Day Tre (3)

Today was an early start for some but for others it was a little later, thanks to Luke not turning up the sound on the alarm. After another awesome breakfast we went up to our rooms to grab our things and then return to the lobby. Lucas, however, decided to take a lift to the top floor and then stop at every floor all the way to the bottom. This was a fun and educational experience for all involved, the lesson being that only Lucas could get a whole lift lost in an elevator. Heading to the train station, Mrs Hanns lost her sunglasses which were later located on top of her head. We then got to the station and purchased all day passes that would take us through the metro and RER lines (the outer rail lines), heading out to the Palace Of Versailles. The whole front section of the palace was bordered in gold leaf, the side wings were missing theirs because those sections were being refurbished. Inside the Palace of Versailles was stunning, but perhaps the most intriguing area of the whole palace was the Hall of Mirrors. This room was the most intriguing because of its history with the ending of WWI taking place here, and effectively starting WWII because of it. It was this deep history that was very interesting about this area of the palace. The gardens presented a whole new set of challenges, including golf buggies. Ms Miller and Mrs Hanns took this in their stride and attempted to hit every living thing in sight. The real purpose of these buggies was to "transport" those that were too sore to walk any more. These gave some people a break until Mr Washbourne and Mr Salmeri took the chance to race them back when returning them. We then got to try some baguettes from a small cafe/canteen, followed by Mr Croft generously buying us ice creams. We were shortly back on the RER train so we could go back to the hotel, change into our formal gear and return to the Arc de Triomphe. Here we participated in the "Revival of the Flame" ceremony, where Kate Varis was selected to lay a wreath on behalf of the school. The ceremony was so large we even stopped traffic on the Champs Elysees! We sang the La Marseilles, the French national anthem, which we had been practicing all year. We then mingled with the Gunnadah brass band, who had played in the ceremony. The first words after introducing ourselves were "It is so good to hear an Australian accent", and this was a sentement shared by both groups. It was good to hear and meet some other Australians on tour. Matthew then decided the day was all too much, sitting ungracefully, on a podium base. Courtney McKnight-Rhodes was more concerned with the flowers getting crushed by my rather large rear end, and just like last year (at the ANZAC crememony) made no attempt at a catch. We then hopped back on to the metro getting to a restaurant just up the road from the hotel. Most people tried some Escargot (snails) and frogs legs for entree. Fraser was very brave by ordering and eating Steak Tartare (raw mince beef) with more grace than Mr Bean. We were all worn out by a lovely day and our final day in the beautiful city of Paris. Everyone will be asleep and ready for another great day in France tommorrow.

By Matt and Luke

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com