2017 Photos
Day 1 :
We have made it through our day of travels! It was quite an exhausting day but we are finally back at the hotel for a good night's sleep. (it is 10:00pm, 3pm Denver time)
We left on time from Denver and arrived on time in Iceland. Only a rare few slept on the plane to Iceland, so everyone was pretty loopy by the time we arrived there. When we were going through passport checks, Michael realized he could not find his passport. Long story short we think that somehow it stayed behind in Denver, because after searching the plane and his belongings, we never did find it. We are waiting to hear back from DIA before we decide whether or not we need to go to the Embassy on Monday to get him a replacement.
We were allowed to go on to our next flight to Paris, because we had a copy of Michael's passport on us. Pfhhhewww! Almost everyone slept on that flight. When we got to Paris, we found out that there had been an incident at Orly, the other Paris airport, and many flights had been diverted towards our airport. It made getting our luggage much longer than it was supposed to, and our shuttle took longer to get there as well. We finally got the our hotel a little after 1:00pm.
I am including the many photos I took today. We are having such a good time. The whole group is so much fun to be with, and I have laughed more today than I had in a long time, and this is after losing a passport, dealing with airport delays, subways shutting down, and sore feet. Here are the photos, they speak for themselves....
We have made it through our day of travels! It was quite an exhausting day but we are finally back at the hotel for a good night's sleep. (it is 10:00pm, 3pm Denver time)
We left on time from Denver and arrived on time in Iceland. Only a rare few slept on the plane to Iceland, so everyone was pretty loopy by the time we arrived there. When we were going through passport checks, Michael realized he could not find his passport. Long story short we think that somehow it stayed behind in Denver, because after searching the plane and his belongings, we never did find it. We are waiting to hear back from DIA before we decide whether or not we need to go to the Embassy on Monday to get him a replacement.
We were allowed to go on to our next flight to Paris, because we had a copy of Michael's passport on us. Pfhhhewww! Almost everyone slept on that flight. When we got to Paris, we found out that there had been an incident at Orly, the other Paris airport, and many flights had been diverted towards our airport. It made getting our luggage much longer than it was supposed to, and our shuttle took longer to get there as well. We finally got the our hotel a little after 1:00pm.
I am including the many photos I took today. We are having such a good time. The whole group is so much fun to be with, and I have laughed more today than I had in a long time, and this is after losing a passport, dealing with airport delays, subways shutting down, and sore feet. Here are the photos, they speak for themselves....
Day 2 We woke up early and left the hotel by 8am sharp. We started by taking the metro to Notre Dame Cathedral where everyone got to visit indoors. There was a mass during our visit, giving everyone an insight into the traditions of practicing catholics in France. Then we went to the Catacombs (finally!). See pictures below. We then went to the Champs Elysées to see the Arc de Triomphe. It was a speedy morning as we had to do all of this in 4 hours to make it back to the hotel by noon to catch the bus to Versailles. We were lucky to have pretty mild weather in Paris, no rain, a bit breezy and cloudy but the temperatures were very nice. Tomorrow is our first day at the school. Everyone was a little nervous to meet with their families, but I am sure everyone will be all smiles tomorrow morning...
Enjoy the pictures.
Enjoy the pictures.
Day 3. All students arrived at the school this morning for an arrival breakfast in the school cafeteria. They served Sugar pie and brioche with French cheeses. We got to tour the school where students got to see a class who had just made aspirin in their chemistry lab, and other general classes. After the morning recess (yes, French students get a 15mn morning recess, a one and a half hour lunch, and a 15mn recess) they all shadowed their host student in their next 2 classes. Some went to Latin class, others went to Italian, others to math where they were impressed that they understand the probability concept that was being taught (according to Zach and Peyton, they had already learned it last year, so they felt "ahead of the game". Eventually, lunch arrived and students went to the cafeteria with their host students and met again after lunch in the Ham Radio Room where we recorded them asking their question for the ISS contact with Thomas Pesquet, since the contact will take place at the beginning of May so we won't be there for it. (see photos below). The kids received a chocolate croissant at afternoon recess, and then we toured the town with a tour guide who told us all about the city's history of a famous family called the Vanien who turned a small country village into one of the 5 main shoe making (cobbler) factories in France. It was very interested, especially since we got to see building from the 11th and 12th century!
