Today’s post recounts Tuesday, March 10, and is written by Miles Fine ’17:

Today the weather was fairly nice; it rained a bit but still nice compared to all the snow at home. Started off the day with everyone going to 4 different classes for an hour each with 15 mins in the middle as a break. Some of us went to a preschool English class, other physics (hard!), and even P.E. We then had a nice lunch at the cantine at St. Do, and then departed for the main event of the day.

After a short metro ride, we exited to be greeted by the Musée de L’armée in the distance.

After the short walk over, we got our tickets and went to our first stop: the tomb of Napoleon. There are five separate coffins in there – one inside another!

After our exploration of the impressive room and crypt, we headed over to the armée where we saw arms and armor of sorts, ranging from the medieval era to World War 2. My personal favorite item of this part were the models. 

We all meet up with our corres back at St-Dominique, and that is where the regaling of today’s events end, but there will be more to come as we still have the rest of the week!

This post, written by Julie Luecke ’16, recounts Monday, March 9:

We got back into the swing of things today; to start off the week, we visited the Eiffel Tower, arguably the most famous monument in France, constructed by Gustave Eiffel for a World’s Fair and actually considered ugly by most of the French at the time. My, how the world has changed. Anyway, visibility was not great, even from the 3rd floor (not for the faint of hear) as a result of low clouds, but the effect of the gray clouds against the black ironwork was stunning all the same. Many selfies were taken. Ah, but that’s a given at this point.

After snacking on some surely overpriced but sorely needed crepes, we went to the Champs-Elysees for a quick promenade up and down for a little stop in a boutique. It was really very nice outside; jackets were unbuttoned and smiles unleashed. Then we returned to Saint Dominique for lunch (pasta and cordon bleu, a personal favorite) and then headed back out into Paris, to the Musee du Louvre. We wandered around and caught French paintings from the 18th century and since, including Liberty Leading the People and, of course, La Jacunde, or as most of us know her, The Mona Lisa. Here were made many snapchat stories of perhaps the most famous painting ever, in a room to herself.

In front of Musee du Louvre.

After said long day, feet were dragging and I dare to say we were all ready to see our lovely French correspondents again and to settle down for the night, which I am about to do. Bonne unit de Paris!

Students spent the entirety of the weekend with their host families and they did a variety of activities. Some visited Versailles, many went to Disneyland Paris, a few strolled around the cobblestone streets of Montmartre, and all enjoyed getting to know their host families more. Today’s post recounts a visit on Saturday, March 7, to Montmartre by Hannah Wheaton ’16, and a visit on Sunday, March 8, to Versailles by Nathalie Danso ’17 and Claudia Woods ’17:

On Saturday, my host sister, Audrey, Elise, her grandmother and mother, and Elise’s host sister, Emma, and her mother and father went to Montmartre, a section of Paris on a hill. The climb up was not easy, but the view was well worth it. On top of Montmartre, we went to the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart). As soon as you walk in you see the dome is a large fresco of Jesus staring at you. Walking around the Basilica there are ornate mosaics and thousands of lit candles.

We sat for a bit and then after we went to small restaurant where we had croque monsieurs and frites (I had mine with mayo, the French way). We walked around Montmartre and saw the only vineyard in Paris, which is tiny! After we descended from Montmartre, we passed by Moulin Rouge. I had never heard of it before, a bit surprising to the group because I love musicals. Afterwards we had a sleepover which is not very different than in America. We ate pizza and chocolate, watched a scary movie, and stayed up a little too late. – Hannah Wheaton

Elise Turrietta and her corres, Emma, visiting Sacre Coeur in Montmartre over the weekend.

On Sunday afternoon I went to the beautiful gardens of Versailles with my host family. It was a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed sitting down on the grass with our friends, Nathalie, Alex(French), Philippine(French), and Marianne, my host sister! Beforehand, we explored the bedchambers, dinner hall, and more inside the building (which Nathalie will be blogging about as well) 🙂 I also went to visit my 2 aunts in Paris and enjoyed speaking with them and learning more about French culture and the strong Lebanese community in Paris. It was wonderful to catch up with them after several years of not seeing them and even more wonderful for my Mother. (As a young child my mother would visit her father’s sister in Paris as well and I am recreating the tradition). They handed out homemade treats and we bonded over tea and Arabic bread. Later that day I had breakfast for dinner with Marianne in her bedroom while we watched Pitch Perfect. The day could not have been more beautiful. I am enjoying my host family thoroughly and am loving Paris! Merci! – Claudia Woods

