Year 13 Paris Trip

For many people Paris represents love, culture and good food. The very mention of the city conjures up images of the spectacular Eiffel Tower, the beauty of the Sacre Coeur and the magnificent Notre Dame. Yet for 14 budding linguists, the Parisian experience was rather more unique than just sightseeing...

Taking the Metro had seemed a daunting challenge at first and with good reason! The first journey saw a narrow escape for an over-packed suitcase caught in the Metro doors, and a Frenchman who apparently found our feeble attempts to speak his language so amusing he nearly fell off his chair! However, we soon overcame these difficulties and succeeded in returning to the youth hostel each night with everyone intact.

The next day began with a trip to the market. This included the average cheese and baguette stalls, as well as the typically French meat stalls, which endeavour to make use of every single part of the animal.

Another eventful occasion took place on the second night in a rather unusual restaurant. We were met by several ex-students, including Sam (one of our students from 4 years ago), who acted as our tour guide throughout the whole trip. Our party also included friends and family members of Mme Page, M. Deves and Marine, the language assistant. The atmosphere was lively and very loud, and walking over the tables seemed to be considered the norm, but we all thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in real French culture and being able to 'hold our own' in another language! But that wasn't where the evening ended; we soon found ourselves in the strangest nightclub we had ever been to, with a cross-dressing DJ and a lot of wild dancing!

We all enjoyed visiting places such as L'Arc de Triomphe and the World Restaurant in the Louvre (despite having to pay 1 Euro for the toilet!), but one of the best visits was to Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur. This was a day of the beautiful weather, beautiful buildings and beautiful music. The next morning we went to a local lycee and spent an hour talking to the students in a speed-dating set-up, in a mixture of French and English. This was really interesting as we gained a first-hand experience of what it is really like to be a French student.

Looking back at our trip, we are all extremely grateful for the staff that came with us and the huge amount of organisation that went into the trip. It was a big relief not to have to worry about the budget - everything was already paid for and the experience really bonded the group, as well as giving us more confidence in speaking French. A truly amazing trip!

Lucy, Year 13 student