Souvenirs de l'Angleterre

It's hard to believe that just yesterday we were sitting on Henri II's throne and walking through the paths of Thomas Beckett and the Wife of Bath......Voilà encore des photos.  Taking the hovercraft and riding through the Chunnel was also pretty unforgettable.

Our bus drove into this to cross the English Channel

In the Hovercraft!

Breakfast at the pub!

Queen Kate!

The Castle in Dover

We rode in this to cross the English Channel!!

On our way to Dover! The famous white cliffs.

Quaint cemetery

One of many photos du groupe!

The happy chaperones!

A royal air!

Spectacular gardens at Canterbury cathedral.

The Nave at Canterbury 

Yesterday, as Mme. Diederich wrote about, we went to Angleterre for the 3eme (9^th grade) field trip. We saw the White Cliffs of Dover on the hovercraft as we neared our destination, and then up close when we reached the island! Past the cliffs we drove to the town where we had breakfast at The Eight Bells pub. Some of us played cards while others (the frenchies) waved butter packages in the air saying, “butter-fly.” After a traditional English breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, tomato, toast, and fruit juice, we headed off to the Dover Castle. At the castle, we left the frenchies and began our own tour, guided by Mme. Diederich telling us the French name for every part of the castle (pont-levis, or drawbridge; something we could not cross until we said the correct French name). We continued exploring the castle and saw many different rooms set up as if King Henry II lived their himself; we even go to sit in his throne! We explored the tunnels that ran underneath the castle and saw parts of the Secret (shhh) World War II Tunnels. After learning about the history of the castle and getting to see the parts of it relating to what we learned, we had a picnic with the French correspondents and eventually had to take shelter in the souvenir shop in order to get away from the wind! After seeing the castle, we were off to see Canterbury and the famous Canterbury Cathedral! We walked around the beautiful town of Canterbury and eventually arrived at the cathedral! The Canterbury Cathedral is utterly beautiful! The cathedral’s architecture displays beautiful arches and much ornamentation. We saw the beautiful stained glass that the cathedral’s walls housed and we even got to stop and light a candle and say a prayer! It was an amazing experience to be able to see so much beauty and history first hand! Two of us also reflected on the serenity that we seemed to feel in the Cathedral no matter our religious backgrounds. Walking back through the town, a few of us spotted a tearoom that we had to try for the “full British experience.” We three shared pots of hot tea and munched on scones with butter and jam. Then, we headed back to France on the Channel, a new experience for most of us.

-Kate and Shae