Farewell France!

Dear France,

We had a great trip!  Thank you for the beautiful weather and all the great memories!

Day 13

The end is near! Did you enjoy having a break from your kid for almost 2 weeks? It was definitely a pleasure having them and I bet you can’t wait to hear their stories.

This morning, we visited one of the most amazing wonders of the world, Mont Saint Michel. Interestingly enough, it is not one of the 7 wonders of the world. We were given a tour by an energetic French woman from Brittany, who was happy to tell us that Mont Saint Michel was never taken over by the English. We walked our way up from the base of the town to the Abby at the top of the island. It was low tide so it didn’t look like an island, but when high tide occurs, there is no way for tourists to get on or off the island. The walk up was breathtaking… literally. We were huffing and puffing because the highest point is almost 300 feet above sea level!

Our next visit was to the city of Saint-Malo, in Brittany. Originally built during the Middle Ages, Saint-Malo is fortified by a wall and at one point was known for employing Pirates. We walked the circumference of the city on top of the wall and then gave the kids some time to finalize their shopping since they might not get another chance. You can see from the pictures that Saint-Malo is a beautiful city and many people come here to vacation or go to the beach.

Tomorrow, we stop by Versailles before we head back to Paris for our last night. Normandy has been fantastic and we will definitely miss it!

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Day 12

Bonsoir!

It was our 2nd day in Normandy and we had a very full agenda. This morning, we packed up our bags and left Merville, to stop and see the batteries that were used by the Germans in WWII. These long range missiles were located at the top of cliffs to attack opposing forces from landing on the beaches. They were heavily fortified and could launch a projectile about 8 miles.

Next, we took a quick stop to see the temporary harbors of Arromanches. The Allied forces built these harbors to help unload heavy equipment and to break the tides. The high and low tides of Normandy have the second largest range in the world. The first goes to the Bay of Fundy.

We then stopped by the Mémorial de Caen, which is a museum mostly dedicated to WWII. They do an excellent job describing the history of the war and the impact it had locally and globally. The words that I write cannot do the museum justice. If you have a chance to visit Normandy, this is a must see!

After the museum, we took the group to the Normandy American Cemetery. You might recognize this cemetery from the movie, “Saving Private Ryan.” It is located above Omaha Beach and holds the remains of 9,387 American soldiers. Although it is a cemetery, it is a beautiful place that honors the dedication, efforts, and sacrifices of these soldiers.

Last, we made it to our home for the next two days. The hostel here in Granville, is beautiful and situated on the English Channel. It is actually a sailing school as well as a hostel and the town is famous for being the birthplace of Christian Dior. After dinner, we took a walk through the town and made our way back to our rooms.

Tomorrow, we have two main stops, Mont-Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo. Both are ridiculously beautiful places and you will have to wait for tomorrow’s update!

Trois jours de plus en France!

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Day 11

Bonjour!

Did you miss us? Today, we said goodbye to our host families as we embarked on our journey to Normandie and a few surrounding areas. Our first stop was to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet. This stop included a visit to the Japanese style garden, where the infamous green bridge can be seen and the English style garden, where the infamous chickens and turkey can be seen. The English garden is also the front yard of Monet’s house. The students were able to take a tour of the house and see that he loved Japanese paintings as well as the room where he did many of his paintings.

Next, we stopped by a beautiful city where the English Channel meets the Seine River, Honfleur. This town was once taken over by vikings and a church was created so that the roof was in the shape of a ship’s hull, but upside down. They originally meant for this church to be a temporary place of worship, but it has survived hundreds and hundreds of years. Kids were given free time to walk the city, shop, and see the sights.

Our last stop was to our hostel in Merville. The kids were super excited to see how nice the hostel looks and loved that we were able to walk on the beach before dinner.

Tomorrow, we have a busy day visiting places related to WWII.

Goodnight and we’ll see you then!

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Day 8

Bonjour!

Friday was our last day together touring Paris. Next week, we take our travels to Normandy and we will be traveling together with High School West.

