Au revoir Paris!

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Wake-up call at 2:45 am; Some students were ready to roll in 15 minutes as they slept in their traveling cloth; We might have stressed a little too much how ready they had to be! Although Natalie and MacKenna are staying a little longer in France, they woke up to help out their friends get ready. At 3:30, a long line of 23 sleepy travelers rolled their luggage to the corner of Amelie street (once again, the charter bus was too big for our street). By now, they should be ready to board their last plane for Portland (I am also staying a little longer in Paris).
Again, I want to stress how great and well behaved students were all along the trip. As chaperons, we have received only compliments about their behavior from hotel and restaurant staff.

Last day in Paris....

Our last day in Paris was packed and very hot. Wake-up call for every one at 7:15, and everyone made it to breakfast today. We left at 8:30 and headed for Le Louvre. This time we took the Metro the entire day, much more stressful for the teachers. Luckily, Heath who can tower over everyone was a giant help counting the kids in and out the subway, holding the doors until everyone was safely in or out. Jinhyun was our navigator and made sure we took the right line, got off at the right station. To reassure you, none was left stranded on any platforms even during rush hour.
At the Louvre, it was actually fun to see our students recognize some of the art we had studied in class. We were lucky that the Mona Lisa was very accessible as sometimes the crowd is so large it is impossible to get a glance at it. You can see in the picture how good our situation was. Le Louvre is a gigantic place, but we somehow managed to stay close and have a good look at some of the art work.

Our second adventure was to get lunch at the Champs-Elysées, shopping and check out the Arc de Triomphe. The last event was Le Sacré Cœur and its quaint French artists neighborhood, and after a long and complicated Metro ride, we made it to Hard Rock café. At 9:00, we returned to the hotel and kids are packing their luggage, and hopefully getting a few hours of sleep - wake-up call is 2:45 a.m. You will be picking up very sleepy, tired kids tomorrow!

All in all, the trip has been wonderful, kids have taken care of each other were well.

Paris!!

Well, we made it to Paris. Our hotel is well located, in a quiet and narrow street (our bus driver was not able to make the last turn!), and a nice walk away from the Eiffel Tower. Our first task was to find a way to feed a crowd of 30 (most restaurant are quite small and very crowded). So we broke into 4 groups and hoped to find a way to meet somehow. Well we did it. We then had a nice walk to the lighted Effeil Tower, we were not alone! It was quite crowded, but festive. We managed to all go to the Seine, we even picked up Emma's dad on the way. We took a very pleasant cruise on the Seine enjoying the monuments, the crowd strolling on the "quais", dancing, playing music, eating, and, well, kissing. We headed back to our hotel (another nice, but probably tiring walk).
Next morning, up at 7:30, ready to roll at 8:30, we walked (again!), to le Musée d'Orsay. Students were happy to see some familiar paintings, and enjoyed the architecture of this fine museum. We walked (again) to le quartier latin for lunch, and visited Notre Dame de Paris.
We finally took the metro (yeah!) back to the hotel after some shopping. Students were able to practice their Metro skills. For dinner, we had a picnic by the Eiffel Tower, went up to enjoy the view and headed to bed. Students should all be sleeping, but Tina is still making the rounds!! Tomorrow: Le Louvre, Sacré Coeur, Les Champs Elysées.
Kids are doing great, very polite and respectful.

Saint-Malo...

We made it to Saint Malo (our hotel is the big yellow building) - Quite a different setting from our first location. Slated roof houses are made of granite, pink hydrangeas adorn their front. Kids were delighted to see the ocean and it took them less than 10 minutes to make it to the water (low tide). They found the water warm and jumped in (well, most of them). We had a superb dinner au Restaurant du Commerce. Erin said the salmon was the best dish she had ever had, and I would agree with her. The sauce was light and quite tasty.
After dinner, we had a long walk around the ramparts of the fortified town. We made it back to the hotel at around midnight.
Today, we will head to Mont Saint Michel (45 minutes away), and after a short visit, we will head to Paris which is apparently quite hot (90°).

Châteaux.....

