Paris to Venice to Pisa to Firenze

Finally, we have wireless Internet! I will try to catch up.

For our last day in Paris, we were up at 8:00, loading our valises into the baggage room and then off on the Metro to the Louvre. When we arrived, the hoards were still absent and we had time to gather and find our way in. Students under 18 are free but they have to show the if passports. We told them to enter in groups of four so that we would not have the hassle of touring in 'lockstep' but some of the security people wanted them with teacher. Why? Who knows. Eventually, after experiencing French bureaucracy, they all had the chance to see the Mona Lisa, 'Winged Victory', David's painting of Napoleon's coronation, the Venus de Milo, the Wedding Feast at Cana,by Veronaise, and St. Michel defeating the devil. The patisserie under the pyramid is pretty good too!

We took the Metro to the Abbesse station and the an elevator (it held 50 people) up to Montmartre and THEN we had to climb nearly 200 steps up to the basilica of Sacre Coeur. We had lunch in an art deco, cafe just off the Place de Tertre. The square is filled with artisans, both good and bad, plus cafes and souvenir shops. We had a chance to tour the basilica but unfortunately, the walkway up, and around the outside was closed. After several enjoyable
hours, we returned to the hotel by way of the Auchon supermarche to stock up on food and water
for our overnight train to Venice.

The train cars are called couchettes and the seats fold down to make 6 beds. Try to imagine 6 people, 6 suitcases, 6 carry-ons and bags of food in closet the size of a bathroom, and not a palatial bathroom. The trip was 13 hours long and relatively uneventful people rolling off their bunks and rather warm cabins. Everyone learned how to lock the doors and answer our ridiculous knocks with silly passwords before letting the teachers into the couchettes. M
We are off for a walking tour of Florence - Firenze. More to come!