Quelle canicule! Brittany and Chartres during the heat wave

Normandy and Brittany are beautiful. The beaches look like a perfect picture from your monthly National Geographic magazine. Yesterday, we went to Mont St. Michel and cruised around Normandy/Brittany in our ice cold bus. I think the theme of yesterday’s excursions was rocks because we went to go see a sacred rock on top of a huge rock (Mont Saint Michel) then went to see just a rock in the middle of nowhere (I’m not sure what the name was but it was huge rock), then we went climbing on rocks that looked over the ocean (the Emerald Coast) and ended our day with skipping rocks on the beach before dinner. So yeah. The moral of my story was that there are a lot of rocks in Normandy and Brittany. Also, before I finish my post I have to tell you about the food. The food here is amazing (well at least at the hotel). The first night I had salmon and when I ordered it I thought to myself “Ella. Why in the world did you order salmon? You don’t like salmon you idiot.” But let me tell you about that piece of fish. It was probably one of the best seafood dishes I have ever had. I loved it. If you love seafood, I  highly recommend that you get yourself over here ASAP and eat some fish because it’s that good. Anyways, I’m defiantly going to miss this place and I hope I can come back in the future. See you in LA. -Ella

When I think of France, I picture little kids riding bikes in Paris with baguettes and berets. But in Normandy we got to experience a different side of France that’s not on every postcard. We had fun adventures, exploring our small town by the beach, and took long bus rides to see things such as Mont Saint Michael, historical monuments, and beautiful beaches. Overall, Normandy was very different from Paris, but brought more history to the trip!—Anaïs

The rock where Saint Michael beat the devil

Good morning everyone, it’s the final day of the France GIP trip. Yesterday, we started off by driving up to Mont Saint Michel. After suffering through climbing up a seemingly endless hill, we toured the breathtaking cathedral. In the process of trying to find drinkable water, a small group of us wandered off, finding ourselves taking a long tour. The beautiful mixes of architecture (it was rebuilt after burning down) made for a wonderful sight of gothic and neoclassical styles. After the group reassembled, we had free time to walk into the market and explore the various aspects of the island, ranging from sandy beaches to tall towers. After lunch, we drove out to Pont Pig Snout (we can’t remember the French name). When we arrived we took a short walk to a beautiful jagged rock point. We could see the emerald colored ocean and, far away in what seemed to be an ominous mist, we could see Mont St Michel. As we walked back, the sun beat down upon us. I could feel all the moisture leaving my body as I grew ever more dehydrated. We climbed on the cool airconditioned bus and made our way back to the hotel. Back in town we were rewarded with 2 hours of free time, a quarter of which I spent at the beach in the cool refreshing water. Afterwards, in better spirits, I made my way back to the hotel where I joined Diego, Matt Kim, and Sam for an excursion to the local Carrefour. We decided it was a good idea to have a post dinner snack. This was a grave mistake as we would end up being far too full, and far too tired to even approach some of the food. After free time Madame was to take us to see all the oyster farms and to eat fresh oysters, but sadly the oyster farmers were no longer selling and the tide was too high to see the cages themselves. Instead of this we enjoyed some time skipping stones across the calm waters of the bay. After a nice dinner, which started with some amazing fresh oysters, the other boys and I moved on to our second dinner. Despite the fact we were already bulging at the seams, we felt obliged to consume at least some of the food. As the early hour of 1 approached I made my way to bed extremely full and finding myself thinking about the bittersweet departure which approached. In reflection I find that without the host families we have all bonded within ourselves and have been forced to reach out to people outside of our normal groups.

-Betsy, Sam, and Miles (any use of I, is from Miles’ perspective)

Claudine Gervais, Mme. Diederich's host mother from SYA Rennes gives a tour of the Thabord gardens

Students meet with Denis Brochu, the Resident Director of SYA, Rennes

Devant l'école américaine

Mme. Lyons gives explanation of Chartres cathedral

Final Ouistiti!