After a visit to Chambord, we arrived at out hotel late, but delighted by the site. We swam in the pool (refreshing), and students played in the park of the château (fun to fight the bugs) while grownups relaxed on the terrace with a glass of red wine. In short the castle life.
The next morning we headed to Chenonceau (a smaller, but well furnished chateau), a 45 minute ride from Chateau de Razay. The group in the picture is standing in the Great Gallery, a ballroom that crosses the Cher river.

Au revoir Sarralbe...

Although we are now in Saint Malo, it is my first chance to hit the keyboard. We left Sarralbe on Sunday morning and headed for a long bus ride to Le Chateau de Razay. Goodbyes were tearful for some, and overall it was a great experience for both sides, for students and teachers. Parents were genuinely pleased with our students. Hopefully, their children will be able to make it to Eugene next year so we can reciprocate their welcome.
Our bus is quite comfortable, and actually, the long bus ride was a restful day for us.

Castle, eagles and monkeys in one day...

I am again working with an older computer, so I am not able to post pictures - Today we had three very different outings. After a 2 hour bus ride on twisty roads, we reached an old castle - XIIth century, but renovated in the XVth, so not that old after all! We had a picnic, and went to ruins where an "aiglerie" was located. Eagles, hawks and vultures are raised and learn tricks. The scenery fits quite well. We drove a few more miles and went to "La montagne des singes", a monkey resort. Very cute. Lots of pictures to come.
Most students were organizing outings for tomorrow, our last day in Sarralbe. We will leave this part of France on Sunday and head for the Loire Valley.

European Parliament + Strasbourg....

On Tuesday, we visited the European Parliament. A very educational visit where students learned, among other things, that one needs to be fluent in at least 4 foreign languages to work here. Currently 28 languages are spoken in this institution.

We then went to visit the Cathedral of Stasbourg and students explored the narrow streets of the city. We (50 + students and 6 teachers) managed to find a place to eat the famous local dish "flamms" - a pizza-like dish made of cream, bacon, onion and cheese.

La réception à Sarralbe.....

In spite of what Jinhyun says, the singing sounded great. It was nice to see how everyone did its best to be together. As you can see in the diaporama, parents had made cookies, pies and cakes to welcome our students. The principal had a little speech ready and parents were impatient to host their correspondants and feed them local food. Many complimented our students' French.

Frankfurt....

Frankfurt flight was tiring but eventless. We made the connection to the bus fine. We had to wait a tiring hour and a half, as you can see in the picture, for the bus that took a bus us to Strasbourg, where a second bus was waiting for us. We took that bus straight to Sarralbe to the school where our correspondants were waiting for us with a wonderful reception. The kids tried to sing, however the American students were so tired half of it sounded like mumbles and grumbles. It was a rough day for many, but lets hope it pays off! Posted by Jinhyun

Sarralbe, enfin....

Hello parents and friends - We made it safely to Sarralbe where the correspondants and families had a nice reception for us. They welcomed us with cakes, tartes, drinks (no champagne), songs, waving flags, in short the works. All the students left with their family at around 3 pm. Parents commented on how good their French was.
The trip went very smoothly, plane, bus, and bus. Kids behaved super well. In Frankfurt, they used their ATM cards to get Euros, all who tried were successful.
I am currently working with a very old computer without USB plug, so I won't be able to post some pictures, but will try later.
Au revoir!

Sarralbe - Le centre ville

http://champignons.moselle.free.fr/geo/sarralbe_eglise_1.htm

1, 2, 3, fromage!

A practice group shot which took less then 10 seconds!

This was taken right after the Grand Concours Awards ceremony, not all students kept their "médailles" on for the snapshot. Congratulations to all of you. As Morley said, French Immersion is an awesome group, full of very talented and spirited students who brings a lot to Roosevelt and South Eugene.

Two weeks to go.....

We will use this blog to keep friends and parents informed of our trip, post pictures and give updates.

To give all of us a chance to be acquainted with its format and access, I will post a few things before we go.

In red, is our itinerary starting in Frankfurt. On the left menu are some interesting links to places we will visit. I cannot wait to be there!