CIEE-Rennes Excursion : Taking a Closer Look into Paris

It was seven o’clock in the morning when I groggily stepped out of my host-family’s home and into the cool morning air. I was heading to the metro station to meet my friends and CIEE staff to head off for our first excursion as a group to Paris. At the train station, I joined my friends at the entrance waiting for everyone’s arrival, afterwards we decided to make a quick trip to the third level of the station. We saw a cute café and there were many Pain au Chocolat enticing our hunger. Once we were satisfied with our morning pastry and a petit café, we made our way to our train. Throughout our walk, there was exclamations of excitement and wonder of what Paris might show us in the day ahead. 

After an hour and a half on the train, which turned into a beneficial nap for me, we had made it to Paris. This was my second time in Paris, but I was just as excited as my first time to see the magnificent city of lights again. Our first destination was Sainte Chapelle a stunning cathedral with a 360-degree view of stain glass windows that tell stories from the Bible with intricate details. When we entered the chapel, we were surrounded by a place of serenity and eye-opening architecture.

While spending some time in Sainte Chapelle we decided to head off to have a picnic at Notre Dame for lunch. Although we were unable to go into the building, due to the fire incident in 2019, it was still amazing to see the historic landmark. The atmosphere was welcoming with families, couples and groups of friends enjoying the view of the building still standing high. 

The final destination of our daytrip excursion was to the Eiffel Tower, as we were walking towards the entrance, everyone fell into awe with the immense beauty the Eiffel tower portrays. It was a reality of all the postcards, gifts, dreams and google searches of the Eiffel Tower coming into a reality. For me, it was exciting too because I had never been to the Eiffel Tower during the day, it was fun to experience it in a different way. We went up to the second level of the Eiffel Tower, the view was outstanding! My friends and I spent a lot of time taking in the breathtaking views and taking pictures to hold onto to these memories forever. Inside the Eiffel Tower there are little boutiques and cafes as well as a macaroon shop. Buying some macaroons was something I simply could not resist, and they were delicious!

Once it was time to go, we solemnly went down the elevator and made our way back to the train to take us to Rennes. Overall, our Paris excursion was so much fun, and it was a new experience to take in the scenery of Paris noticing new details and findings that I had never seen before. I am so grateful we were able to go, we had lots of laughs and made many memories we can all cherish in years to come.  

Avonlea Cummings 

Gordon College