn't bother us anymore. Talk about scary!

            After that, our guide wanted to take us to where a big church was and many artists were set up. But to get there, we had to walk up a massive hill! We were all so tired when we reached the top. Then we had more free time to walk around and buy souvenirs. Then, we went inside a big church where we were once again warned about the pickpockets. I can't believe someone would try to do that in a church!

            Afterwards, our guide took us to a gelato shop where we would get two free scoops of gelato for free because EF Tours screwed up where we were going to see our play. It was so good! I chose mango flavor but there were many others to choose from.

            When we got on the Metro to go back to the hotel, there was an angry French man on rambling about something that none of us could understand. All of a sudden the man next to me jumped up with a frantic look on his face. I thought the angry man said something extremely violent and that's why the other man jumped up. But it turns out that they were actors called the "Metro Showmen" and were putting on a show for us! It was a very exciting way to end our trip.