Written by Sophie, Year 10, and Saralynn, Year 11
Too early in the morning on the 21st of March (3:45 am to be precise), the Angers trip met near the sunflowers. We packed our bags onto the coach and headed to the ferry! After a six hour ferry trip, where some of us tried to catch up on lost sleep, we arrived in France, and made our way to the town of Angers. It was extremely nerve wracking meeting the families we would be staying with for the first time, let alone having to speak to them in French, but we were all met with warmth and welcome, and headed off to the families’ houses.
The next day, we were off to our first language lessons. We first had a session on cinema and culture, followed by one based on improving our speaking skills. Both the sessions were enjoyable and informative and the teachers were really encouraging. After this, we ate our lunch provided by our families. The food was never in short supply and was delicious. We’ve never had so much bread in our lives! In the afternoon, we were given time to explore the town and its history through a town trail. We all gave the trail a go (to varying levels of success) but all enjoyed the shopping time afterwards. In the evening, we went back with our families and enjoyed time relaxing after our busy day and getting to know them better.
On Saturday, we were off to see the Château de Chenonceau. We were stunned by the beauty of the castle, and the history behind it. We were given the opportunity to look round the gardens and maze before eating lunch nearby. We then set off to visit the Troglodyte dwellings. These were homes carved into the rocks in the Loire Valley, and has an incredibly rich and interesting history behind it. We were given a tour that tested our listening skills with the quick French, but we enjoyed hearing about this history. We then got to taste some traditional bread (‘des fouées’) and apple juice from the region, along with some delicious spreads. Just as you would expect with French food, it was delicious. We then headed back to our families’ homes for the evening.
The next day we spent with our families. Luckily for us, our families allowed us to sleep in a bit, before we were taken to see the beautiful ‘le Chant du Monde’ tapestry and the adjoining museum. Many students were taken to see the Château d’Angers among other things such as visiting the beautiful Terra Botanica, which had some very intriguing rock-shaped speakers and a wonderful collection of flowers.
We had just one day left in Angers at this point, and we were all eager to make the most of the time there whilst we still had it. In the morning, we had some more language lessons focusing on the Olympics and sport, and in the afternoon we had a cooking workshop. This had been highly anticipated all trip, and we were all very excited to start. We each made some macarons and a white chocolate and tropical fruit tart. It was very interesting to see how macarons are made, and to attempt (mostly unsuccessfully) to master the piping technique needed. All the students (and most of the teachers) had a good go, to varying levels of success. The tart was also fun to make, though many got squished on the way back. Soon after, we headed back to our families homes for our final evening with them.
The day to travel back had arrived, and we all said goodbye to our families before heading back on the coach, and subsequently the ferry. We all figured out various ways to entertain ourselves on the 6 hour sea journey, most notably a game of music trivia with the teachers that had us all in stitches! The winners of the town trail were also announced and rewarded with Easter eggs and books in French! It was an amazing experience and we all learnt lots from the trip. We hope we’ll get to go back soon!
