Sixth Day - Visit to Mont Saint-Michel Abbey and Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen By Jake

On July 17 we woke up at 7:00 to get to the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen at a decent time. It was going to be a long day, the Cathedral was an hour and a half in one direction, while the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey was and hour and a half in the other direction. Nolan volunteered to drive and the rest of us piled in. On the drive there we listened to some of Kai's Swedish EDM, no one objected because we were all too tired to argue with him this early. We arrived at around 9:30 AM to the Cathedral.

The Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen was a truly spectacular place. History: In fact, at one time, it was the tallest building in the world. The Cathedral had been struck by lightening twice so parts of the turrets weren't as old as the building. It had also been damaged by Allied bombing raids during World War Two. It was really interesting to see the tombs underneath too. It would have been very easy to get lost down there. At noon, we picked up some groceries in town for $100 and started on our way to the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey which was two hours away. We ate a lunch of sandwiches in the car during the drive and listened to a soccer game on the radio. We arrived at 2:30 PM. We then parked in the car lot and began the 1.5 mile walk to the island. Just seeing the Abbey in pictures is amazing, but seeing it in person is truly on another level. As we walked across the bridge we marveled at the island and what was on it. There was so much to see that it's impossible to see everything in one day. History: The Abbey was first dreamt up in 966 AD by Aubert, who was a bishop in the nearby town of Avranches. He claimed that an angel told him to have a church built out at sea. Over time, more buildings were added to the island. The Mont Saint-Michel Abbey was an amazing experience and one that none of us will ever forget. We left at 7:30 PM to return to the hotel where we were staying. We were all so tired on the ride back that the car was silent for almost the entire hour long drive back to Bayeux. We all took showers, ate a couple frozen pizzas we picked up from the grocery store, and went to bed at around 11:00 PM.

Travel and Tourism Day 5-Normandy, France

Historical:

On 7/16/17 we woke up at our hotel in Paris at 5:30 am and got ready quickly in order to make our train in time. After waiting for Kai to get ready for thirty minutes we finally left the hotel. We were halfway to the train station when Kai realized he forgot his wallet at the hotel. After hurrying back to the hotel in order to get Kai's wallet we barely caught our train to Bayeux, Normandy. We had a long two and a half hour train ride to go so we played a lot of Poker and I was the undisputed champion, winning three of the four games that we played. I won the last game with a royal flush right before we reached Bayeux.      

cards we used to play poker on the train ride

When we reached our train station we were within walking distance of where we were going to rent a car. Walking through the surrounding town was a great experience because Bayeux had a historic feel to it because it's in Normandy. After walking around town and looking in at all of the cool stores they had lining the streets we got to the car rental office and picked our Prius up from the and drove to the Hotel Reine Mathilda which was a four and a half star hotel. When we got there we unpacked our stuff and were back out on the streets in thirty minutes. NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: We immediately left for a four hour tour of the D-day beaches along the coast of  Normandy. the car ride there was pleasant as we listened to an audio book of the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling. Once we got there we rented our bikes for 12$ a person adn began our guided tour. Our guide took us along all of the major beaches that were attacked during Operation Overlord and explained the significance about D-day and how it really turned the tide of the war. after we got back and returned our bikes we got in the car and listened to more of The Cursed Child audio book as we drove to the North American D-day Memorial and Cemetery. HISTORY:We walked around the cemetery and gave our respect to the American heroes that died in the attack. We went back to our car and had a snack of bread and cheese. Then we headed home and finished The Cursed Child audio book, then when we got back to our hotel we ate the rest of the groceries we bought that day. After we had all eaten we went to bed because we had to wake up early the next morning.

