Published on: 15 April 2014

The group arrived at our hostel after an exhausting 20-hour trip, keen to grab some sleep. The following morning, we awoke to two-dozen runners in the foyer, all of whom were entered in the popular Paris Marathon. We visited the amazing Sacré Coeur church and enjoyed an expensive lunch in the suburb of Montmartre. After that, we made our way to the famous Champs-Élysées, where we shopped away the rest of the day. The following day we visited Notre Dame Cathedral and spent the rest of the day shopping at Place de Vosges. The next morning we attended a cooking class at the prestigious Alain Ducasse cooking school. The three courses of seafood, duck and chocolate cake were all incredibly tasty as well as fascinating to make. The next morning, after a 40-minute trip, we arrived at the Palace of Versailles. The opulence of the palace and sheer scale of the gardens amazed everyone. While the girls went to Palais-Royale for a guided visit of some exclusive fashion stores, we went to see the Catacombs. After this we attended a class in French etiquette in the upmarket 16th arrondissement of Paris. The experience of this is something we are greatly looking forward to sharing upon our return. We are looking forward to visiting the Louvre today, then spending the remaining two weeks with our host families and going to school at Saint-Jean et la Croix in St Quentin.

 

Ethan Gill (Year 11) and Thomas Waring (Year 10), tour members.