For our final day of the trip, some students spent the morning visiting le Château de Versailles, while others stayed in Paris to explore le Centre Pompidou (a.k.a. Beaubourg) and le Marais. We topped off the afternoon with last-minute sightseeing and shopping, followed by dinner in a Parisian brasserie and a rainy (but delightful!) evening atop la Tour Eiffel.
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Today’s itinerary featured the following activities:
la Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre
la Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris
lunch, ice cream, and free time on the Left Bank (la rive gauche)
le Musée d’Orsay or la Maison Européenne de la Photographie
Paris by night – a Bateau Mouche ride on the Seine
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Saying au revoir our lovely French families this morning was very tough, but we’ll stay in touch and hopefully see them again soon – perhaps in the States next time!
The train we took to Paris is called the TGV (le train à grande vitesse), France’s high-speed train, which runs at an average speed of about 186 mph. We arrived in the city early this afternoon, checked into our hotel near the Eiffel Tower, and set off to explore le Musée du Louvre. We then enjoying a delicious dinner, and topped off the evening with some Parisian scenery by night and a walk down les Champs Élysées, the famous avenue leading to l’Arc de Triomphe.
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To give you an idea of where we’ve been this past week, here are some photos of Hyères and other the cities along the French Riviera:
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Our two weeks of French classes in Aix and excursions in Provence have sadly come to an end, but our exciting adventures in southern France continue. The students have been successfully delivered to their wonderful host families in Hyères and will be enjoying a lovely week of French immersion among native speakers. Some of us met up for a picnic by the beach yesterday afternoon, while others got settled into their new homes.
In any host family experience (with or without a language immersion component), there is an inevitable adjustment period. It’s completely normal for students to feel disoriented during the first few days in their new environment, in spite of the host family’s efforts to make them feel at home. Most of the students won’t see me this week, but I will be checking in with them by phone, and they know to contact me with any questions or concerns they may have. If your son or daughter communicates these to you in the next few days, please ask them to speak with me directly.
Based on my own séjours with host families over the years, I believe that being gracious, patient, inquisitive, and open-minded are the keys to taking full advantage of this opportunity. I have every confidence that my travel companions will gain tremendously from this experience, and I’m here to encourage and reassure them as needed.
À bientôt,
Maggie
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Fencing, or l’escrime, was a blast! The group spent the afternoon at a fencing lesson that focused on both technique and terminology. After a basketball warm-up, our teacher introduced us to the basics, and we threw down the gauntlet to practice our skills.
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Th idyllic island of Porquerolles is the perfect destination for a Sunday outing on the Mediterranean. We explored its many wonders by bike and on foot, and many took a dip in the clear blue water of the Côte d’Azur.
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