We began our day with a stop by Saint Chapelle, a chapel that used to hold sacred holy relics like the Game of Thrones… I mean Crown of Thorns. In the words of Ms. Bonventre, imagine a beautiful jewelry box holding your most precious items. Saint Chapelle, was the jewelry box that held the Passion Relics. It was built so that when you are inside, you do not really notice the walls. Your eyes will focus on the gorgeous stained glass windows depicting the stories of the Bible and the Apostles. Several of our students mentioned that it was one of the most impressive things that they have seen in Paris!

A hop and a skip later, we found ourselves at the Notre Dame Cathedral. This is another one of my favorite spots in Paris. Maybe it is because this is my 7th time on the trip and I feel “Quasi” French, I am always in awe when I step inside. We were also able to take the kids to the top of the right tower. Kayleigh counted the steps and said it was about 760 going up and down. Considering the Arc de Triomphe was 568 steps up and down, this gives you a good idea on how tall the cathedral is.

Next, we took the kids back to the Eiffel Tower, totally expecting that we were going to have to wait 2-3 hours to get to the top. However, luck was on our side. There was a very small line and it took us 30 minutes to get to the 2nd stage of the Eiffel Tower. This is almost unheard of!

After 2 hours at the Eiffel Tower, we took our kids to a restaurant, owned by the sister of one of the French teacher’s here. She reserved all the interior tables for us and gave us an amazing dinner with choices of a gourmet cheeseburger, quiche, salmon, or salad. To top it off, the students got to taste the most famous ice cream in France, Berthillon ice cream. I’d like to give a special shoutout to Marie and her sister for putting this dinner together for us!

We concluded our evening and adventures in Paris with a boat ride along the Seine River. It was a perfect capitulation to our journey, seeing the monuments and museums lit up at night, for one last time.

Have you ever heard the Motto “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Well, preparation and opportunity met and we had a fabulous week with the kids. Our time is France is half over, but we have incredible things planned for next week. The weather for next week looks terrible, gloomy, rainy, and cold. Just kidding… Sunny and temps in the 70s for us! Stay tuned for more updates next week!

Bonne journée

P.S. Pics taken at the Eiffel Tower are by Francesca! She offered to take pics for the blog and did a great job!

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Day 7

We have been in France for 7 days and have been making memories that will last a lifetime. It was another day of beautiful weather and sightseeing. The kids have been awesome and we are all having a blast!

This morning, we were supposed to go up the Eiffel Tower. However, many French workers went on strike and the Eiffel Tower employees were a part of that. Instead of being a tourist, our students received a quick civic’s lesson on the rights of the French people and the impact a strike can have. Tomorrow, we will try again and see if we can go to the top of the tower.

As a backup plan, we decided to take the kids to the Rodin garden. It was a quick visit but they really enjoyed seeing the sculptures.

Finally, we stopped by the one and only Paris Opera House. It is the opera house that is the setting for Phantom of the Opera. If you have ever been to the Albany Capitol, you might have seen the “Million Dollar Staircase,” which is modeled after Paris’ Billion dollar staircase in the Paris Opera House.

Tomorrow, we plan on seeing Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower. At night, we have a boat ride along the Seine river. Due to the possibility that we might have to wait hours in line for the Eiffel Tower, we decided that we will stay with the kids in Paris, feed them dinner, and then take them to the boat. Rather than bringing them back to Montrouge, only to turn around and go back to Paris, keeping them in Paris made sense.

À la prochaine!

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Day 6

Welcome back!

How’s the weather in Clifton Park? In case you’re wondering, the weather this afternoon was about 20 degrees……… celsius, or rather almost 70 degrees Fahrenheit!!! I’m pretty sure we are coming back with a tan because it has been hot and sunny!

We had another great day with our first stop at the Louvre Museum. History.com says they have over 70,000 pieces of art. Our guide showed us about 10 of the most significant pieces which of course included the Mona Lisa.

Unfortunately, due to our scheduled time slot at the Arc de Triomphe and the necessity to eat lunch, we only had about 2 hours at the Louvre. Fortunately, it was an amazing and educational 2 hours!

