Day 1: Choir lands in Paris, climbs Eiffel Tower, rides Seiene River

The Yuma Youth Choir conquered Paris with great gusto Wednesday, visiting some of the grand city's most famous landmarks just within hours of landing.

Our day began early Wednesday when most in our group woke up shortly after the sun came up, just as we were about to fly south of Great Brittain. Breakfast was enjoyed shortly after as our jet flew over the beautiful French countryside, which looked just as storybook picturesque as we'd hoped.

Even the arrival at Charles De Gaul Airport earned "oohs" and "aahs" as choir members and their parents gushed over the exotic sights and the sheer excitement of being in Europe.

As we were warned our tour began with a bang, with a parade of sights going by just as soon as our bus began to roll. We passed fantastic cathedrals, massive old mansions, government palaces and so many quaint apartment buildings on our way to the city center. Every apartment here seems to have a balcony, which is always decked out in the brightest flowers and charming little bushes.

Once in the middle of Paris the big-name landmarks truly rolled by in grand style. Starting with the Arc de Triomphe and its famous traffic circle - which we drove through - to the Louvre art museum and Notre Dame cathedral.

We then proceeded down one of Paris' grandest avenues, one which locals and tourists alike laud as the most beautiful avenue in the world. Heads craned and cameras were working overtime as everyone tried to capture glimpses of palacial and high-end department stores, chic-looking chocolate shops and row after row of perfume dealers.

We even saw the posh apartment where former president Jacque Chirac lives.

But no sight earned squeals of delight quite like the Iron Lady herself - the Eiffel Tower. Even when the famed landmark was barely a blurry line in the distance its discovery on the horizon led to quite a stir among our excited travelers.

Nothing prepared us, though, for the experience of not only seeing the Eiffel Tower close up, but actually spending time beneath it and taking its design's charming complexities that movies and postcards just can't recreate.

About half of our group braved the long walk up, while the rest faced long lines for the elevators.

The view from our observation deck, which wasn't clear to the top, provided a stunning 360-panorama of Paris, laying out both the ancient city and the modern metropolis for all to see. To see the sight for yourself, visit this page of 'Le site officiel de la Tour Eiffel' and click on the 'View of Paris' link in the left menu.

And yes, the choir sang several numbers from high up, much to the delight of fellow tourists who certainly weren't expecting a musical show.

After the tower we were treated to an hour-long boat ride along the storied Seine River. The experience was straight out of the paintings, too. People were sitting below flowering trees reading, writing or painting, while young lovers kissed passionately, sometimes only coming up for a rare breath of air to wave at a passing boat full of tourists.

The river ride gave us a front-seat view of Paris' oldest and most elegant side. We saw both the backside of the Louvre and a most spectacular view of Notre Dame, where the choir is performing Thursday morning.

Everyone seems to be handling the jet lag well, which is important for tomorrow's big performance.

After touring we came back to our wonderful, wonderful hotel for much-needed showers and then took off for our first sit-down experience with true French cuisine.

As I'm writing this it's edging into late evening.

I recorded lots of great film and took many, many pictures today. They're on my list for processing tomorrow, so stay tuned. Everything we've been talking about will be right there for you to see for yourself.

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