Saturday: June 7
Today has been a collage of departures, arrivals, departures again. We spent last night at the Mission Inn in Millbrae where we left the car and took a 5 a.m. shuttle to the San Francisco International Airport.
Our first leg of the journey took us from San Francisco to Toronto. Here we discovered the joys of customs inspections, searches at the security checkpoint, and a multitude of forms.
My favorite form was the one the travel attendants distributed once the plane took off: information so we can be immediately notified if it is discovered we have been exposed to any communicable diseases. In retrospect, the timing of this trip may not have been optimal. The U.S. dollar is only worth 75 cents per Euro and Toronto is listed as a hotbed of SARS.
Our flight from Toronto to Paris was entertaining--the section where we were seated had a large number of small children, many of whom started the flight screaming at the top of their lungs, then took turns leading a chorus of crying throughout the seven hours we were in the air.
Sleeping during the flight turned out to be a fantasy--despite having plenty of legroom, we were far too excited to snooze for any length of time.
Our traveling companions are a wonderful mix: eight students from Hartnell College, three instructors, lots of pleasant new friends. Already, we are forming our own little community, all eager to experience Europe and the upcoming adventures in the days ahead.
Richard, our de-facto tour coordinator, took advantage of the three hour layover in Toronto to take a short nap.
Before we knew it, we were in Paris and checking in to our funky little hotel. We're across the street from a small park and within walking distance of Notre Dame.
The hotel has a lovely little downstairs cafe and bar where they serve continental breakfast and drinks in the evening.
The outside of this and the buildings around it are decorated with elaborate facades, wrought iron railings, balconies with pots of red geraniums.
Shortly after checking into the hotel, we headed to the metro where we each purchased a one week pass. To celebrate our arrival, we headed toward Notre Dame, but got sidetracked at a lovely little outdoor cafe where we feasted on delicious open-face toasted cheese sandwiches made with an exquisitely tasty fromage and very thin slices of ham.