Culture, History and Coastal Charm for the Year 8 French Students in Normandy!
It was a VERY early start for everyone on the Year 8 language trip to Normandy with a 4 am departure from school to catch the ferry from Portsmouth to Caen/Ouistreham.
We had a very smooth crossing on the ferry over to Normandy which passed very quickly thanks to lots of snacks, some games &, of course, a lot of chatting! Madame Spencer said that “the girls were brilliant!”
We enjoyed exploring the beautiful setting of our hotel before heading out for our first evening meal. Everyone enjoyed their food – it was in an Italian restaurant but the Year 8s declared it was “délicieux” all the same!
The next day we travelled to Arromanches where students learned about the allies’s role in the liberation of France during the WW2 with a visit to the very insightful DDAY museum all about Operation Overlord and the Mulberry Harbours and the 360 cinema where girls were immersed in the landing with actual footage from the 6th June 1944.
The weather was sunny but windy, due to a strong North West wind, which Madame Spencer said was called ‘nordé’ in Norman slang, and dreaded by everyone at sea. She explained that it was probably a similar but stronger wind that made those maritime operations 80 years ago all the more challenging. The girls enjoyed the 360 cinema about D-Day the most today + ordering in French!
Day 3 saw us practising our French at Deauville market and visiting the iconic Mont Saint Michel! The girls enjoyed interacting in French to buy their various souvenirs and supplement our pack lunches.
On our last day we managed a trip to the beautiful Deauville Beach – on “les planches”. The wind remained strong, but it was still fun for everyone nevertheless. Madame Spencer explained that Deauville is a famous chic sea resort famous for its American film festival in September, hence the reason why the beach cabins bear the names of famous actors/directors.
This was followed by a visit to the picturesque town of Honfleur for lunch before our journey back on a rather windy ferry home!
Ferry back: I think it best never to mention the journey back on the ferry. Rule number one about this trip. Let’s just say we would be happy not to see a sick bag in sight for a while!
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