You Say You Want (An American) Revolution (Tour In Paris)?

Editor: What is that headline?  Writer: I didn't set out to complete butcher lyrics from the Beatles, but that's where I ended up.  Editor: Well, as the saying goes, it's journey, not the destination.

Carol and I have had great success finding interesting, informative guides for tours on ToursbyLocals.com.  This is not a paid link (although it should be!) but just a convenience for readers who want to check the site out.

While looking for guides for the Louvre, I came across a tour entitled "Lafayette and the American Founding Fathers: Follow the footsteps of B. Franklin, T. Jefferson, & J. Adams in Paris.  

Carol agreed that it sounded like an interesting tour, so I went ahead and booked it.  We've always been interested in history, and became particularly interested in the Americans in Paris during the Revolutionary War after reading Derek Baxter's book, "In Pursuit of Jefferson: Traveling Through Europe With The Most Perplexing Founding Father" (again, no money goes to me if you click on the link -- it's a book we like by an author we've gotten to know, and like!)

(I will never accept money for including links in my blog posts. . .at least until someone offers me money for doing so!)

So we met Thierry on Sunday morning at 9am in front of the Hotel Lutetia for the two hour tour.  Thierry is a top-notch tour guide, and does a number of interesting historical tours, including on the Nazi occupation and Allied liberation of Paris, the French Revolution walking tour, and an Art Nouveau walking tour -- hidden gems of Paris.  Frankly, we would take any of the tours, but the American Revolution tour popped for us.

Here's the link to Thierry Collegia's tour website.  It's got a couple of additional tours on it that aren't on the Tours by Locals site.  Besides, if you hire him directly, the money goes to him alone, and TbL doesn't take a cut.

Thierry is another guide who worked in business for a long time, started doing tours on the weekends, and decided giving guided tours is where his passion lay.  He retired from his corporate job just in time for COVID, managed to stay afloat, and now is quite busy giving tours (except during the Paris Olympics -- he got out of town, and is happy he did, as guided tours really fell off during the Olympics).

This tour takes place in the areas of Saint-Germain des Près and Saint-Sulpice on the Left Bank. We did not go into many buildings, except for the Church of Saint-Sulpice. Instead we took us to a number of private townhouses from the 1700s where a number of American Revolutionary figures lived and where the Treaty of Paris was signed.

Beyond locales connected to Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams , we also visited townhouses where John Paul Jones and Thomas Paine (more like "Pain in the Ass of Royals," amirite?) lived.  

Throughout the tour, Thierry entertained us with fascinating details about those men and their time in Paris.

From left to right: Glen, Carol,

Thomas, and Thierry

We went to Le Procope, where Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson liked to dine.  We had been there a few nights earlier for dinner, so no doubt Glen and Carol will be added to their long list of distinguished diners.

Towards the end, we spent sometime outside at the Museum of the Legion of Honor, which Jefferson was enthralled with.  He spent time sketching the columns in the back, which informed some of the architectural changes he made to Monticello after he served as ambassador to France (when Jefferson served in that role, the Museum was a posh hotel).  

We finished where, the night before when talking about our impending tour, I had predicted to Carol that it would finish at the statue of Jefferson -- the man who brought Bordeaux wine, ice cream, and french fries to the White House.  (People only think Bill Clinton was the first to bring french fries to the White House!)

(Editor: Well, yeah, Clinton brought McDonald's french fries to the White House.  Writer: Well, I gotta give Clinton credit for how he has slimmed down in his post-presidency.)

And sure enough, Glen was right!  We ended by the Seine River at the pedestrian bridge that leads across to the Tuileries Garden.

(Editor: It's very unusual for the phrase "Glen was right" to appear in this blog.  Writer: I'd say it's because of my modesty, but it probably has more to do with it being an unusual occurrence.  Editor: No doubt.)

If you don't geek out on history, you shouldn't take the tour, but if you find American history (especially the Revolutionary/Founding Fathers aspect) interesting, it's definitely worth taking.