À toutes les gloires de la France !
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The first week in France was a whirlwind! Hopefully, the students were able to check off some big items on their bucket list: a bateau-mouche tour on the Seine, climbing the Eiffel Tower, visiting the Louvre, strolling through Montmartre, and the taking in the splendor of the Palace of Versailles.
Early Saturday morning, yawning students and teachers all loaded into the metro for the 45 minute journey to Versailles. Students whose home stays keep them close to the CIEE center were excited to see French houses (rather than apartments) for the first time. As we rolled into Versailles and into the city center, students remarked that the town looked and felt like a mini Paris.
Once inside the castle, we moved through in small groups, taking in the incredible architecture and artwork. Castle highlights included the King and Queen’s bedrooms and the Galerie des glaces. People come from all over the world to see this grand chateau and we enjoyed the cacophony of languages around us as we walked through the castle: English, French, German, Dutch, Chinese, Italian, and Spanish, to name a few.
My favorite student comments included, “Every portrait looks like the same person! I guess they all married each other...” “I bet the servants got lost all the time,” and “No wonder the common people hated them.” Out of the mouths of babes!
The real treat was outside in the famous gardens. It was a temperate, sunny day, and the students enjoyed time to walk around, discover the hidden “rooms” in the garden, and take silly pictures. After our busy week, some preferred a nap!
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