How Are You? I Can T Believe I Am Writing You from France! It Has Always Been a Dream Of

Participant #8

Dear Amy,

How are you? I can’t believe I am writing you from France! It has always been a dream of mine to visit and here I am. One of the best parts of this vacation is that Al and I are traveling with my brother, Dave, and his girlfriend Monique. They are both fluent in French and are familiar with the country. We are having a wonderful time!

We stayed in Paris at a beautiful hotel located on the left bank. We spent the first day in Dourdan, a small town south of Paris. Dave taught there for a year right out of college and wanted to visit again. The town looked like pictures out of a fairy tale! It is so quaint. Cobble stone roads, small cabin-like homes, large pastures, and even an abandoned castle.

Paris is beautiful, busy and fast paced. We spent a day visiting museums. One entire day was spent at the Louvre, which was not enough time. Standing outside of the Louvre is amazing. The pyramid is huge and breathtaking. We focused mainly on the paintings and made sure to see the Mona Lisa, but also some sculptures including Venus de Milo. There was so much to see. We also went to Orsay and the Picasso Museum. The Picasso Museum was the one I enjoyed the most. He is one of my favorite painters.

While in Paris we saw Notre Dame and walked around the city. Notre Dame is beautiful and ornate. I felt overwhelmed by the diversity of the city. We saw people from all over Europe and heard at least 5 different languages everyday. The food and shopping are wonderful. You would love some of the boutiques we came across.

One of our final trips was to Versailles where we visited the chateau. I was overwhelmed by the size of the grounds. We saw what seemed like 20 castles. The courtyard was full of perfectly groomed lawns with statues and fountains. One of the best sights was the Queen's cottage. It looked quite different from the rest of the grounds, almost like it belonged in Dourdan. It had the same quaint, small village feel to it.

And to top it all off, we were just in time to watch the Tour de France. We decided to stay a day in Chambord to watch the race. We even saw Lance Armstrong and yelled, “Live Strong.” This was one of the highlights, since Al and I are competitive cyclists.

After all the sight seeing we were ready to relax. We traveled from Paris to the country. We traveled to some vineyards and spent a few nights at a spa. The trip was perfect. I was in need of a vacation and loved the time away. See you soon.

Sincerely,