DIMANCHE, 15 MARS 2009
A very quick journey down to East Midlands airport and onto Paris CDG saw us heading out of Paris by mid-afternoon.
(A quick snack at East Midlands)
It was dark by the time we arrived at Maison Claire Fontaine (photos to follow) and after a meal and unpacking it was time for (a fairly late!) bed.
LUNDI 16 MARS 2009
There were three activities on the first full day of the trip.
Half the group went 20 minutes to 'assister un atelier de cirque' ... we were all kept entertained as we were introduced to some circus skills. All the talking was in French and this was excellent revision of the French for different parts of the body!
(There's always so much open countryside in France ... especially in unspoilt parts like we are in in deepest Burgundy ... lots of opportunity for 'man hunt' and the like ...)
Jemima W was among the most able on the balancing activities ...
The weekly table tennis tournament started today ... Luke T and Freya H being among the first to impress.
Part of our campus ... glorious weather every day so far ... not a cloud to be seen!
French tuition by French teachers in France. A lot of progress is being made!
The third session on day one saw us make the apple pie for pudding for the evening meal.
MARDI 17 MARS 2009
This morning was spent at Maison Claire Fontaine ...
... we had our second 90 minute French lesson and 90 minutes 'faire du tir l'arc', improving our archery skills.
This afternoon we visited the local small market town of Avallon. It has a number of historical buildings and a survey of the town was first on the agenda ...
The second half of the afternoon was spent playing the traditional French game of petanque and a first shopping opportunity!
Ally H, Dominic A and Harry R-S were among our more talented players!
Improving our French language skills didn't stop at 6 p.m. either. Whilst the rest of our seniors were doing prep at school, our 4th years were working hard on their journals. By the end of the week many of our linguists were writing a considerable amount each night.
MERDREDI 18 MARS 2009
Time always starts to slip away all too quickly by mid-week on the French trip. The table tennis competition started to 'hot up' ...
... early risers to the tables saw them covered in frost. Freezing temperatures overnight, but gloriously mild sunny weather in the afternoon. We were ever so lucky with the weather!
Charles B was beaten in the table tennis final 21-18 by Freya H whose steady return of serve frustrated every opponent all week, including me!
Wednesday morning saw our groups share three hours between 'faire de la mosaique' and 90 minutes of French in preparation for Thursday's visit to Guedelon.
Our nerves were tested on Wednesday afternoon as we paid a visit to the 'high ropes' adventure centre just outside Avallon ...
Luke T was very confident!
Wednesday evening and a typical French restaurant. One of the very best aspects of visiting this part of France is that it is well away from tourists ... so we get to see the real country. Furthermore the locals aren't very good at their English when it comes to visiting shops and markets ... it's all down to our 4th year to get their French right!
JEUDI 19 MARS 2009
It may be a 90 minute drive away, but the 13th century chateau at Guedelon continues to make good progress! The project started in 1998 and it is taking 25 years to build a chateau using only the methods available to people in the 13th century.
We have a super guided tour (by the same guide who also took us round in 2007 and 2008!). Historians among you may wish to 'dig deep' in the website to see the 2008 French Trip report and look at the photo taken from the same position as the one above to see the progress made in one year!
Journal writing completed another busy day.
VENDREDI 20 MARS 2009
Vermenton is a small town 15 miles away from Maison Claire Fontaine and we visited their market on Friday morning. Each group of seven were given 21 Euros to buy their lunch ...
... and then prizes were awarded in different categories for the 'best' lunch ...
We spent our final Euros at the Auchan hypermarket before returning to base and a slightly earlier bed ...
SAMEDI 21 MARS 2009
We awoke (were awaken) at 3.15 a.m. to leave Burgundy and catch our 9.55 a.m. flight from Paris CDG to East Midlands. We arrived back at school at 12.15 p.m. having had a successful, tiring and rewarding six days in France.
JMHF