Thursday

Wow! Our last day was fabulous! Once again we had  sunshine and enjoyed every minute of it!😊Monet's gardens at Giverny were beautiful, our excursion to the countryside included the Japanese gardens and a visit of his home. We lunched in the pretty little village of Giverny and then headed back to Paris.

Our group spent the afternoon doing different activities: some went to a market, did some souvenir shopping, had café time, went for a ride on the Ferris wheel and visited the  Orangerie museum to see Monet's murals.

After dinner we walked up Montmartre to the Place du Tertre, where the Impressionists use to live and paint. There are still artists there, and it was nice to wander through the neighborhood, have coffee and even a portrait done. We saw Sacre Coeur, the large white basilica up on the hill overlooking Paris. What a view! It was a pretty special way to end our stay in the city of light.

As we head home tomorrow, it's exciting to think about our travelers coming back to Paris one day, with friends and loved ones. Although everyone is ready to go home , they are also sad to leave this magical place. We have had late nights and early mornings, jam packed days full of amazing experiences. Sure our feet hurt from walking a million miles a day, and the Internet at the hotel has been impossibly slow, but we are now seasoned travelers, "masters of the metro" and pretty darn good at speaking French (at least not as nervous as in the beginning of the week!) We will all miss fresh croissants every morning and oh yes, macarons, too! It's been a great adventure, a lot of fun had by all, and we are returning with wonderful memories and stories to tell. It truly has been a "bon voyage"!