Bonsoir les parents!
As I mentioned last night, the kids did a photo challenge activity last night. They were given quite a long list of challenges to complete, including things such as “take a photo of your group pretending to be the avengers”, “create your own workout video” or even “make a PGL art attack”. It was lovely to see them not only display incredible teamwork, but also fascinating to see how each group approached their tasks and the array of results we had, which I will try to post tomorrow!
It was quite an early bedtime as we were all quite worn out. Here we were worried about having to police noise, but they mostly went out like lights. Until Miss Mel and I rudely came knocking on doors at 7.30 am that is! Welcome, we most certainly were not 😉
What followed today was a great day in spite of the overwhelming heat. We kick started the day with a continental breakfast of croissants, cereal, yoghurt, fresh fruit, and baguette. This seemed to go down well with everyone except Mr Saxby, who was hankering for a full English.
We quickly set off for the nearby town of Brie Conte Robert, where we were dropped off outside the medieval castle. The students then did a town trail around this pleasant a quiet little town. And then it was off to the market we go! In the heat we currently have, it’s hardly surprising that fans were one of the most popular items they came back with!
That little bit of shopping done, we headed back to the coach and made our way over to Paris, where our lovely PGL guide, Al, gave us a coach tour of Paris with some factual information about the places we were passing, and some fun made up ones to see whether the kids would pick up on it! Now it’s your turn- which of these facts are true?
1. Having discovered the danger of UV rays, the French government opened up a cloud factory in Paris in the 1970s, to create an additional layer of protection against them.
2. The zoological gardens in Paris are one of the biggest in Europe and were originally a medicinal garden for the King of France, Louis XIII. During the famine of 1870, the Parisian people were so hungry they broke in and slaughtered some of the animals for food.
3. The French love their petit pois. The largest pea factory in France is located along the banks of the river Seine. In fact the river is precisely where the peas that fail to make the cut end up, having been hurtled down the lime green shute running outside the building. That is where the river gets its green tinge from.
After driving past the Eiffel tower, the Invalides, Notre Dame, the place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs Elysées, the Moulin Rouge and countless museums (!), we finally got dropped off in Montmartre. It was time to climb up the 300 plus stairs that lead to the top of the butte Montmartre and the iconic Sacré Coeur 😓
And off we go… up the hill to get to the steps
Group photo at summit minus 380 odd steps
Halfway up and we’re starting to really feel the heat!
Hard work, but I think we would all agree that the view was more than worth it! We then broke for a spot of lunch in the shade, looking out over the whole of Paris before having a quick look in the Basilica.
Blistering heat!
Unfortunately photos are strictly forbidden so we have none to share but it was beautiful, crowded and blissfully cool! As it turns out, 30 degrees yesterday was nothing: at 5pm today it was 38 degrees, so we reckon it was probably hovering around a scorching 40 degrees when we were climbing and pottering around Montmartre. Needless to say, we’ve got through copious amounts of sun cream and water today!
We finished off with an hour and half of group free time, which we spent looking at the street artists’ work (someone even had a free paper silhouette done), buying you lovely people gifts and obviously, eating a well-deserved ice-cream 😊
Our evening back at the Château involved dinner, a splash around in the pool and some rounders, followed by what we hope will be a very restorative, sleep-filled night ahead of tomorrow’s epic Disneyland adventure!
Bonne nuit!
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