After the tour, we went to the city hall for a welcome speech by the mayor's assistant. It was a very nice welcome with a very sincere speech praising our group for coming to Lillers and beginning this great exchange. I am excited to build on this school exchange with the city of Lillers who seems prepared to extend this opportunity long term.
Here are today's pictures. Since we stayed at the school, there are considerably less.
After the tour, we went to the city hall for a welcome speech by the mayor's assistant. It was a very nice welcome with a very sincere speech praising our group for coming to Lillers and beginning this great exchange. I am excited to build on this school exchange with the city of Lillers who seems prepared to extend this opportunity long term.
Here are today's pictures. Since we stayed at the school, there are considerably less.
Day 4 : A day on the coast.
We took off from the school at 8:30 with both the French group of students and our group, a total of 28 people. We headed for the coast, and specifically to Boulogne. On the way there I could truly see the bonds begin to form between students. They were teasing each other about their accents, teaching each other song lyrics, typical hand gestures and slang words, commenting on each other's hobbies and favorite things to do. There was a lot of laughing and it warmed my heart. When we arrived in Boulogne, we toured the marine center (Nausica). It is a very nice aquarium with a great variety of fish and sea creatures. After a 2 hour tour, we walked around the backside of the aquarium and sat down to eat on the beach! It was a crisp day with beautiful blue skies and a bit of a breeze, so all the kids ran on the sand and played in the shallow waters, rolling their pants up and splashing around, doing handstands and flips on the sand. They are such a great group, that you could not tell who is American and who is French. They all mingle and goof around like happy teenagers.
After their play time on the beach, we got back on the bus and drove to the cliffs. From there, we could see, on the other side of the channel, the cliffs of Dover (England). We also saw some mussel farms along the coast. We then walked over to the CROSS (Local Coast guard facility), where the director gave us an official tour of the facility. We sat for an hour long conference on how France runs its surveillance and rescue missions in the channel between France and England. It was very interesting and the kids asked very pertinent questions.
We then toured the surveillance room where we saw marine officers in actions, checking the waters and logging contacts with ships navigating in the area. It was a very special experience, as this facility is not typically open to the public, and strictly secured. They made an exception for our group, and was very informative and impressive.
After the tour, we got back on the bus for another hour ride back to the school, during which the kids continued playing, laughing, teaching each other tongue twisters and fun facts. With the chaperones, we admired their ability to communicate and be so open about their differences.
Here are today's pictures....
We took off from the school at 8:30 with both the French group of students and our group, a total of 28 people. We headed for the coast, and specifically to Boulogne. On the way there I could truly see the bonds begin to form between students. They were teasing each other about their accents, teaching each other song lyrics, typical hand gestures and slang words, commenting on each other's hobbies and favorite things to do. There was a lot of laughing and it warmed my heart. When we arrived in Boulogne, we toured the marine center (Nausica). It is a very nice aquarium with a great variety of fish and sea creatures. After a 2 hour tour, we walked around the backside of the aquarium and sat down to eat on the beach! It was a crisp day with beautiful blue skies and a bit of a breeze, so all the kids ran on the sand and played in the shallow waters, rolling their pants up and splashing around, doing handstands and flips on the sand. They are such a great group, that you could not tell who is American and who is French. They all mingle and goof around like happy teenagers.
After their play time on the beach, we got back on the bus and drove to the cliffs. From there, we could see, on the other side of the channel, the cliffs of Dover (England). We also saw some mussel farms along the coast. We then walked over to the CROSS (Local Coast guard facility), where the director gave us an official tour of the facility. We sat for an hour long conference on how France runs its surveillance and rescue missions in the channel between France and England. It was very interesting and the kids asked very pertinent questions.
We then toured the surveillance room where we saw marine officers in actions, checking the waters and logging contacts with ships navigating in the area. It was a very special experience, as this facility is not typically open to the public, and strictly secured. They made an exception for our group, and was very informative and impressive.
After the tour, we got back on the bus for another hour ride back to the school, during which the kids continued playing, laughing, teaching each other tongue twisters and fun facts. With the chaperones, we admired their ability to communicate and be so open about their differences.
Here are today's pictures....
