Written by Elodie (M5 Aleph)
Last week, 40 eager Habs students set off from the tropics of the Habs’ coach park on a very exciting voyage to Rouen, France. Chatter about GHIC cards and the sizes of people’s suitcases could be heard amongst the buzz and we soon set off on an epic coach journey. Ten hours later we arrived at the language school where our extremely welcoming host families whisked us off to spend the evening getting to know each other and learning a bit more about the week ahead.
It was such a pleasure to stay with local families who were so lovely and accommodating. By sharing meals with them, our French really improved and by the end of the week, we could converse much more fluently.
In the morning, we began our very engaging language lessons. We learnt a great deal in them and our French was notably better as a result. These studious mornings were followed by some very adventurous afternoons. We explored the culture of Rouen by taking a walking tour of the beautiful city and learning about some of the historical sites, such as Joan of Arc’s resting place as well as the picturesque Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen. It was great to take in some of the sites of this wonderful city whilst improving our language skills with the tour being in French.
Halfway through the trip we visited the famous Parc Astérix which was so much fun. It is an extremely large theme park with many different rides including water ones. I loved the park because as well as the attractions, we learnt about the Asterix comic books on which the entire park is themed. It was such an enjoyable day. The coach home was filled with laughter, as well as some colossal teddy bears that had been won at the park!
We were also very fortunate to travel to Monet’s Garden which was one of the most stunning places most of us had ever seen. It was a breath-taking experience and at each turn there were audible gasps at the beauty before us. We saw Monet’s famous lily pads and many photos were taken on the bridge overlooking the ponds. It was one of my favourite memories of the trip and it was amazing to be surrounded by such incredible nature. As I looked out over the gardens, I felt so grateful to have been given the opportunity to go on such a trip.
We had the most wonderful time in Rouen and I will cherish the many special memories from that week. I would like to thank Madame Janin for organising such a brilliant and enjoyable trip and for making every aspect so much fun. Merci beaucoup pour un voyage génial!
