Day 3.

Bonjour Madames et Messieurs ,

It's our third day in the beautiful, clean, artistic city of light, Paris. Hope you guys are not bored in school! (:

The Sun came out today for the first time since we arrived. We kicked start the morning by visiting Sacre Coure, a majestic church built in the 18th Arrondisement ( District), 300 feet above Paris. The Paris skyline from the church was breathtaking and... melodious with a jovial looking musician playing La Vie En Rose on his violin. A grandiloquent structure of Jesus Christ towered over the church, with his hand placed over his heart (thus the name Sacre Coure translated literally as Sacred Heart of Jesus). To his right stood Saint Louis who had brought the real Crowd of Thorns from Jerusalem to France a few centuries ago; and on his left was Joan of Arc who had led the French to end the 100 Years War centuries ago. As we entered the church, we took off our berets (anything on top of our heads were not allowed) and took a few moments to say a prayer.


After that, our tour guide, Monsieur Gee took us around Montmarte Square, the artists' district of Paris where we took many beautiful photos of the streets brimming with life, true art and rich history. We scrambled to discover the sights and sounds of the area. Along cobbled pathways, there were ice cream parlours, chocolate gift shops, bakeries and the list goes on. A bunch of us went to the nearby ice cream shop to try the gelato ice cream and took as long as we could to savour it since it does not melt in winter. Haha.(=It was the first time we had lunch on our own so we tried the famous French quiche and sandwiches. Better than Delifrance aye? On top of that, we went to a nearby chocolate gift store and met the cute and enthusiastic shopkeeper, Monsieur Gilles who really showed us the meaning of going the extra mile for service. He offered us loads of chocolate and struck friendly conversations with us in fluent English. Here's a portrait of him.

We had to rush out of Montmarte as we were running late for the upcoming national fencing competitionl; and made our way out of Paris, to the suburbs. On our way there, Kat conducted a crash course to help us revise our French. At least we were more equipped with words other than Bonjour and Merci.

About an hour later we finally reached our destination. The event held was the Womens' Foil Individuals Competition. The competitors came from neighboring European countries such as Italy and Germany. Competition was intense among the competitors judging from the constant display of great bladework from them. Our very own fencing Vice-Captain, Justin ran by us the basics and rules of this sport supposedly played the best by the French which is not hard to believe since even the terms for Fencing are in French (En garde. Prêt. Allez" which literally means "On guard. Ready. Go.") We sat in true appreciation and amazement, watching the display of passion and sportsmanship by the fencers.

After the competition ended, we were invited for reception with the mayor of the district, though we politely declined because we had to get back into Paris before night fell. Dinner was at Chinatown, 13th Arrondisement back in Paris and we felt back in Singapore again as we were surrounded by the familar smell of cooked food.

Our INP (Instant Noodles Party) beckons so Au Revoir! We need the midnight snack to prepare ourselves mentally for our first school visit at Thomas Mann College the next day.

Goodbye for now and will keep you guys updated! (: