A Weekend in Paris!

This is the first trip that the MFL department has organised since the French exchange to Toulouse in March 2019. 

The organisation of this trip was very much a rollercoaster. In September, when the trip was first advertised, there was no Covid passes, no pre test departures to go to France. Then Omicron happened and the French boarders were closed in December-January 2022. When the Lent term started, we were not able to travel to France but Mr Rogeon carried on organising the trip nonetheless. Gradually the situation in France and in the UK improved and the borders opened again for native speakers. A few weeks later, pre test departures were introduced to allow travelling to happen again and the trip could go ahead. 

Finally, the journey to Paris could begin!

Unfortunately, the weather on Friday 11^th March was not on their side but that didn’t matter. The girls were smiling, tired by the 3:45am start, but delighted to be away again, discovering one of the most beautiful cities in the world for the first time in two years. Upon arriving at the hotel, the staff scanned all  Covid passes; this was the first hint that the French took the covid pass very seriously, even if it was going to be removed on the following Monday, a day after the end of our trip. We had an improved pique-nique (picnic) near the hotel where some girls bought a baguette and some saucisson as filling for their sandwiches, already getting very French. Mr Rogeon was impressed!

The students then made their way to the Louvres museum, travelling for the first time in the metro, something with which the girls were going to be very familiar by the end of this trip. They took a walk inside one the largest museums of the world and the girls admired one of the most impressive art collections in history, including of course, Mona Lisa.

After spending too much time at the Louvres it was a "happy accident" when they arrived late for their scheduled boat cruise which hadn't left just yet! The sky cleared during the boat trip and the girls were able to go outside to admire the bridges and monuments of Paris with a glorious sky and wonderful evening lights that started to settle. One student had her birthday on Friday and was delighted to hear the staff member of bateau parisien crew making an announcement on her microphone to wish her a happy birthday. By the end of the cruise, it was night time and they got to see the Eiffel Tower light up at 7pm; a wonderful way to end our first day. Arriving back at the hotel, where they enjoyed their first hot meal of the day and everyone went to bed, exhausted but happy and excited for day two.

The second day started with a visit to the Stade de France. After a journey on the metro, the girls went inside the stadium for a few pictures then went to the museum where they could discover all the cultural events that takes place in the Stade de France throughout the year. Sport events of course, but also concerts, musicals and more. Some girls showed a genuine interest in the various stages of the construction of the stadium back in 1998. A lot of us purchased souvenirs, including a France-South Africa scarf for a student who wasn’t able to travel due to passport issues.

After the Stade de France, it was time for lunch at Les Halles where the girls enjoyed the views of the St Eustaches cathedral. They took walk to Notre Dame and in the Latin Quarter and discovered l'île de la Cité. Later in the afternoon, they visited the Montparnasse tower via the quai des célestins, noticing the numerous bouquinistes along the Seine river, on their way to admire a panoramic view of Paris.

Sunday was their last day in Paris and of course no visit to the city is complete without a seeing the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysées.

After a walk through the Champs Élysées, the arrived at the Galeries Lafayette, a huge department store, known for its famous architecture and its roof top observation deck.

It was then time to return to the hotel via the metro to load the luggage into the coach for the return to Gare du Nord for the end of fully packed weekend, arriving at Queen Anne’s School around 9pm. Mr Rogeon commented "I think the girls had a fantastic time, they really made an effort to use the target language in Paris. It was the perfect trip to be the first trip abroad since the pandemic started!"