Le jardin des Tuileries

On Sunday, students had a free day to spend some time doing an activity with their host family or discovering new places with friends.  Some students visited Versailles with their host family, while others visited the catacombes, or watched the world go by while sitting at a café.

On Monday, we enjoyed a gorgeous afternoon in the Jardin des Tuileries to kick off Week 2.  Students learned the rules and played pétanque, a game that originated in Provence, in the south of France, and is similar to bocce ball.  One person stands in a circle and throws a heavy metal ball.  The goal is to get the ball closest to a small white ball.  After everyone has thrown their ball, the team whose ball is closest to the small white ball earns a point.  The first team to 13 points wins!  The teams were quite competitive and the scores were very close.  In between matches, students paused to have a goûter (a snack) and relax with friends in the sunshine. 

Afterwards, students took a stroll through the Tuileries gardens and had time to visit the Musée du Louvre, home to La Joconde, the Mona Lisa!  Many students were impressed by the size of the museum - it's enormous!  Others chose to visit the Musée de l'Orangerie, a former greenhouse where orange trees were kept that now houses a collection of Impressionist art, such as Claude Monet's Nymphéas (Water Lilies).

Now that the students have been here for a full week, they are becoming more confident speaking French and navigating the city, adjusting to daily life in Paris and forming relationships with their peers and host families!