Everyone came home with macaroons today. The only problem was that the instructor asked us to put them in the fridge overnight before eating them. I can tell you that some students couldn't wait!
We had lunch in a crepe restaurant today and my best friend Jean-Paul joined us for an hour between two meetings.
We then headed for the Montmartre heights and used the Funiculaire.

Not many tourists up there today with the cold so all artists were eager to make our portraits. We almost all did it and I am planning on putting mine up in my classroom!

All your children seem happy and not home sick. I asked and they said "Nooooo", so I guess that's good for Hillary and I!

Here is a picture of what I see from my parents' home every night. I never get tired of it!

Tonight I am helping my mother prepare her lunch party tomorrow. I set up the table and I watched how she prepares "foie gras"and"floating islands"! Hopefully I can do it again with my students when I come back.

Les Macarons & Montmartre

 Today we spent the whole morning making French macarons.

Our cook at the Creperie in Montmartre.

Florence and her friend, Jean Marc.

 Almost every student had his or her portrait sketched by an artist in Montmartre.

Katherine looks on skeptically as an artist pushes his silohuettes.

Notre Dame/La Sorbonne

 First thing this morning we hiked over 400 steps up a narrow medieval passageway to get a view of the gargoyles and the city. It was cold and windy on top but amazing.

Views from Notre Dame

 Afterwards we warmed up with cheese and meat fondue in the Latin Quarter.

Florence & Issam

 We had a guided tour of Florence's college-the prestigious Sorbonne.

Avik gives his speech.

Sorbonne Courtyard

Our last stop for the day was the Luxembourg Gardens.

What a day! Hillary is going to post photos a little later but we did lots of fun things today. First we climbed the towers of Notre-Dame-de-Paris, saw the bells and gargoyles (gargouilles in French) from really close.

We didn't meet Quasimodo inside but we got a good feeling about what it would be like to be Victor Hugo's famous hunchback living in this cathedral. We then went inside to see the stained-glass windows and walked to my favorite bookstore called "Shakespeare and Co."

By then, we were all ready for our fondue lunch and a warm place to settle!
After lunch, we headed for my college and got a tour of the Sorbonne University. SA students were able to sit in the "Grand Amphithéatre" and walk up the stage where Sorbonne students receive their doctorate. Here!

We finished our visit with Cardinal Richelieu's tombstone in the Sorbonne Chapel.

While walking around, I walked past the amphitheater in which I had to take the oral exam for my Master degree on Thomas Hardy's poetry. I suddenly remembered how much my knees were shaking that day. I had forgotten about it until I saw the location!
We finished our day walking quickly through the Jardin du Luxembourg.