Goodrich – Ashley Haggadone’s family will be unwrapping unique Christmas presents this year, ones carefully packed away on her recent trip to France.
It was the first time Ashley and most of the Goodrich High School French Club visited Paris. The 17-year-old student is still exuberant.
‘Everything is so historic, everything is so huge,? said Ashley, who’s been looking forward to the trip for two years. ‘There are domes on the buildings, everything is gold.?
Paris was postponed from the original April booking due to international tensions, but it was worth the wait, says Ashley. They ate at restaurants attended by staff serious about food, and stayed in a small room at the Time Hotel in the city. Her own bedroom now seems enormous.
The cars are also tiny, said chaperone Betty Griffiths, and traffic on the narrow streets moves at a crazy pace. Cars stop on the streets to fuel up at gas pumps on the sidewalk, or recharge electrical panels. Many visitor bathrooms in the city require pay tokens and, unlike most American fountains, Parisian drinking fountains are elaborate sculptures.
‘You just put your hand in there and grab some water,? said Griffiths.
The students rode the Metro, experienced a jazz club located in an underground cave, toured numerous museums, shopped quaint city markets, saw the Peace Wall and the Eiffel Tower, climbed 700 spiral steps to see the gargoyles and bells of Notre Dame, and had the unusual privilege of attending a Russian sacred music concert in Notre Dame Cathedral.
‘That was just breathtaking,? Ashley said. ‘I just looked around and couldn’t believe I was in such a grand place. It’s from like the 13th century.?
A concert in Notre Dame is a rare experience for visitors, said French teacher Barb Western, who has been at the helm of 20 year’s worth of trips to Paris.
‘I just love Paris. One of my goals in life is to spend a year teaching English to business people,? said Western, who is planning a ladies-only trip to Paris for summer, 2005.