I selected the Paris, Normandy, Brittany, and London tour because I wanted my group to have a unique experience; I didn't want to repeat a tour that students from our school had already taken. I also wanted my students to recognize that although French, English, and American cultures are very different, we do share common ground. Ultimately, I wanted my students to have the international travel experience that I wish I had had when I was a teenager. As reflect on our trip, I must say that our tour far exceeded my expectations. Our EF Tour truly was experiential learning. From learning the universal language of smile and point, to reading a map, paying in a different currency, navigating public transportation, trying unfamiliar foods, realizing the wide-variety of toilets, and becoming aware of the cultural notions of personal space, my student travelers learn so much more in ten days abroad than I could ever hope to teach them in 180 in the classroom. I started the process last May with EF Tours, an educational travel company that organizes tours specifically for students. From service learning to language and cultural immersion, EF creates itineraries that meet all sorts of educational needs and provides a safe, secure learning experience. While no two tours are exactly the same, the following is a breakdown of our trip. Day 1: Departure Day Our group met at Rochester Airport at 7:15 am. We got our boarding passes, said our goodbyes, and passed through security. Then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Our flight was delayed due to a navigational issue. As I stared at the board willing it to update to an actual departure time, I also thought about what I needed to do if we missed our connection in New York City. EF had prepared me for this. And as frustrating as it was to sit in the airport for most of the day, my travelers were learning about travel and about flexibility. Sometimes, you just have to be patient and deal with the problems as they arise. We finally boarded, and made it to NYC with about ten minutes to get to our gate. By some strange twist of luck (or perhaps an awesome flight attendant), we were nearly next to our departure gate when we arrived in NYC. After purchasing some ginger ale and plastic bags for nauseous students (group leaders, be sure to pack some in your carry-on for students just in case), we boarded our flight to Paris and were finally on our way. Day 2: Paris We landed and cleared customs rather quickly with me leading and my co-chaperone/skeptical husband taking up the rear of the group. A teacher as well, Jeremy was just as apprehensive as I was when I chaperoned my first tour a year ago. He would quickly become a student-travel convert but not quite yet. We arrived in Paris, met our extraordinary Tour Director, Ronen, dropped our bags at our hotel, and went into the city. I was immediately impressed with our travelers. After a quick orientation, we gave them time to visit the ATM and eat lunch. From a cafe across the street, Jeremy and I were able to watch their small groups learn to order in France. Unlike in the US, in Europe you need to get your waiter's attention to order, to get refills, to get the check, etc. After answering a couple of "What do we do?" WhatsApp messages, they quickly caught on. After lunch, Ronen took us on another walking tour of the city to Notre Dame. He gave us an overview of the Cathedral's history and its cultural and religious significance to the city of Paris. Travellers had time to visit the Cathedral, do some souvenir shopping, have an ice-cream or crepe, and visit Shakespeare and Company. Then we met as a large group and made our way to dinner at Auberge Notre Dame, across the Seine from Notre Dame Cathedral. While we were eating dessert, Jeremy and the other chaperones noticed what looked dust coming from the scaffolding at the top of the Cathedral. A few moments later, we realized that we were seeing smoke, not dust. Soon we watched fire trucks and police cars pass by toward the Cathedral. We could see flames around the spire. As Ronen called the bus driver, we organized our student travelers and made our way away from the fire to a safe place to meet the bus. I updated parents as we waited several blocks away for the bus. My initial concern was my students' safety. My secondary concern was this memory of their trip. As Notre Dame burned, Paris seemed to just stop. We could see Parisians and tourists crying in the street as we witnessed this landmark, 850+ years of history, burn in front of us. I couldn't help but think of my own visits to Notre Dame, my first visit in 2008 when I was just a bit older than my student travelers, and the impact that that trip had on me. It ignited my passion for travel. I was concerned that this experience would extinguish that passion in my student travelers. But as they did throughout our trip, my student travelers reminded me of an important aspect of travel: It's not just about location; travel is also about time. As some of the last people to see Notre Dame whole and as some of the first to see it damaged, we witnessed the moment of history. No matter how many times we visit in our lives, we won't ever see Paris the way that we saw it on that first day. And while that is memory that will stay with all of us, it's surrounded by many, many more positive memories of our trip. Day 3: Paris Bus Tour and Versailles The next day, we woke up early to an overcast sky. We met our local guide, Estelle, and took a bus tour around the rest of the city of Paris. With photo stops at the Place de la Concorde and the Eiffel Tower, as well as the memory of the previous evening, we soaked up every second of our time in Paris with renewed appreciation. Ronen gave us lessons in Paris's geography, while Estelle increased our knowledge of Parisian history, art, and culture. In the afternoon, we made our way outside the city to Versailles. While our tour was delayed, we visited the palace and the grounds. We also got to see Ronen work his magic as he rearranged our reservations for the evening, ensuring that we were able to do everything on our itinerary despite the delays. We returned to the city for our Seine River cruise, dinner, and a beautiful view of the City of Light from the top of Montparnasse. Watching my student travellers see the city and the Eiffel Tower lit up for the first time brought out the magic of this experience. Day 4: Rouen, Livarot, and Caen At this point, we started to bond more as a group and fall into a rhythm. We packed the coach bus early and departed for Normandy. While some group leaders disagree, I think it's important that student get to experience smaller towns and the countryside of the place they are visiting. The capital cities give students a glimpse of urban life, but the rural areas give students a more complete understanding of what it is to be French, English, American, etc. In Rouen we learned about Joan of Arc and visited the sites of her trial and execution. We had another lovely lunch