Journal from Anna Bellury's
Adventure to France!

In October 2001, homeschooler, Anna Bellury, won Power-Glide's "Live the Adventure" contest and was flown along with her parents to France. Below, we have the wonderful opportunity to share with Anna a trip she will remember the rest of her life.

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Dear Power-Glide,
My trip to Paris was absolutely incredible! We had an awesome time and despite museum strikes, we got to visit everything on our list.

Thank You,
Anna

Journal

Hello! My name is Anna Bellury, and I just recently returned from an extraordinary adventure abroad. I entered Power-Glide's foreign language contest in April 2001. After creating a video in French, a mini-adventure book and two essays for my entry, I was dazed to find out in June that I had won the Grand Prize! (A trip to Paris with my parents Phil & Lanell Bellury) So on October 23rd we set out, ready for our six glorious days in the city of lights. With map in hand, Dad was the designated navigator. Mom managed the money and told us historical tidbits when she ran across them in her guidebook. I carried the backpack, which had my closest companions in it: camera, journal, and French / English dictionary. The following is an abbreviated account of our trip, with a few excerpts from my journal.

Day 1

I love flying in airplanes. I was thankful to get window seats on every single flight! We landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport around 7:00am Paris time, and rode the RER to the city (an hour long trip). We checked into our hotel, the Hotel Castiglione, and after unpacking, resting and hotel exploring, we set out. We enjoyed our first French meal at a pleasant courtyard café and then took an hour long boat cruise down the Seine. By then we were having trouble keeping our eyes open, but still we walked by the Eiffel Tower, deciding to go up it the next night. We bought food for dinner and ate like Parisians, feasting on baguettes, fromage and éclairs. We went to bed EARLY.

Day 2 - My 16th Birthday!

To begin the day, we went to the Carnavalet Museum. It was closed, so we strolled through the charming Isle de St. Louis (a small island behind L'isle de la Cite where Notre Dame is).

Then we went to Notre Dame! It was just like in "The Hunchback..."! But one tower was under construction and we thought we couldn't go to the top. As it turned out, a man came and unlocked the top just as we were about to leave, and OH! I'm so glad he did! The view was so lovely. I had fun taking photographs..."

After that we went to St. Chapelle (a church that has the whole story of the Bible in stained glass) and spent an hour squinting and peering at the complicated windows. We then meandered through the Tuileries Gardens (in front of The Louvre) and Mom and Dad told me stories about my birth.

Toward dinner time, we took the Metro to La Tour Eiffel. It is BIG. It doesn't look that big in photos, but it's HUGE!

Journal Entry:
"We went at the perfect time, because it was still light when we got in line, and then when we reached the top it was dark, and the city sparkled for us."

I enjoyed walking down via the stairs, instead of the elevator. After that we all decided that we needed dessert, so we found a restaurant and I chose cake - since it WAS my birthday. The waiter put a tinsel-topped toothpick in my gateau when he learned it was my birthday . . . a birthday I'll never forget.

Day 3

We decided to start with The Louvre, but when we arrived we learned that the workers were on strike! In most of the museums in Paris the workers met daily to decide whether they would strike or not, and much to our dismay, The Louvre and Musee D'Orsay were on strike that day. So we walked across the street to the Palais Royale and looked through its picturesque garden and naturally, took pictures. We tried the Arc de Triomphe next, but we couldn't go up to the top (the strike). So we walked the Champs-Elysees instead. After that, we decided to go to Sacre Coeur - the church set on a hill overlooking Paris. We watched the artists at Montmartre, listened to a flute player, and saw one of my favorite things on the trip - a man pretending to be a statue. He only "unfroze" when people dropped coins into his money box! Later we bought tickets for a French play called "Irma La Douce" at the Comedie Francaise (a beautiful, old theatre) and after trying French pizza (it was . . . different!) we went to the theatre. It was a musical, which made it easy to follow the plot, and we loved catching words we knew every now and then. Boy do they talk fast!

Day 4

A museum day! We went through the section of the Musee Carnavalet that was open - it didn't take long - and went to the Picasso Museum, even though none of us particularly like Picasso. This was the day we had planned to go to the Palace of Versailles, but it was closed (the strike again).

Journal Entry:
"We went on the Sewer Tour after that and ZOWIE! Did that stink! I couldn't even bear to stand and read the historical bits because I was so eager for fresh air. Of course, that may have been why I didn't see any rats, which I had hoped to do. Mom thinks all cities should have tours like that so people could be more aware of the mess they make. I was just glad to get out of there!"

After Les Egouts, we had crepes for lunch, which were tres delicieux. Then we went to Musee D'Orsay, which used to be a railway station. It, too, was only partly open, but we saw some art.

Journal Entry:
"We stayed at D'Orsay for a long while, then walked leisurely along the Seine to Place de la Concorde. And we rode the Ferris Wheel!"
That was fun! Next we thought it would be nice to see a movie at a cinema on the Champs Elysees, but we were too late, so we had burgers and milkshakes at a French burger joint, called "Quick Hamburger."

Day 5

We spent the beautiful morning riding bikes in the Bois de Boulogne. We laughed at Dad's sad attempts at French, and gasped in horror when he fell off his velo when the handle grip came loose. Not to fear though, he came out alive. We left Bois at one-ish and walked through the same stamp market that Audrey Hepburn walked through in "Charade." IT was more interesting in the movie.

Journal Entry:
"After that, we went back to The Louvre - and it was open! Well, parts of it. And I saw the Mona Lisa and wasn't impressed."

But I DID see her. There was some amazing art there - paintings as big as a wall!

Journal Entry:
"Then we decided to check out the movie situation again. So it was back to the Champs Elysees! We waited in a long line and bought tickets to "Treize Jours" which is "13 Days" with French subtitles."

Exhausted, we went to bed as soon as we reached the hotel.

And our trip ended just as abruptly as that. After a final breakfast in our hotel's quaint café we boarded a plane and flew away. The three of us have agreed that when we go again - I don't dare think that I might not return - we will stay for months! But this trip has been the perfect entrée to what I hope becomes a full course meal. I am considering going back to study when I'm in college - but that's another story!

One million "merci's" go to Power-Glide for giving me this dazzling adventure! Adieu!

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