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Ooh La La! Before Half Term the last of the exchange trips departed, off to what we thought would be the sunny south of France, and although we couldn't escape the British weather the whole time, it was a trip to remember.

We started with an eventful landing in a very warm France, where we travelled to Cassis for the day. Between the beautifully clear sea on the beach, to the stunning boat trip around the Calanques, we were not short of a good view. 

After a long but fun first day we were greeted by our wonderful host families who so kindly took us in and gave us a glimpse into the life of the French. I'm not sure about the others but for me the highlight of spending time with the host family was the delicious French food, like merguez, and LOTS of french bread and pastries.

Day 2 was a fun trip around the more local and history rich area of Avignon. Although we were greeted by wind and rain, visiting the famous “Pont d’Avignon” and the” Palais de Papes" was a very interesting experience, hearing about the past and really getting to know and understand where we were staying. A lovely touristic train and a spot of shopping helped to end the day in a slightly less gloomy mood than was set by the weather.

Day 3 was spent truly immersing ourselves into an average Wednesday in a French school. Seeing the lessons and making links to the way we are taught at TWGGS helped to show how very different the two education systems are. Then we spent the afternoon doing fun activities with our partners. My partner, our friends and myself spent a lovely day visiting the old Roman town of “Arles”, filled to the brim with interesting things to keep you entertained.

Day 4 was by far my favourite. Walking over the “ little Colorado '' was so fun, and brought a new flavour into the trip, with it being compared to the Grand Canyon and taking us away from France for a while. The gorgeous “Fontaine de Vaucluse” made my day. When we were ready to go home because of another wet afternoon, the sun cleared up to reveal a gorgeous fountain, of which the photos never cease to amaze me. I went from being ready to leave to wanting so much to stay.

The last day spent as a school was done visiting “Les Baux-de-Provence”, a gorgeous town of remains from past times. Our wonderful teachers even generously treated us to a lovely ice cream. Then after more shopping (of which we did a lot in the week) we saw the outstanding and mesmerising art exhibition “ les Carrières de lumières”, filled with an amazing collection of sound and light to paint pictures from the past throughout history, like the ancient Egyptians, in the present.

The final day of the trip was spent with our families, where we got to further learn about the beautiful town of Avignon.

 I can definitely say I left that trip having furthered my knowledge of French language and history. The activities were so fun and the food was brilliant, although I think I might need to go on a croissant detox now.

A massive thank you to Madame Salci for organising such a wonderful trip, Madame Moon and Madame Sandor for helping us to have such a brilliant time, and to all the French partners and families who looked after us so well. I can't wait to look back on all my photos and be reminded of such wonderful memories for years to come.

Sabah, Year 10