outside in a cafe. Then we had a cheese-tasting in Livarot. After trying four different kinds of soft (and smelly) cheeses, I was officially impressed by my student travelers. Regardless of how much they didn't like the smell or taste of some of the cheeses, everyone tried them. After cheese, we made our way to Caen for a hike up to the castle, dinner, and a full night of rest (finally!). Day 5: Honfleur and Etretat In the morning, we visited the gorgeous seaside town of Honfleur. We learned about the viking history of the area (Norman-Norsemen) as Ronen took us on a walking tour of the town. After lunch and the first ice cream of the day, we headed to the seaside cliffs of Etretat. With baguettes sticking out of backpacks, my student travelers hiked all over the cliffs, exploring every inch of the landscape. After nearly two hours of hiking and exploring, we ate our second ice cream of the day and returned to Caen for dinner. Day 6: D-Day Beaches of Normandy For many of my student travelers, as well as for Jeremy, this was the part of the tour that we anticipated most. We started the day at the Caen Memorial Museum where we explored the main exhibit and watched a short film about D-Day. Then we boarded the bus for the memorial. We learned that the American cemeteries are actually considered American territory. We walked from the memorial to the cemetery, to the chapel, and down to the beach thinking about the men who fought and the many who died to liberate occupied France. For a few of my students, they thought specifically about grandfathers and great-uncles who arrived on this beach nearly seventy-five years ago. As we walked, Jeremy and I witnessed a WWII veteran's emotional visit with his family. From Caen, we went further west to Pointe du Hoc to visit the remains of a bunker turned into a memorial park. We returned to the hotel that evening with a bit of sand and a new reverence for the Americans who fought on those beaches so long ago. Day 7: Mont Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo After a reflective day at the D-Day beaches and memorials, we continued west to Mont Saint-Michel, the abbey and fortress founded in the 8th century. When we arrived in the morning, the island was completely surrounded by water, but by the time we left in the afternoon, the receded tide left it connected to the mainland. Ronen guided us through the abbey and explained more about William the Conqueror and the Hundred Years' War. After exploring the island and eating a quick lunch (and ice-cream), we continued to Saint-Malo in Brittany. There, our guide, Coco, explained the story of Saint-Malo, a walled-city with a long history of piracy. She guided us around the major sites, commenting on their history and significance as well as telling some incredible stories of pirates. After our tour with Coco, we ate a traditional crepe dinner in town and, of course, had another ice-cream. Day 8: Paris We departed our hotel to return to Paris via Chartres early. Unfortunately our bus got a flat tire. Fortunately, Ronen and our driver worked their magic while we ate a snack and used the restroom. While we missed lunch in Chartres, we were able to have a nice lunch en route to Paris where we finished our time in France at the Louvre. Jeremy and I led the students immediately to the Mona Lisa, not because it's my favorite painting, quite the contrary, but because it's THE Mona Lisa. It also never fails to be the most anticlimactic experience in Paris. After paying Mona a customary visit, we proceeded into what I consider the more interesting works in the museum: the Napoleon III apartments, the Egyptian antiquities, the sculptures, and the foundation walls. The Louvre is impossibly large, and even on my fourth visit, I felt as overwhelmed as I did on my first visit eleven years ago. But the Louvre is symbolic of travel in general: you can't see everything in a single visit; you always leave something to see or do that becomes your reason to return. After the Louvre and dinner, we took an Easter stroll on the Champs Elysees. We watched the sunset on the Arc du Triomphe, peeked into the most expensive shops in the world, and just watched the tourists and the Parisians pass by. We said our goodbyes to the Boston and North Carolina groups and prepared to leave Paris for London. Day 9: London We left our hotel early to take the Eurostar from Paris to London. For many of my student travelers, this was their first time on a high-speed train. Exhausted from our late night and early morning, I don't think any of us saw the chunnel. I certainly didn't. For most of the week, Ronen and I had been planning to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Any kind of delay would've caused us to miss the event, so we didn't mention our plan to the student travelers. Luckily, our train was on-time, the van met us at the station to take our bags to the hotel, and we got on the Tube into the city without any fuss. Ronen led us to the perfect, uncrowded spot to see the changing of the guard--it was the perfect start to our London adventure. After the changing of the guard, we walked to Covent Garden for an ATM visit and lunch. Unfortunately the English ATMs didn't accept some of our cards, but my student travelers were pros by this point and didn't panic. We sorted out a temporary solution, and planned to call the banks when they opened at home. After a leisurely lunch with some souvenir shopping, we met with Ms. Smith, who came to town to see us for the afternoon. Having moved to her new home just eight days before, it was exciting to meet with a local of both New York and England. Though our time together was short, it was an awesome reminder of the possibilities and opportunities travel affords. While a student tour gives young travelers a taste of a wide-variety of places, it also shows students the enormous variety of opportunities that are available to them. Day 10: London Since we didn't have to compromise our time, we were able to explore London in more depth. Our wonderful tour guide, Keith, met us in the morning for our bus tour of the city. Keith's jokes are great, and you can find him on EF's Instagram. (He's basically a celebrity!) Keith also included more frequent stops for us to walk and take pictures, including Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, and my personal favorite, the Globe Theater. After leaving Keith for lunch, we were able to offer student travelers choices between the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum. In addition to the wonderful art and artifacts, these museums are all FREE! We squeezed in a visit to the National Gallery to see Monet as well as one last visit to St. James's Park before dinner. After dinner we finished our time in London at the Lyceum Theatre to see the Lion King.
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Mrs. ShepardTeacher, ELL tutor, traveler, hiker, reader, and aspiring citizen of the world. Archives
April 2019
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