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Lille final day!

Fri 16 Jun 2017

Blog day 5 -

On our final morning in Lille we packed our bags, removed our sheets and went down for breakfast. Then we got everything into the coach and made our way to Maison du Pain - a small independent bakery in the French countryside. Head baker Jacky taught us about the history of baking and introduced us to the different grains and ingredients used in his boulangerie and then the children had a chance to make their own pain au chocolats. While these baked we went on a tour of his kitchen which included a chance for some children to walk into the oven while it was on! (No children were harmed in the making of this pain au chocolat.) After that we ate the delicious treats while they were steaming hot in Jacky's garden then got on the coach to head to the ferry. Plenty of children slept on the journey and then after a bit of border control we drove into the ferry. We lunched and toileted and some of the children spent their remaining euros and then we stood on the deck and watch the chalky cliffs come into view. Now we are waiting for the ferry to let us off and looking forward to reuniting the children with all of their loved ones! It's been a fantastic trip and something all the children will remember for a long long time. Thanks for reading!

Lille day 4...

Thu 15 Jun 2017

Blog day 4 -

This morning the children were allowed a much needed lie in after the busyness of yesterday. We breakfasted at around 8:30 and then walked down the road to the local supermarket. Here the children were split into groups of four and allocated 15 euros to spend on their lunch. It was a lesson in independence, budgeting and compromise! There was also a competition to see which group would come back with the most change and the winners managed to get lunch for all of four them for less than seven euros... and they bought raspberries! After that we took the coach to the beautiful town of Ypres. The children ate their lunches sitting in front of the In Flanders Field Museum and then we went inside. There were worksheets for the children to complete and as we know how passionately the children love climbing stairs we let them go to the very top of the belfry tower for amazing views over the town and Belgian countryside. Next we went along to some of the shops including a fantastic Belgian chocolatiers' in which the children had the chance to spend some more of their money (if they had any left after Paris). Then we took the bus back to the hostel and the children showered and packed before heading into Lille for a posh Italian restaurant meal on what is our final night of this amazing trip. The children are all very much looking forward to seeing loved ones tomorrow - you have all been missed!

Lille/Paris day 3...

Wed 14 Jun 2017

Blog day 3 - It was a 6am start this morning and as the teachers went around bleary eyed to wake up the children, one group opened their door all fully dressed, packed and ready to go down for breakfast! After petit-dejuener, we walked to the train station in Lille and boarded the 0813 train to Paris. French commuters were thrilled at the prospect of 50 excited English students joining them on the hour long trip to Paris! We met Kiel and Dave Mann in Paris and headed straight for The Sacre Coeur. The children climbed the steps with minimal complaining and when they got to the top of the hill they were rewarded with spectacular views across Paris in one direction and the incredible church in the other. We decided they secretly love stairs so took them up a steep spiral staircase to the top of the church for even better views. Next the children had a chance to spend some of the money they brought in the French souvenir shops. Then we took the metro to Notre Damme and had a subway lunch after a quick tour of the beautiful building. The next stop on our busy day was at The Louvre where we glimpsed a little known painting - The Mona Lisa. After that we took a boat along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower and paused in the shade for a while with an ice cream. As the children were beginning to tire after our jam packed day in the French sun, they still managed to find the energy to perform a couple of their songs in front of the Eiffel Tower. Next we grabbed a takeaway dinner and ate it on the coach while watching Hunchback of Notre Damme and unsurprisingly, many of the children slept! After a long but memorable day we have promised the children a bit of a lie in before we visit Belgium tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures...

Paris - Kiel's account.

Wed 14 Jun 2017

Day 3: Paris

Kiel here, writing all about how amazing your children all are. With temperatures peaking at around 29 degrees, our children tackled the Sacre Coeur (climbing all the way to the top of the dome - a BV first), Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre... to see the Mona Lisa and finally to the Eiffel Tower. The children travelled along the Seine and saw the Statue of Liberty - with only a minimal amount of them concerned that they had travelled too far and were in fact in New York!

Dave Mann and I were really impressed with the children's enthusiasm for the previous day's events and that they had made new friends and really rocked their audience! Apparently they sang in the presence of the Eiffel Tower! Credit to their excellent teachers- Paul, Eleanor and Matt as well as Luke and Linda- May who were doing everything they could to make our Y6 pupils' experience the best that it can be. Dave and I left the group enjoying an ice cream or slushie as they made their way around the back of the Eiffel Tower to 'bust a few moves and sing some songs'. There was a large amount of slushie slurping going on! Paul informed me later that they had arrived safely at the hostel and that they remained ambassadors for our school.

Lille day 2

Tue 13 Jun 2017

Blog day 2 -

Last night's predictions were correct: tired legs = deep sleepers! Everyone woke up this morning to bright sunshine after an incident free night. Breakfast was very French and included baguette and cheese. After that it was time to jump onto the coach to the French school and during the journey we found out the results of the dreaded room inspection! Not very good scores from boys or girls (no higher than 8/10) but perhaps they will make improvements as the week progresses... Who will be tidier: boys or girls? Having arrived at the school, the children broke into groups with a few French children leading them on a tour of the school. Many friendships were formed despite the language barriers and we began the carousel of activities: t-shirt decorating, grand poster design and a football tournament. A delicious French school lunch followed the carousel and then it was time for the very first (slightly chaotic) joint rehearsal of We Will Rock You! 3 hours later and the children were rocking the roof off the sports hall in front of all the French parents who came to see the performance. They did such a good job the crowd demanded an encore and refused to stop clapping at the end. Homemade dinner was provided by the parents as a thank you and then we went back to the hostel for an early night ready for an early start as tomorrow we are going to Paris! Just when we thought the week couldn't get any better...

Lille 2017. Day 1...

Mon 12 Jun 2017

Day 1 -

After an early start and a few tearful goodbyes we set off on our French adventure in a luxury coach! The journey to Dover flew by and everyone was very excited despite the lack of sleep. After arriving in Calais we travelled to Vimy Ridge without any problems and were welcomed by a Canadian guide. We learnt about the role the Canadians played in the war and got to walk in real trenches. After that we spent some time in the museum area and had lunch sitting outside. Then we got back into our coach and travelled into Lille for our first look at the hostel we will call home for the next week. It is very clean and secure - we have the whole floor to ourselves and no one else can get onto the floor without a keycard. Next we headed into Lille for a look around and we ate a delicious dinner at a restaurant called Flunch. After dinner we met Laurent, one of the teachers from our French partner school, who took us on a tour of Lille city centre looking at some of the amazing architecture and rich history in the area. The children are now all getting ready for bed and we have some tired legs which will hopefully result in a good night's rest ready for tomorrow. Until then, from all of us in Lille, bon soir!