Paris! - by Breanna

After an early start this morning, we left the Mercure at 8 sharp, after we recovered a missing Laura and Claire – who we thought were still in bed. We then numbered off in French, and were on our way to Paris. Soon David, Bill and Bruce took up the microphone and thanked everyone for the trip. Bianca also spoke on behalf of us Soapies and thanked everyone for their efforts on the trip, expressed our privilege of being a part of this tour, and spoke about how thankful we are to have learnt so much throughout the journey. Hearing the speeches reminded us all that today was essentially our last day on the tour, and the trip had come to an end all too soon.

As we arrived in Paris, through the mist we could see the faint outline of the Eiffel tower. We drove around the Arc de Triomphe a few times so we could get some good photos of the magnificent site, and then made our way to the Eiffel Tower. Jackie got our tickets, while we had some free time to grab a few snaps of the beautiful structure. We then lined up for the lift. We had an hour to spend up the tower, however most of this was spent waiting for lifts. When we finally got to the top it was stunning. You could see the whole city, hence why this was an amazing photo opportunity. We spent a few minutes at the top before we were ushered down so as to make it to lunch on time.

After gathering at our meeting point, we discovered Bill was not with us, so a search party was sent for a recovery mission. We located him shortly after, and made our way back to the bus. Soon we were sat down at a cute Parisian café for lunch, followed by a gorgeous cruise. While on the boat, we had the opportunity to sit on top of the deck as we made a circuit past Notre Dame and other landmarks.

Seeking some retail therapy, we then took the bus to the shopping centre underneath the Louvre, where many of us bought berets and souvenirs. Overall, everyone was disappointed with the quality of shops at this location. Jumping on the bus again, we arrived at our hotel where Amanda presented us with the gifts that were to be given to Tric and Bruce, and we signed a card for each of them. It was important to thank their efforts as the trip would not have taken place without either of them, and we feel so privileged to have had them present on the trip. Tric continuously keeps us in line and on time, while Bruce’s knowledge and enthusiasm regarding the subject is greatly appreciated and has made the trip incredibly enjoyable. So a massive shout out to Tric and Bruce, who with great efforts have made this trip fantastic.

While we were down in the lobby, we also found that we had the opportunity to shop in the centre just around the corner. Judging from the view we received as we drove past, the shops were of great quality, so all of us were pretty excited when we found we would be going there. We had a quick shop there, before going to Maccas for dinner, which was also an exciting prospect for us all. After dinner we squeezed in another quick shop, (where it’s safe to say most of us girls went crazy!) before returning to the hotel to prepare for our early start in the morning.

Goodnight from Paris, Brea.