June 30th ended up being travel day in the latter half of the day, so my real exploration of the city of Paris began on July 1st.
I wanted so badly to see the Bastille, although the actual prison does not exist anymore. When I was in D.C. with students at the beginning of the summer, I saw the key to the Bastille that Lafayette gave to Washington. I was so excited to see the key at Mt. Vernon--another serendipitous experiences!! The picture below is of Mt. Vernon, as I could not take a picture of the key inside the house. I have a postcard picture of the key, though, so I will find it and post it.
I wanted so badly to see the Bastille, although the actual prison does not exist anymore. When I was in D.C. with students at the beginning of the summer, I saw the key to the Bastille that Lafayette gave to Washington. I was so excited to see the key at Mt. Vernon--another serendipitous experiences!! The picture below is of Mt. Vernon, as I could not take a picture of the key inside the house. I have a postcard picture of the key, though, so I will find it and post it.

The Bastille Prison does not exist anymore, but there is a a memorial, the July Column, which is beautiful and breathtaking.