"Are you happy to be in Paris" "Oui" - A summary of the Paris Trip

On the 11 th March 2022, the French department took a group of 30 students on a trip to Paris. This was the school’s first trip abroad since the coronavirus lockdowns.

We started the trip with a 3:45 meet at school and a bus journey to St Pancras Station. Although a lot of us were tired, we knew it would be worth it. The security and passport checks ran smoothly without any complications. This was a huge relief for Mr Rogeon, who had been planning and stressing about those few minutes for the past six months. Once we arrived in Paris, we posed for our first group photo.

A coach took us to the hotel, where we stored our luggage, but we were off again quickly to have some lunch. We walked to a Franprix, a nearby French supermarket. We bought our authentic French lunch, a baguette and a packet of salami. Next, we took our first metro trip, to the Louvre. We all loved the metro and although it was crowded, no one got lost.

We arrived at our first tourist destination, the Louvre, the largest museum in the world. It was a marvellous opportunity for photos as well as to experience the art. Afterwards, we took another metro to the Eiffel Tower, where we had planned to have a boat trip along the Seine. We were running late so we all had to run along the bank of the river. Eventually, the rain stopped, and we were able to go onto the deck of the boat which provided us with an amazing view of Paris. One student had their birthday on the Friday, and Mr Rogeon had organised for the boat crew to give her a birthday shoutout, making it a very special day. To add to the birthday celebrations, the Eiffel Tower sparkled at 19:00, which was magical to observe. Later that evening, after some trouble with French boys, we all went to bed tired, but happy and excited for Day 2.

The second day started with a visit to the Stade de France, where we also paid a trip to the much sought-after souvenir shop. Afterwards, we travelled to Les Halles, for some lunch and shopping. The teachers went to a crêperie, and many girls went to Paul, a famous French bakery. Mr Rogeon was pleased to hear us order in French and immerse ourselves in the French language and culture.

We walked to Notre Dame where many souvenirs and crêpe were bought, whilst learning some information about the fire in the cathedral. After another walk, we admired the panoramic view from the Montparnasse tower, the third tallest building in Paris. We observed many well known buildings in Paris, such as Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, and of course also The Eiffel Tower. By the end of the day, we had walked a total of 25000 steps and were all “très fatiguée”.

Sadly, Sunday was our last day in Paris, and it began with a visit to the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Élysées, one of the most famous avenues in France. We walked through the Champs Élysées until we arrived at the Galeries Lafayette. Numerous girls had been looking forward to the shopping opportunity at the huge department store, famous for its architecture and roof top observation deck. It was then time for our last metro ride in Paris, and we loaded the luggage into the coach to the Gare du Nord. We arrived at Queen Anne's School at 21:00 at the end of an exhilarating weekend in Paris, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Mr Rogeon, the organiser of the trip commented "I think the girls had a fantastic time, they really made an effort to use the target language. It was the perfect trip to be the first trip abroad since the pandemic started!"