June 8, Thursday
Unlike the norm, today was slightly different because our tour started later than the usual. Our first tour was a visit at Marriott Paris Opera Ambassador Hotel. It is located on 16 Boulevard Haussmann as we learned why. Baron Haussmann had a lot of influence to the changes and the beautification of Paris and as well as the avenue de l’Opera was created by him. We also learned that before the hotel were under construction it was once a total of 600 rooms, but now it has 298. There are 11 meeting rooms and the biggest one is called Le Lindbergh. Ambassador is a hotel that targets both the business groups and leisure travelers evenly. The hotel is a representation of modern and class. One of the most interesting information shared today was that the Marriott Brand hosts a network program from many other hotels worldwide.
Tour number two was about the group whom presented the Sacre Coeur. It is one of the most religious churches in Paris and the second tallest after the Eiffel Tower.The journey was fascinating because it was village completely different to what we’ve seen thus far, in my opinion. There is a huge amount of souvenir shops and small restaurants. I haven’t seen that many stores and restaurants in one place in all the previous tours, and the view at the top was nothing short of spectacular and surreal.

After the Sacre Coeur group presented, everyone decided to continue their journey of exploration and mine was amazing. I was able to grab a bite at a cafe called Le Cemi’s right at Monmarte. It was a steal because there were choices of a 16€ and 19 € prix fixe menu, and not to mention the food was good too. Soon after a delicious meal myself and other colleagues decided to tour the inside of the Sacre Coeur church, but on the way there we stumbled upon mesmerizing and soothing music played by men using the “hang”. While roaming the inside of the Sacre Coeur I was a bit emotional and highly appreciative  of the level of craftsmanship. It was a beauty to watch and also a blessing to physically experience every bit of it.

Below are some images taken…

Group picture in one of the meeting rooms at Marriott Paris Opera Ambassador Hotel

1. 

   A very cute hat boutique shop on our way to the Sacre- Coeur

   

   The outside of the Sacre-Coeur

2. 

   Ran into our Liaisons on St. Montmarte at Le Cami’s Cafe, so we joined them for lunch

3. 

   Never thought I would discover an instrument similar to my national instrument ” the steel pan “. It was very relaxing and soothing. It is called the “hung”