Boston College Athletics
Women's Basketball In Paris
August 18, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Aug. 18, 2011
Paris, France -
First Day In Paris
On Wednesday in Europe and the women's basketball team is on a three-hour bus to Paris, France. It will be the first trip to Paris for all 12 of the Eagles players. They are looking forward to climbing the Eiffel Tower and of course walking and shopping along the Champs Elysese.
Breakfast in the hotel was early as the team had to load the bus at 9:15 a.m. Coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton's son Bobby kept breakfast lively as he yelped and cheered just looking for the attention of all the girls. Finally Maddie Lanier, Geoff Lanier's daughter sat with Bobby and his beautiful bright smile appeared.
At 9:15 a.m. the bus started its trek through the narrow streets of Bruges. We had to stop a number of times for bread delivery and some street side construction. Because we are driving in a large bus, the people of Bruges are probably shocked to see this bus weaving through their cobblestoned streets and canals. With early morning walkers and the many bikers in the city, the bus ride just to leave Bruges took a record time of 20 minutes, breaking our previous record of an hour upon arrival in the city on Monday afternoon.
Upon arrival in Paris, Albe gave us a history lesson while the bus driver drove through the streets of Paris. The team saw the L'Opera House, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Toulleries, the US Embassy, The Ritz and finally let the team off to walk the ground so L'Invilides, the military hospital grounds. As the team walked into the grounds, a number of military were practicing for a military funeral.
After a half hour the team loaded on the bus and went to the hotel. The girls got an hour to refresh and head off to dinner and to climb the Eiffel Tower. The group dined at Flam, an interesting version of pizza. It seemed to go over well with the girls as shown from the number of pizza boards the waitress collected. There was ham and two cheese as well as cheese and mushroom. After dinner, the waiter served chocolate and apple cream flamouke. It was a thin crusted pizza with shaved chocolate melting on the top or the apple and cream over the crust. Again, most of the desert was gone.
After dinner the team headed to the Eiffel Tower. Albe had previously purchased group tickets so we were in the shorter lines. The girls piled into one elevator box and headed up to the second floor. Gradually everyone made it to the top. The views were stunning and it was a great chance for the team to view the city from above. After three house, the team went back to the hotel to get some rest for a long day and the final game of the European Tour.
