16/07 - Feeling HIGH on Shopping Day (D12)

We woke the kids up for breakfast about an hour earlier than usual, to get ready to finally get out of the campsite for our first excursion into the city of Paris. It was looking to be a very warm and sunny day, so it was fortunate that the official camp shirts that we were finally able to distribute came in a clean white color.

The Danish delegates looking sharp with Jaime

It was a very big challenge to herd an entire group of 72 people (47 kids, 6 JCs and 19 adults) through the Paris Métro without losing track of or leaving someone behind, but with a complex system of frantic hand signals, panicked yelling, and brisk shuffling, we managed to come off as a pretty disciplined young army on the march (despite the fact that everyone except the Staff was in a constant state of confusion). 

Once we got out of the métro station, we finally saw from a distance the surprise that the Staff had in store of the kids (and the reason we all had to get up at 7h30): A giant balloon that could take all of us to catch the breathtaking views of Paris from high up in the sky. We had arrived at the spot where Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier took the first manned balloon flight back in 1783.

 

The white dots in the field above are the kids ;-)

Some of the delegates admitted that they felt a little scared of going up so high at first, but then everyone also said that they had an amazing time on the balloon. We're pretty sure you would forget your fear of heights, too, once you take in these wonderful views of Paris.

The balloon was only able to take 4 delegations at a time, so while 16 kids and 2 leaders were up in the sky, everyone else stayed on the grassy field to enjoy the sun and have a small picnic. We finally had terrific weather after experiencing a week of rain and gloomy weather, that everyone was just happy to be out and enjoying each other's company in the open.

Everyone, including the Staff and the JCs, was able to have a chance to ride the balloon, and as the photos below show, everyone touched back down onto the ground feeling just a little bit lighter inside. Indeed, it was an awesome way to start to what would be quite a long day for everyone.

After the balloon surprise, we brought everyone to a nice shopping street and gave them a few hours to go around to shop for souvenirs and have a good meal (as typical tourists, most people ended up at the McDonald's restaurant at the end of the street), always under the looming presence of the Eiffel Tower.

We all met back up to take a short walk to the base of the Tour Eiffel, where we had one last thing to take care of: our official camp photo! :-D

Everyone was pretty tired by this time, but still all smiles after a truly wonderful day in the city

The icing on the cake was when, as we made our way back to the campsite on the Métro, everyone burst out into the singing the CISV Song on the train. It was a touching and humbling display of unity and appreciation coming from both the kids and adults (although I'm pretty sure the other people on the train with us were a little spooked by our would-be preteen flash mob). ;-)