After lunch in the Tuileries Garden, we walked up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. In order to get to the base of the Arc, you have to go through a tunnel where people wait in line to get tickets to climb to the top. The line or “queue” as the say in France, was pretty long. With luck on our side, a girl behind the ticket window recognized Ms. Bonventre and myself because she hosted one of our Shen students a few years ago. What a small world! She allowed all of us to pass without having to wait in the queue.

Side note – I nominated myself to be the Watcher of the Bags at the base of the Arc (I had already climbed up the Arc to the top on previous trips). Evan was given my camera and appointed cameraman. He has a great eye and did a fantastic job taking photos! Most of the pictures done at the Arc are by Evan!

Before we parted, the Deputy Mayor of Montrouge, welcomed us with a nice speech, drinks, cookies, and cake. She talked about the importance of the exchange program and congratulated us on 20 years of friendship between Montrouge and Clifton Park. We then gave her a gift and thanked the people of Montrouge for being so kind and welcoming to us. Finally, she said to let everyone enjoy the rest of our trip in France and to let them eat cake. The cake was delicious.

Side Side note – I changed up the style of the photos tonight. Please let me know if you have a preference! If people don’t object, I’ll change it up now and then.

Side Side Side note – Sorry, this will be the last one. I’m sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes. It’s pretty late and my parents spoke Korean at home.

Bonne nuit!

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Day 5

Good afternoon… Good evening… Goodnight!

I guess depending on where you are, one of those greetings will work!

We had a fantastic, amazing, and long day today. I suppose I will begin with our first group meeting at school and train ride into Paris. Every morning, we meet at the school, chat for a little bit on how everything is going and what we will be doing that day. This morning, we shared stories of some of the activities that we have done, since arriving in France. We heard everything from helping to cook dinner, shopping, visiting castles, playing basketball, and visiting museums.

Once we are ready to leave, we walk about 10 minutes to get to the train station, Laplace. This train takes us right into the heart of Paris. Our first destination was to Musée d’Orsay, which is a wonderful, former train station that now holds classical and impressionist art. We went on a 90 minute tour with a guide and she explained the history of several of the more prominent art pieces. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_d’Orsay

***Alert*** Since it is 11:39pm, I included a link to the museum so that you can see, in more detail, what is being exhibited.

After spending a couple of hours at the museum, we had a nice lunch along the Seine river.

Next, we spent the rest of the afternoon at Montmartre. From here, you get an incredible view of Paris due to the higher altitude. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmartre

Finally, the French students threw a pot luck/dance party for our students. The kids had a great time and made me not regret being a teenager.

Tomorrow, we have another big day with a visit to Louvre, Tuileries Gardens, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, and finally a reception with the Mayor of Montrouge at the town hall.

Until then, À tout à l’heure!

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Day 3

Joyeuses Pâques! “Happy Easter!”

Today we woke up to a beautiful sunny day! It was a tad chilly when the wind was blowing but quite warm in the sun. Around 10:30, we met at Parc de Sceaux, where we had a chocolate Easter egg hunt. The garden was beautiful since the flowers were starting to bloom. What is amazing about this place, is that it was designed by the same person who designed the gardens at Versailles! Fortunately for us, it is only a few minutes from where we are located.

After the hunt, the kids had the rest of the day to spend with their host families. My host family and I went to a musical instrument museum in Paris where we got to play with some old instruments and watch some performances up close. Probably the most interesting instrument was the octobass. It should be called Gigantic Bass.

Monday is another holiday and we won’t see the kids. Everyone said they are doing well and having a great time!

Stay tuned for our adventure on Tuesday!

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Day 2

Bonjour from France!

Good news! We all made it here safe and sound. Traffic was crazy and we had some rain but overall, we had a good day. We were able to take a bus tour of Paris before we arrived at the school.

Bad news… I forgot my universal adaptor for my computer so I’m hoping I can finish this before my battery runs out!

On Sunday, we will meet with the East kids and have a real Easter egg hunt at a beautiful garden. The next time we meet will be on Tuesday since Easter Monday is considered a holiday in France. Hopefully, the weather will be nice and I will be able to post a lot more pictures!

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