Day 6 : What a fun day!!! We left at 8:15 this morning and arrived in Lille at 10:00. We first went to Euralille (the mall) and gave the kids an hour and a half to explore and shop. I think students could have easily stayed another hour, but we had to walk for about 30mn to get to the bowling center. We ate like kings there (salmon, steak, crème brûlée etc...) and then got a private room with glowing lights for bowling. The kids had a blast bowling and goofing off. It was so fun to see them interacting and being so jovial!
After bowling we walked to the Art museum (essentially a mini Louvre) and got a private guide (our wonderful chaperone Christophe!) who gave us lots of great explanations about paintings and statues. The kids said they loved visiting the museum and seeing such amazing art.
We then got back on the bus, shopping bags and all, and went back to the school. Tomorrow we go to Belgium, and it seems that time is going by so fast! Enjoy today's photos....
After bowling we walked to the Art museum (essentially a mini Louvre) and got a private guide (our wonderful chaperone Christophe!) who gave us lots of great explanations about paintings and statues. The kids said they loved visiting the museum and seeing such amazing art.
We then got back on the bus, shopping bags and all, and went back to the school. Tomorrow we go to Belgium, and it seems that time is going by so fast! Enjoy today's photos....
We could not have asked for a better weather to go to Belgium! Everything was just beautiful today in Bruges. We had blue skies, cool crisp weather, and a not so crowded city.
We took a boat around the canals of the city, and then had lunch in the pedestrian streets. After lunch we got on our Segways and toured the city, rolling around the cobblestoned streets and looking at flemish architecture. Our tour guide said we had wonderfully disciplined kids who we so pleasant to have for a tour. He truly enjoyed telling them about the city.
For the rest of the afternoon, the kids had free time to explore and shop. I saw many bags of chocolate, lace and other items back on the bus when we boarded at 6:30. We saw a gorgeous sunset on the way back, closing our day in Belgium with amazing colors.
Enjoy the many pictures below...
We took a boat around the canals of the city, and then had lunch in the pedestrian streets. After lunch we got on our Segways and toured the city, rolling around the cobblestoned streets and looking at flemish architecture. Our tour guide said we had wonderfully disciplined kids who we so pleasant to have for a tour. He truly enjoyed telling them about the city.
For the rest of the afternoon, the kids had free time to explore and shop. I saw many bags of chocolate, lace and other items back on the bus when we boarded at 6:30. We saw a gorgeous sunset on the way back, closing our day in Belgium with amazing colors.
Enjoy the many pictures below...
The day is not over yet, but I am posting now because this evening we will be coming home late. We went to a war bunker this morning, followed by a the city of Arras. Students shopped and visited, then we went to the Wellington Quaries.
This evening we are going to a local café where we will be eating dinner with the band called Bless which will then entertain us for the evening.
I do want to say a word about how great our group has been (both French and American). Bus drivers are commenting on how great our kids are and how respectful and fun they are to be around.
This has been a very successful exchange, not only because the students are getting along so well, but because every excursion has gone flawlessly and has been organized and executed with the utmost detail and courtesy. Our chaperones, Mr Bricout and Mr Decroix have been so great and the kids love them. We can't wait to entertain them in Colorado!
I do want to say a word about how great our group has been (both French and American). Bus drivers are commenting on how great our kids are and how respectful and fun they are to be around.
This has been a very successful exchange, not only because the students are getting along so well, but because every excursion has gone flawlessly and has been organized and executed with the utmost detail and courtesy. Our chaperones, Mr Bricout and Mr Decroix have been so great and the kids love them. We can't wait to entertain them in Colorado!
Last night we went to a small pub where the kids had spaghetti for dinner and got to meet the band BLESS from London. The band is a rock band, who was on the last leg of a 6 month tour through France. They were delighted to have Americans in what would have otherwise been a pretty small audience. We had a lot of fun dancing! After the show, the kids got to have their shirts signed by the band members and got to chat with them. Today, all the kids are with their host families. Some of hiking, some of fishing for mussels, some are resting and baking. I can't wait to hear all about their day when I see them bright and early tomorrow. We sprang forward an hour last night, so even though we are meeting at the bus tomorrow at 6:00am, it will in fact be 5:00 for everyone....We have the bullet train to catch in Lille at 9:30, to go to the airport. For you all, it will seem like a short day, but for us, the trip begins in less than 12 hours....See you soon in Denver!!!