Versailles, with its beatiful gardens and ornate rooms, was definitely one of the most memorable places I have seen so far. Almost every inch was covered in gold leaf and the rooms almost all had painted ceilings. Luckily for us, there weren’t as any people as usual. Near the entrance there was also a sign banning selfie sticks which is something some of the other tourists sights should consider doing. Portraits of the architects and the inhabitants lined the walls. This trip was particularly interesting because we had just finished learning about the French Revolution in our Modern European History class before we came to France. Seeing what we had learned about in class first-hand was a great experience and made the events somehow seem more real. The “Hall of Mirrors” was one of the most magnificent rooms I have ever seen. The entire wall was lined with mirrors on one side and windows on the other. On the ceiling there were paintings with gold borders separating them from one another. The enormousness of Versailles was something I never could have imagined, and I am glad that I had the opportunity to visit such a famous and beautiful historical place. – Nathalie Danso

Friday, March 5, was a very full day! We attended classes at St. Do in the morning – some of us attending English class, some French literature, some working with younger students in their classrooms, and a few of us even attended P.E. class. While there are several similarities between St. Do and NA, it has been so interesting to sit in on classes and view the differences between our daily life back home at NA and the educational system here. The most striking difference is how many students are in each class here; it is typical for there to be 30-35 students in one classroom. Also, each week, the students take an exam for an entire afternoon, to provide them with practice leading up to taking the Bac. Can you imagine taking a 2-4 hour exam every week??

After lunch in the cantine here at St. Do, our leaders of the day, Elise and Taylor, navigated the metro to the famous shopping center Galeries Lafayette. We had about two hours to wander around the area, shop, and eat lunch. Many of us enjoyed going in Printemps, another more affordable shopping center, nearby, and other stores on the street that are unavailable to us at home.

We spent the afternoon in the gorgeous Palais Garnier, or the ornate Opera House designed by amateur Charles Garnier in the 1870s. The ceiling in the auditorium was

Marc Chagall ceiling at Opera Garnier

repainted by Marc Chagall in the 1960s and remains controversial since the aesthetic is very different than the rest of the building. The beautiful main hall reminded several of us of a mini Hall of Mirrors at Versailles – absolutely breathtaking! We learned that you can rent the space for $200,000 for a wedding; some of the girls were dreaming of doing this! We stopped by the Phantom of the Opera’s box and were reminded of the story that was inspired by events at Palais Garnier.

The Phantom of the Opera’s box.

After reconvening with our hosts back at St. Do, we all went our separate ways to spend the weekend exploring the city with our host families. It has been an incredible jam-packed week thus far, and it is hard to believe that our time here is almost half way over.

Written by Laura Osborne ’17, recounting March 5, 2015:

Today, once arriving at St. Dominique’s now familiar campus with our corres, we departed to the metro to travel to Le Musee D’Orsay. It was a beautiful, sunny day! After multiple metro stops we emerged at Tuileries Gardens where we could spot Le Louvre, Cleopatra’s Obelisk, and L’Arc de Triomphe on the axis of Paris. We crossed over one of the many love lock-decorated bridges across the Seine to Le Musee D’Orsay. Not only was the architecture of the building breathtaking, but the art inside is only something we have seen in pictures. Our fantastic tour guide split her helpful information between English and French to accommodate us. Seeing the masterpieces up close and in person was truly inspirational and beautiful. The paintings we viewed were by famous impressionist and neo-impressionist artists –  Van Gogh, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Monet, and many others.

After our tour, we headed back to St. Do for our dejeuner at their cantine. Following our quick meal, we took the metro again towards Le Louvre and began a tour of the city on a double decker bus; we all sat on the open top and took pictures of Le Louvre, Notre Dame, Le Grand and Petit Palais, the Seine, La Tour Eiffel, Les Champs-Élysées, and so much more – all explained by the audio provided on the bus. Some of us even spotted Kim Kardashian and Kylie and Kendall Jenner walking the streets as a part of Paris Fashion Week! After our chance at a new perspective of the city, we traveled back to the school and parted ways with our corres for the evening.

