First day in Paris -

Thinking back on my first day in Paris this trip, here are photos of us at the baggage pick-up. How does this group look so good after spending a night on the airplane??

As we boarded the bus and approached Paris, I remember a feeling of familiarity and being in a place where, although things change constantly, I am comfortable and happy with the challenges that functioning in a major city bring. We went on a nice bus tour of the city accompanied by a wonderful narrative by Peter Carman, the President of the Paris American Academy. Here are some of my pictures from that first day.

The group at Place du Trocadero - an open square between two fantastic Art Deco buildings, with a phenomenal view of the Eifel Tower!

One of our stops on our first day was to the Palais Royale, where we saw those incredible stainless steel ball fountains made by Pol Bury in 1985.

Peter so graciously explained the surroundings at nearly every step we took. He is a walking encyclopedia about Paris!

These are pictures from the window of the most famous vintage/antique clothing stores, Didier Ludot. We could only "drool" at the original Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, etc. - the prices were not in our range ;-)

It's hard to miss this metro entrance at Place Collette. Such a stark contrast to the more common (and beautiful) Art Nouveau Metro entrances we're more used to seeing.

This sculpture of glass and aluminum was created by Jean-Michel Othoniel, in 2000 for the 100-year anniversary of the metro.
It is entitled, "Kiosque des Noctambules" or "Kiosk of the night walkers"

An unexpected dimension (which is exemplary of what one finds in Paris - so many fantastic surprises!) was an exhibit in the Palais Royale gardens about the Berlin Wall, with pieces of the wall displayed in glass. The exhibit sparked an interesting discussion with a few students as we were walking, bringing another perspective when we considered the pain and hardship that the Berlin Wall represented.