And on to the next! After a week and change in Paris with our host families, we’re off to Normandy. So many wonderful memories have been made on these streets and I know I speak for others when I say the Parisian way of life is something I’ve fallen in love with. Although I was just too tired for tears this morning, as we drive out of the city I’m overcome with sadness. As excited as I am for our next adventure, there was something about my time in Paris that leaves me wanting more. Whether it be in two years or ten, I can say assuredly this was not the last time I will be seeing my Parisian sister. To all the host families, thank you for so graciously opening up your doors to a bunch of American strangers. Our stay would not have been the same without you. 

—Lucy

Sacred grounds in Normandy and Brittany

Bayeux

Today on Monday we went to Normandy and saw the Bayeux Tapestry. My family is related to William the Conqueror, so this was important to me. We learned about the fabrics and processes used to make the tapestry and about William’s invasion of England before we saw the tapestry. The tapestry had few words and primarily told through images so that illiterate peasants could understand it. The tapestry described how Duke William was chosen by the English king to inherit the throne. According to the tapestry, Harold pledged an oath of allegiance to William, but broke it by taking power as the new king when his father died.This resulted in William invading England and gaining the name William the conqueror after he defeated Harold in the Battle of Hastings. --Matthew

Although we were extremely sad to leave our Parisian families, our adventures in Normandy started off with a bang.  We visited an 800 year old and 70 meter long tapestry and learned about it’s history.  After, we spent time looking at some models of the town when the tapestry was made. Then, we boarded the bus once again and went to visit the World War II - D Day Museum, where we watched two films about the war itself and the shockwave it sent throughout France.  The most stunning part of our time in Normandy so far was getting the chance to visit the memorial and cemetery for the thousands of Americans whse lives were taken in fighting for the liberty of French minorities.  Although this isn’t the first thing that pops into your head when you think of ‘fun things to do in France’, it really opened up our eyes to the real and intense history of this part of France.  So, even though we miss the incredible friends (but really family) we made in Paris, our mini vacation in Normandy is looking great so far. --Maggie&Noelle

 Today we went through some of the D-Day landmarks such as beached docks from one of the British invasion sites, anti-tank bunkers, and the Omaha beach memorial grounds. I always believed that the old war structures from World War II are rich with history, and I felt seemingly allured to the mystery of the old buildings. While the others were eating lunch, I was exploring the ruins of bridges on the beach and marveling at the surprising views from their peaks (yes, I did climb the ruins).

Arromanches-les-Bains with the artificial port

Abandoned Blockhaus

Whilst caught up in my glee for having been the first one to see the view from one of the bunkers, I saw a small, discrete doorway in the side of a small crevice. I, of course, climbed into the small doorway to find an old ammunitions storage facility. Elated, I climbed back out and yelled to my friends “Hey guys, I found a thing!” they responded “what kind of thing?” to which I answered back “I found a door thing!” So we all went to explore it, but didn’t get far because there was some intensely sticky mud in front of one of the doors that lead onward.

 The Omaha Beach memorial grounds were also quite interesting. It was 172.5 acres, and had 9,387 headstones. I had no idea how many people had been killed during Operation OVERLORD. In the center of the tombstones was a small chapel dedicated to those brave people that fought and died for their country during WWII. Along with the graveyard is The Garden of The Missing, which was dedicated to the men that were killed in action but whose remains were never recovered.

 All in all, today was a good day. I had fun generally climbing on and finding secrets from the remains of the war. If the Normandy section of the trip will be like this every day, then I am quite ready.  -Samuel JL

 

I would never expect to be so sad to leave Paris.  I made so many friends who I knew before, but I didn’t realize how amazing they were.  I also met some other Americans from a different school that I will definitely talk to in LA. Although I am tired and ready to seek new adventure in Normandy, I am sad to leave Paris.  I will miss the food, the people, and the sights.  Everyone was so welcoming and kind.  I connected with many people during the Paris stay and I hope to see them soon again. I not only made new friends, but I also became closer with many Poly people. I hope to return soon to further discover the wonders of Paris!

--Noelle