Today was the final day of the tour spent in Paris. Mother Nature blessed us again with stunning weather including clear blue skies for our trip up the Eiffel Tower.
The day began with a backstage tour of the famous Palais Garnier, the exquisite Opera House that inspired the Phantom of the Opera. Charles Garnier built the opera house in the ‘Napoleon lll’ style - an eclectic mix. The ‘God of Music’ Apollo, played by the ‘The Sun King’ King Louis XIV, who also established the Académie Royale de Danse, was featured throughout the venue in paintings and statues, along with his instrument, a lyre.
Following the tour, the students headed to a Paris icon, the Eiffel Tower. They were ready to head up to the summit and take some beautiful photographs of the ‘city of love’. A highlight for many.
The final destination for sight seeing was the Arc de Triumph. The students had some time to explore part of the Champs-Élysées shopping street, that meets the Arc de Triumph. They were able to go inside and climb to the top - where they captured photographs of the Paris streets at night, including the lights of the Eiffel Tower. The Arc is a patriotic symbol of revolution and history of the French army established by Napoleon. Although Napoleon never saw it finished, his body was passed under the arch on the way to his final resting place at Le Invalides. We watched part of the ceremony of the eternal flame, which occurs every night at 6:30pm. The flame was established under the main arc after WW1, which represented the final time soldiers of France marched home from war through the arches.
To finish the evening and mark the end to the tour, a dinner was shared together at the Monte Carlo restaurant.
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