Aerial view of Normandy, France

Fourth Day - Musee Rodin and Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

A picture of the food we ordered from Tribeca

On June 15th, we woke up in our hotel at around 9am and once everyone was up, we went down to  the main lobby to eat breakfast. The breakfast consisted of regular hotel breakfast (Eggs, bacon, grits, sausage, etc.). By the time we finished eating and were ready to start our day it was about 10:30. We were planning on leaving at around 10, but because Colin decided to take a long time doing his hair, we got delayed by half an hour. We left the hotel and walked to the Champs-Elysees - Clemenceau metro station. From there, we got onto line 13, which took us to the Varenne metro station. HISTORY: We got off the metro and walked to the Musee Rodin, where we paid $11.23 ($56.14). The museum itself was very intricate and well designed. Auguste Rodin was one of the world's greatest sculptor and this museum was created when he gave the government his collection of sculptures and drawings. Thus saying, this is where the museum got the name, Musee Rodin, which in English means Rodin Museum. After we were there for a couple hours admiring every story each sculpture had to deliver, we went to lunch at Tribeca. At the restaurant, we got egg and ham sandwich with the bread as a baguette, which is France's signature breads. Once we finished lunch and paid, we headed to the Varenne metro station so we could go to the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. We took line 13 to Place de Clichy and got off to go onto line 2. This line took us to Jaures metro station where we exited the metro and took one last metro trip for the day on line 7B. We arrived at Buttes Chaumont metro station and we hopped off, where we walked about 5 minutes to the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. Natural Environment: Once we arrived at the park, it was about 3:30pm. At the park, there was a significant temple at the top of a hill. The name of the temple was Temple de la Sibylle  and it was inspired by the Temple of Vista in Italy. When we were finished with the park, we headed to the metro and took it all the way back to the West end Hotel. When we arrived we realized we needed to eat dinner because it was about 7pm. We headed to the supermarket, which was called Carrefour Market de Paris. At the supermarket, we got 2 bags of chips, which were $3 each, along with 3 bags of chicken tenders ($3), two 2-packs of 1 liter sodas ($6), two small tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream ($12) and with the rest, we bought snacks for the trip the next day ($7). We got back to the hotel at about 7:45pm and ate our dinner. Almost everything we bought was gone except a bottle of soda and the snacks we had purchased. We all crashed at about 9 because the next day we were leaving so we had to get up early.

A picture of some of the sculptures at Musee Rodin

Third Day- Visit to the Eiffel Tower and Bastille Day Celebration in Paris By Nolan

Holiday/Celebration

Colin, Nick, Kai, Jake, and I woke up at 8:00 am in the morning at the West End Hotel to a warm Summer day. We had a nice pleasant breakfast of buttered croissants at the hotel and then had a nice morning walk around the surrounding streets of Paris. It was great morning in Paris and as we walked around we could smell the sweet aroma of the nearby bakeries, we also saw quite a few street performances that were very good and great fun to watch.

          Street preformers in Paris, France

Then when we were content with walking around the city we decide to go back to the hotel and rest for awhile. After about thirty minutes of relaxing at the hotel we left for the Eiffel Tower at 10:00 am on the metro system. We arrived at our destination at around 10:20 am and began a tour of the Eiffel Tower at 10:30 am. Indigenous Food: We were finished with the tour at 1:10 pm and decided to stop and get lunch at the 58 Tour Eiffel Restaurant which consisted of their Example Dish with trout steak with grilled, cooked seasonal vegetables in a shellfish broth confit Paleron way beef stew, mashed potatoes with herbs and mushrooms cost a total of $45.81. When we left the restaurant it was 2:40 pm so we decided to sit in the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower for an hour. From there we walked to the Arc de Triomphe for the military parade that is held there every year for Bastille Day.

Military Parade at the Arc De Triomphe

Bastille Day is the French equivalent for American Independence Day, it marks the storming of the Bastille Prison which is the first major event in the French Revolution. Then at 5:00 pm we left to go back to the Eiffel Tower for their Bastille Day fireworks and ate bread meat and cheese that we had bought for $20.18 at a grocery store. We sat on the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower to watch the fire works. It was a spectacular display color and lights. When the fireworks ended at 10:30 pm we used the metro and got back to the hotel at 10:40 pm.                                                            

Finale of the Eiffel Tower Fireworks 

                              Show

Total Cost: 59.70 euro's

-Nolan Davis

Second Day - Our fist day in Paris, France By Nick B.