Written by Jakob Grzesik and Emma Burdett to recount March 3, 2015:

Today marked the third day of NA’s French exchange and our last day in the region of Normandy. After finishing breakfast and packing up, we hopped onto the travel bus and set out for our first stop of the day: Les Sablés d’Asnelles. Here, we learned about a tradition of pastry making that has existed since 1904 along with the French terminology associated with the process. In fact, we even got to make our own yummy cookies and taste them! The owner of Les Sablés d’Asnelles was very welcoming and took extra time to speak slowly to make sure that we could understand him.

Afterwards, we had an excursion to our second stop: La Ferme de Billy. Like at our previous stop, we learned how the farm harvested, juiced, and fermented their apples in order to produce the cidres they sold.

When the tour of the apple farm was over, we were invited to sample some apple juice and cidre. Upon finishing these samples we returned to the bus and set off towards Paris.

Four hours and a memorable stop at a gas station later, we arrived in Paris. Despite the rain caused by the Warsaw Effect, everyone was excited by the streets of Paris and the sight of the Eiffel Tower!  At around 6:40, we arrived at St. Dominique and reunited with our exchange partners.

The group of American students then parted ways to stay with their host families and have dinner with them.

Written by Carlee Strathmann and Casey Mahan, recounting Monday, March 2, 2015:

Today we woke up, ate croissants for le petit dejeuner, and left for Le Memorial de Caen (a World War II museum). It was really neat to learn about the war from different perspectives and languages! Then we drove to the Bayeux Tapestry museum, which is over 70 meters long and tells the story of William the Conqueror in the year 1067. We headed back to the bus, but to our surprise it started hailing!!! After it stopped, we got a little time to explore the city on our own taking pictures of the beautiful Notre-Dame de Bayeux, and some of us even got to go inside. Next, we drove to the American Cemetery, and our tour guide explained the stories behind the breathtaking marble gravestones arranged so that no matter what grave you are looking at, you can see a straight line. Not to mention, they are arranged on a plot of land overlooking the blue waters of the Normandy beach. Although it was cold, stepping foot on Omaha Beach instilled in us a greater appreciation for our freedom and respect for the lives that were sacrificed to earn it. At Point-de-Hoc we saw enormous bomb craters like nothing we had ever seen before. Taking a few pictures by the top of the point, we felt a few raindrops followed by hurricane force winds and pelting rain. We immediately took cover in a pill box, meant to contain German turrets, to continue learning about the soldiers’ obstacles (there were a lot- including scaling a rock while German forces were shooting down at them and cutting their ropes) on D-Day. But after the storm, there were two rainbows! No worries, we took plenty of pictures. Hungry and a bit tired, we arrived back at the hostel, bonded a little with the group, and enjoyed soup, chicken, baguettes (rationed because of our extensive consumption last night), and an amazing lemon tart for le diner! We shared roses and thorns in our group meeting. Then, the staff prepared a series of group activities for us…

Twenty-two teenagers arrived at Norfolk International Airport on Saturday, February 28. They were excited, anxious to start the journey, and well rested. Twenty-two teenagers left Charles De Gaulle Airport on Sunday, March 1 even more excited but a little sleep deprived. After a four hour bus ride to the beautiful Normandy,our first destination was Mont Saint Michel, an ancient island community and abbey in northern France. During our guided tour, we climbed and walked around the grounds to see the homes, stores, naves, crypts, and winding passageways. While discovering the island, we learned the story of its 28 inhabitants.

After our tour and a wild bus ride back to town, we finally arrived safely at Chateau Moray-Littry. We were welcomed with smiles and immediately seated to our delicious first dinner. We ended the evening with a group meeting discussing highs and lows of the day and karaoke.

Twenty-two Norfolk Academy sophomores and juniors will be spending the next two weeks in France! After an early morning arrival on March 1, the group will head to Normandy for three days and will spend the remainder of the trip in Paris, living with host families from our sister school, Saint Dominique in Neuilly-sur-Seine, and exploring the school and the city. This past week, Dr. Rezelman shared a moving lesson on D-Day to set the scene for the students’ upcoming visit to the Normandy. Follow along on their adventure!

Dr. Rezelman’s talk on D-Day.