DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Basketball in France - Day 1
8/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
Aug. 12, 2011
Photo Gallery - Day 1 in France
DePaul director of baskeball operations Andy Farrell checked in to recap the first 24 hours of DePaul's trip to France. The Blue Demons will be in France until Aug. 21 to walk in the footsteps of St. Vincent de Paul and play four games. DePaul's first game is Saturday, Aug. 13 against Charenton in Sable sur Sarthe at 7:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. CT).
Wow! The past 24 hours (I think) have been such a blast! We left the Sullivan Athletic Center around 1:00 p.m. and got to the airport around 1:45 p.m. The line for Air France was very short, so we got our tickets and though security immediately. We boarded the plane at 4:40 and took off around 5:10! After that, the plane ride was easy. Well, as easy as an eight-hour plane ride can be! Most of the guys had an aisle seat and a lot of us even had the seat next to us open! A few movies later, we were landing in Paris at 8:15 a.m. (Paris time)! Going through customs was too good to be true, and getting the bags was simple! We met up with Jeanne & Joe, as well as Coach's brother and his family. Our guides from Basketball Travelers (Brian & Annie) met us right outside of the baggage claim, and we were all set to explore Paris!
Our first stop was to see the Eiffel Tower! Here, we all ate at a small café near the base of the Tower. We took a ton of pictures and it was really interesting to see the Eiffel Tower up close! It was fascinating to learn about why Eiffel erected the tower and how he rationalized keeping it as an attraction to Paris (for everyone wondering, Google it and learn with us!).
Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe. Once we got off the bus, we were surrounded by tourists and locals that wanted to take pictures with us! It was a really fun photo experience for the entire team! We were instant celebrities! Here, we learned about Napoleon Bonaparte and why he wanted the Arc created, and the history of the names and sculptures on the Arc itself.
Our final stop before the hotel was the Louvre. We will have an opportunity to go back and inside the actual museum sometime tomorrow or Sunday, but today was just a chance to see it and understand the history of the Louvre! The glass pyramid on the outside was so modern, whereas the architecture of the Museum (and the paintings, etc. inside) is so historic. Our guides told us that in 1989 when the pyramid was first created (to mark the 200 year anniversary of the French Revolution), the French hated it and were outraged for that very reason. Now, it's one of the most recognizable landmarks of Paris!
In our travels, we also saw the Obelisque de la Concorde, the Academie Francaise, and Invalides (we will see this in much greater depth soon, as a part of the St. Vincent dePaul class).
The busy first day ended with a riverboat tour down the Seine River to see all of the sites of Paris.