We arrived in Charles de Gaulle Airport at 7:45. We had eaten on the plane which is complementary. We take a train from Charles de Gaulle to Paris which is 35 minutes. This costs 1.80 Euro per person to get on the train. After a 20 minutes on the Metro we finally arrive at the hotel. The hotel is called The West End Hotel. By the time we checked in and put our bags in the hotel it was 10:00 am. We sat on the comfortable beds before leaving. We left the hotel and walked to the nearest metro stop. To get on the metro it is 1.80 per person. We got lost for a little bit on the complicated metro.  History: We are heading to the Arc de Triomphe. We get there and walk around taking pictures. The Arc de Triomphe is a large arch built as a monument for the men who served France. There is a round about around the arch and the arch looks down many streets. We take an elevator up the arch to the observatory. This costs 9.50 Euro per person. At the top we get a great view of the surrounding streets. After we visited the Arc de Triomphe, we went to find food. We take another metro to the restaurant. That is 1.80 per person too.

Arc de Triomphe

At top of the Arc de Triomphe

  Indigenous food: We ate at Chant Airelle Paris which is about 30 Euro per person. The food you can get there is traditional French food. They serve dishes like duck breast, stuffed cabbage, and beef back steak. After a delicious meal it is now about 2:00 pm. History: We start heading to the Pantheon which is about a 5 minute walk from the restaurant. The Pantheon is a big dome built in honor of St. Genevieve. It was ordered to be built by King Louis XV. As we walk inside the Pantheon we see a large dome. It is covered in intricate designs and statues. The cost of the Pantheon was covered by the Paris Pass. In the middle of the building, hanging from the dome is a ball connected by a wire. It is called the Foucault Pendulum and it can tell time because of the rotation of the earth. Under the Pantheon is the graves of many great French people. These people include Voltaire, Marie Curie, and Victor Hugo. After we look around inside we take a tour to the top of the dome. We climbed the old stone steps to the top of the dome for a beautiful view of Paris. You can see many Parisian land marks like The Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. After we left the Pantheon at 5:00, we ate dinner at Ginger.

Pantheon                                                                 Inside the Pantheon

Indigenous food: Ginger has French Japanese food. It only costs about 35 Euro per person. At the restaurant you can order a some Japanese dishes like tuna rolls and crispy calamari and some French dishes like lemongrass grilled chicken and fried beef with onions. We take a metro back to the hotel that is 1.80. We finally got back to our hotel at around 7:00 pm and went to bed early. We had a big day of traveling ahead of us!! (Money spent 101.5 Euro/ Money left  Euro)

First Day - Preparing to leave for Paris, France By Kai C.

            Colin, Nolan, Nick, Jake and I all met at the airport at approximately 4pm for a 5:45pm flight to Paris, France on a dreary Wednesday evening. The flight will last us about 8 hours and we should arrive in Charles De Gaulle around 7:45am.

Delta check-in counter in RDU

               Foot traffic in RDU was very heavy, much like California rush hour. We checked in with the attendants at the Delta counter and gave the bags we were checking to them. Once we finished checking those bags, we made our way to security where it was also very crowded. We finally got through security ( after Nolan left his watch in his pocket) and headed towards the gate.On our way, we stopped at the bathroom to make sure that we wouldn't have to go on the plane. Once we arrived at the gate, it was about 5:15 and we swiftly boarded the plane around 5:25. The plane was very jam packed but surprisingly, everything was running quickly and very smooth. We took off at the scheduled time of 5:45pm and were served dinner on the plane. Dinner consisted of various foods of our choice such as fish and steak. We all fell asleep around 10 o'clock preparing for the next day and were out for the plane ride. (Money Spent - 6807.04 euros | Money Left - 9117.15 euros)

A picture of food from the menu

Travel itinerary: https://goo.gl/rbk4cJ

cost analysis: https://goo.gl/QsNhWc