Jour 1 (Day 1)

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Bonjour from Paris! Our flight arrived today at 9:40am, 2:40am Chicago time. We slept a little bit on the plane, but most of us have been up since 7:00am yesterday. Currently, we are sitting in a Parisian cafe called the Moulin A Caffe enjoying a seat and a hot (chaud) cup of coffee. We have already walked down the Champs Elysee (huge street with lots of shops) and been in Printemps and Galleries Lafayette (huge department stores). In addition, we spent some time at the Arc de Triomphe (see photo). The Arc stands in center of the Champs Elysee and was built to remember those soldiers killed in World War I. There is an eternal flame that always burns in the center of the Arc.

We have noticed that it is easy to distinguish Americans from the French because of what we are wearing. Almost all of the French are walking with black wool coats and a scarf, whereas we are wearing our North Face and Marmot gear. Just a sign that people in different places have different styles and opinions of what is "hot."

Look for another post later tonight on the Fete de Noel. Paris is about to be lit up, and we will be there to record it for you. Have a great day, and we'll talk to you soon.

mk

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