"Nice is Nice!"

Today ends our journey in France. Tomorrow we will head back to the States. Below is our flight information. Please be sure to arrive at the airport on time!

Flight Information: 

April 8 leave Nice @ 710 am and fly to Paris Air France #7711 arriving at 845am 

April 8 Leave Paris Air France #28 to Wash, DC (Dulles) Arrive April 8 @ 12:55 pm 

THANK YOU: 

Many thanks to all of the EF tour staff members, Deal administrators, families, chaperones and students for making this an awesome trip! 

Sunrise 

Swiss Alps 

Nice in the Background 

Perfume Factory 

Monaco

Nice

Hi All!

We are all doing fine and settling into our final hotel in Nice. We had a very long day on the coach with three different stops. Pictures will be uploaded tomorrow.

We have an early wake up call tomorrow so that we can head over to Italy for the afternoon.

Tomorrow is our last day in France before we head back to Paris where we will catch our flight to the States.

I apologize for the short note but all is well. Please, check in tomorrow for pictures!

Provence

We have officially arrived in Provence and for the next several days we will explore this region.

When we arrived in Avignon we explored the Pope's Palace. At a time when the Vatican was not safe the King of France invited the current Pope to come to Avignon to reside safely. For nearly a century, Avignon was home for the Roman Catholic Popes. Today the city is still surrounded by the original 3 mile wall. The Pope's Palace was grand with multiple levels to see.

Pope's Palace 

Pope's Palace 

Pope's Palace 

Students inside the Pope's Palace 

A Destroyed Bridge Outside of Avignon

After Avignon, we traveled to Pont du Gard:

The Group at Pont du Gard 

The View from Pont du Gard 

Listening to the Tour Guide 

Safi & Lily 

We ended our day in Nimes which is known for its production of fabric. In fact, the cotton originally used to make jeans came from Nimes. Nimes also had several exciting Roman structures to explore.

*All Pictures of the Roman Monuments


Tomorrow we head to the French Riviera for two nights.

p.s. Everyone is doing well!

Carcassonne

The group has been on the road all day long. It was a long journey, but we are excited to explore what the South of France has to offer.

We made one stop today in Carcassonne on our way to Nimes. Carcassonne has two distinct parts, a modern town and a medieval area which is totally enclosed by fortress walls.

We ate lunch in the modern section and then wandered the narrow streets of Carcassonne's medieval area later in the afternoon. We did all of this in the pouring rain! The kiddos were troopers. We are hoping for better weather tomorrow.

The Modern area of Carcassonne

The Entrance to the Medieval Area

Fortress Walls 

Getting Ready to Enter the City Behind the Walls

Chaperones Braving the Rain

Spanish Splendor & More

Today was an exciting day of exploration. We stopped at three different cities and had the opportunity to explore each one at our own pace. The weather was absolutely perfect and we were finally able to shed our coats. Everyone is having a blast and doing just fine :)

Tomorrow we head south on a 4 hour bus ride to Carcassonne.

As a geography teacher, I love looking at maps! Check out this map to see where we have been, where we are now, and where we are going!

San Sebastian, Spain:

Group Photo 

The Port 

Sail Boats

Basque Flag 

Beautiful Architecture 

Arroz Negro 

St. Jean de Luz, France: 

Church

Church x 2 

Traditional Shop 

Beach 

French Candy 

Biarritz, France: 
The group traveled back to Biarritz for additional shopping and dinner. Check out the photographs from yesterday's blog post!

Until Tomorrow...

ATTENTION!

Good Evening Parents,

Please note that we are no longer in France. For the next two nights, we are staying in Spain. As a result, the local numbers from France will not work. If you want to contact the group please use the last three numbers that start with, "+44" ....... for the  4/2 and 4/3.

+44 793 715 7326

+44 793 764 1566

+44 793 707 6133

Thanks!

Au Revoir, Paris!

An early alarm had us out the door by 6:30 am today. In no time, we were at one of the seven train stations in Paris. Platform 6's train awaited our arrival and promised a speedy trip. We squeezed all of our luggage into a couple of cars, grabbed our seats, and immediately indulged in a much needed nap. The few who braved the day without a nap saw the countryside and the towns nestled throughout. We traveled south along the western portion of France. We were off to Bordeaux!

Upon our arrival in Bordeaux, we met our coach and left for Biarritz which is a popular resort town. During our tour, we learned that many people head to Biarritz for holiday.

In Biarritz, we took a walking tour along the Atlantic Ocean and through the narrow streets.  Biarritz is filled with breathtaking views and adorable shops. Many of the students were excited to hear that we would return to Biarritz tomorrow for shopping and exploring.

After dinner in Biarritz, we left on our coach for our hotel in Spain. The hotel is absolutely beautiful as it is newly renovated. We are settling in for the night and getting ready for another fun filled day of adventure.

Goodbye France, Hello Spain...Well, for the next day anyway!

Seine River Cruise

The Eiffel Tower Overhead

Sunset From the Seine River 

The Eiffel Tower By Night 

Our last night in Paris was spent on the Seine river. We braved the cold and re-discovered the beautiful monuments we had seen by day. During our tour, we saw everything from the Eiffel Tower to the Notre-Dame. Paris truly came to life by night. Commentary was provided throughout the tour via headsets and a welcoming staff.  The boat tour was absolutely unforgettable.